A common argument for the current mass deportation policy tells us that those immigrants who have come to the United States illegally must be deported because they “jumped ahead of the line” and that it wouldn’t be fair to those would-be immigrants around the world who have waited for years or even decades to get a legal visa. The reasoning behind this claim needs further consideration. In fact, no line exists, and no fairness issue enters the picture.
The U.S. government fixes the number of immigrants it will admit each year. Our government offers many different types of visas, and the requirements vary. But opportunities for people to come to America legally are limited, and those who are not selected have not suffered any injustice. While the Universal Declaration of Human Rights recognizes that everyone has the right to emigrate, no one has the right to immigrate to any country they choose. Every country has a sovereign right to select the immigrants it wishes to admit. However America decides to punish or legalize those who have entered our country illegally, it owes no debt of justice or fairness to people it has chosen not to admit.
