Restoring the Rule of Law Through a Fair, Humane, and Workable Immigration System

Immigration is not a choice between ideals and laws. According to Tom Jawetz in “Restoring the Rule of Law Through a Fair, Humane, and Workable Immigration System,” a framework that embraces both restoring the rule of law (ending Trump administration policies) and “building a fair, humane and well-functioning immigration system” can help policymakers and the general public appreciate the need for reform and more clearly consider effective immigration solutions. Jawetz first offers historical context as to how the U.S. acquired its current immigration legal system and then got enmeshed in the present rancorous immigration debate. He explains the meaning of “the rule of law” before arguing that recent policies by the Trump administration contravene the very thing it purports to uphold as evidenced by separating families at the U.S.-Mexico border, terminating programs like Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals and Temporary Protected Status, and denying asylum protections. Instead of these hardline policies, Jawetz urges the development of a set of guiding principles that couples adherence to the law with faithfulness to the ideals of the United States as a place of refuge. Such a linkage would require: building a generous and responsive immigration system; establishing a humane asylum and refugee system; committing to “proportionality, accountability and due process in immigration enforcement”; and creating a path to citizenship for long-term undocumented residents. By doing so, the United State can live up to its ideals as both a nation of laws and a nation of immigrants. (Lydia Grinnell for the Immigrant Learning Center's Public Education Institute)

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