July 12, 2006

Ignorance of the Law is no Excuse

Once again, more evidence for my perpetual lament about the necessity of crafting good laws that are consistent with the Constitution because the stupidity of those who implement them knows no bounds.

This time, it's Tucker Carlson who shows us that the hubbub about illegal immigrants is not only racist, but impossible to enforce, especially when educated people assume US citizens are immigrants just because they are hispanic.

On the July 10 edition of MSNBC's Tucker, host Tucker Carlson said to guest Jesse Diaz, Dallas chapter president of the League of United Latin American Citizens, "you may be counting Hispanic immigrants from Puerto Rico," after Diaz said that "only 55 percent of illegals are of Mexican descent," even though all native Puerto Ricans are U.S. citizens. During a discussion about illegal immigrant women giving birth at a Dallas hospital, Diaz challenged Carlson's assertion that the United States should "bill Mexico" for services used by illegal immigrants, by pointing out that illegal immigrants come from countries other than Mexico. In response, Carlson recited census data indicating that less than 2 percent of Hispanics living in Dallas are of Puerto Rican or Cuban descent. However, that statistic is irrelevant to the discussion of illegal immigrants -- or "immigrants" at all in the context of Puerto Rico: The Jones-Shafroth Act of 1917 granted U.S. citizenship to all residents of Puerto Rico. In addition, almost all Cubans who reach U.S. shores are automatically granted asylum, so few, if any, would be here illegally.

Does anyone think the average person who doesn't have the luxury of a private liberal arts college education - even if they did drop out after four years - is going to be any better at this? "Spot the illegal immigrant" is noxious and disruptive to the social fabric. Dummies. No, idiots. Ooh, even better: Morans!

Posted by binky at July 12, 2006 04:42 PM | TrackBack | Posted to International Affairs | Politics


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