This lawlessness takes different forms: 

First, for an illegal immigrant — even one whose claim is that they are just here to work and make a better life — their “new” life begins by breaking laws: the first one being entering our country without permission. The cycle continues by obtaining an illegal driver’s license or driving without a driver’s license or insurance at all. Then come all the other things in life, like obtaining a job and housing. 

All of these must be done outside the law, and often entail other crimes like identity theft. For people advocating for illegal aliens to continue in such a life, the reality is that they are advocating a life of instability, lived in fear of being found out. These are not victimless crimes. It is unhealthy for the illegal immigrant, as well as the citizens of the host country, who are burdened by paying for the distorted transportation and housing markets, and who suffer from stolen Social Security numbers. Still, in the hierarchy, this is more of a “passive” lawlessness.

A second form of lawlessness occurs through the promotion of a culture and society that disregards law and order in favor of allowing illegality. This shows up as “sanctuary cities,” and both de facto and de jure amnesty. It also breeds the lawlessness we saw when Judge Hannah Dugan attempted to thwart the arrest of Eduardo Flores-Ruiz by directing him out through her chambers to help him escape. Then there are the extreme forms of lawlessness like the riots against ICE officers in Los Angeles.

A third form of lawlessness is found in the entrance of outright criminal illegal aliens. Since our border and vetting system has been lax, the number of criminal illegal immigrants rose — this includes petty criminals, violent criminals, gang members, and human and drug traffickers. This cohort brings with it active criminal behavior — active lawlessness, hiding among and shielded by the lax attitudes toward the first group.

A fourth form of lawlessness that illegal immigration expands is the looting of our country via our already dysfunctional welfare system. Describing the reality of the entitlement system in a House Judiciary hearing, political economist Nicholas Eberstadt said, “In just two generations, the government of the United States has effectively become an entitlements machine. As a day-to-day operation, the U.S. government devotes more attention and resources to the public transfer of money, goods and services to individual citizens than to any other purpose, and the Federal Government more to these ends than to all other purposes combined.” 

With 2026 hindsight, it seems almost quaint to imagine this entitlement machine has been doling out to “citizens” alone. It has become a neon sign, more enticing than that of any casino, visible across the globe. Illegal immigration compounds the lootability of the entire entitlement system.

‘THE RIGHT WAY FORWARD’: IMMIGRATION AND NATIONAL IDENTITY

There’s a “broken windows” effect that starts with lax immigration enforcement and leads to broad societal decline into lawlessness. Lawlessness dehumanizes a society. It dehumanizes us individually. It is an injustice upon the citizenry — we lose trust in each other, we lose trust in our institutions, our expectations of stability and even comprehensibility of daily life crumble. Lawlessness and injustice lead to despair, and the cycle compounds. Politicians or judges working tirelessly to enable criminal releases, defy deportations, create sanctuary cities and states, and enact programs like amnesty are reasonably perceived as codifying lawlessness and injustice into law itself. 

This state of affairs is not what started the cycle, but is a continuation and progression of it. If we are to restore lawfulness and all its benefits to society, it ought to begin with deliberate and comprehensive enforcement of immigration laws.