The Reason for Deportation

We have to pay attention to the reasons behind an issue, otherwise we end up undermining our society.

I was listening to a debate where Hillary Clinton was giving her position on immigration. In this debate she ridiculed the Republicans for wanting to "round up" and "deport" illegal immigrants.

Deportation sounds harsh, until one understands the reasons behind the need for deportation.

Deportation is a necessary part of the Visa law. A visa is a contract that allows a person to visit a country for a fixed period of time. If a person violates the terms of the contract then they get deported.

If a country wants to have liberal visa laws, then the country has to deport people who violate the contract of the visa; otherwise the contract of the visa is meaningless. If the contract of the visa is meaningless, then we are forced into be draconian in issuing visas.

Strictly enforcing the expiration of visas by deportations allows us to have a liberal visa law. If we do not enforce the expiration of visas, then we have to have strict visa laws.

It is possible that Ms. Clinton's objective in the speech was to frame the Republican party as xenophobic, and to frame her party as the friend of the Latino.

The problem with this position is that having draconian restrictions on Visas and a big ugly fence on the border is worse for the Latino population as a whole than the deportations that would be necessary to enforce the contract of the visa.

If Ms. Clinton's position was politically motivated, then this is an example of a politician adopting a position for partisan reasons that actually undermines the constituency she hopes to attract.