An anon explains their view on the trope of the law-abiding illegal immigrant on one of the 4chan styled image boards from years ago:
I’m gonna address your point without resorting to insult, because I think it comes from a well-intentioned but ultimately flawed idea.
The people you are talking about (the 1/100) are often referred to as the “law abiding” illegal immigrants. Well, here’s the wrinkle with this: there is no such thing ‘as a “law abiding” illegal immigrant. Every last one of them is a criminal by virtue of their illegal presence here.
>Yeah, but that’s it
No. No it’s not. Not by a long shot. Their illegal status necessitates that they engage in all manner of criminal activity: They commit fraud and impersonation in pursuing employment. They violate housing codes. They defy transportation laws. In sending their children to school, they falsely label their children as “homeless” so that they can evade legally required documentation, like immunization records. Their undocumented status also makes them tax evaders.
This is just a small sampling of the criminal activity they engage in every single day. And even if they’re otherwise “well behaved,” they end up associating with many illegal immigrants who are also career criminals. Much of the things they do just to go about daily life (like getting fake IDs, living in illegal alien “safe havens,” and lying to law enforcement) get them associated with professional criminals, aliens or otherwise. Why in the world would anyone expect that someone who engages in criminal behavior and cohorts with criminals daily would make a decent citizen? If they just jumped the fence and then lived out the rest of their lives like ordinary people, sure I’d probably be fine with them.
BUT THAT HAS LITERALLY NEVER HAPPENED
So let’s quit with this tired trope of “otherwise law-abiding illegal immigrants.” It’s a categorical impossibility and we need to call it out when we hear it.
>Sounds like you are arguing for amnesty for illegals so they CAN live like ordinary people.
I mean, that could possibly be true in the same way that I might argue that people should commit suicide so that they can avoid dying from cancer. But you’d have to be a lunatic to argue something like that seriously.
My point is that we already have a multitude of people who either have gone through or are currently going through a legal process to become legal residents of this country. The people who do this can accurately be described as “law-abiding.” Adhering to our legal process is really the first step in determining whether or not you’d be a decent citizen.
Illegal immigrants cannot be counted in this category because the very first thing they did when they came to America was willingly violate the law. Then they proceeded to willingly break the law every single day they voluntarily remained. In other words, they make clear in no uncertain terms that they aren’t interested in entering the country on our terms. The suggestion that these people who commit crimes on a daily basis wouldn’t continue to break the law and that they wouldn’t engage in otherwise subversive behavior after being given amnesty goes against all observable evidence regarding criminal behavior in general. it’s a completely bonkers argument and only someone who is paid to advocate that could possibly pretend to believe it.
The matter of illegal immigration has floated in and out of the media spotlight in the past few years, and has reared its head again recently with the events ongoing in Minneapolis. I find this anon’s logic pretty insightful and interesting to think about on this matter.
Original screen cap:
Temple of Zagan 