Justice for Immigrants vs. Justice for Citizens

I attended the Immigrant Justice Convention at Chicago's Navy Pier today. Read overview here.

The one word which was uttered time and time again really stuck with me: justice. There was talk of fighting to make the promise of justice and equality for immigrants real. Joining together to fight for legalization and justice. Believing in justice. Seeking justice. Ensuring that there is justice. Justice for all immigrants.

dictionary.com says:

The quality of being just; fairness.

The principle of moral rightness; equity.

Conformity to moral rightness in action or attitude; righteousness.

The upholding of what is just, especially fair treatment and due reward in accordance with honor, standards, or law.

Law. The administration and procedure of law.

Conformity to truth, fact, or sound reason.

Now, as always, I'm going to begin by drawing the distinction between legal and illegal immigrants.

For people who go through the proper legal channels to come to this country seeking opportunity and a better life, justice (rightness, equity, due reward) comes in their receiving fair and equal treatment as they go through the process, and being endowed with all the rights and responsibilities of citizenship when they reach that goal.

It's when people come here illegally, however, that I have a hard time with throwing the word justice around so cavalierly. That's when the bit about "fair treatment and due reward in accordance with honor, standards, or law" comes into play.

What is fair or equitable about giving special treatment to those who break our laws? What the people at that convention today were asking for, in essence, is a "get out of jail free" card for those that break our laws by entering and/or staying in our country illegally.

What about justice for the citizens of this country? What about justice for those who come legally and persist through all the red tape (like my dad) to achieve citizenship?

If justice is, indeed, "the upholding of what is just, especially fair treatment and due reward in accordance with honor, standards, or law," then the very term that today's conference judiciously avoided -- illegal immigrant -- dictates that justice be brought in the form of enforcing the laws that have been broken.

I will join today's speakers in asserting that it is justice I seek -- but justice in its full, true and honest meaning.

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