We Need To Tell the Truth about Deportation

The immigration and deportation discourse is among America's most polarizing topics and one riddled with the most misrepresentations. One of the notions frequently highlighted in the news and political commentaries is deportation being a punitive measure. 

However, going by the U.S. Supreme Court's consistent rulings, it's clear that deportation is not a criminal penalty, and thus would be wrong to make it look punitive. Instead, it's a process to return unauthorized aliens to their homeland, where they possess full residency rights. 

Supreme Court Rulings

The Supreme Court's first ruling on the nature of deportation came in 1893 in Fong Yue Ting v. U.S. When deciding on the case, the Supreme Court distinguished between deportation, banishment, and transportation. 

Banishment, according to the Supreme Court, refers to the expulsion of a citizen from their own country, while transportation refers to the forcible transportation of a person within their country, both of which are applied as punishment for wrongdoing. On the other hand, deportation is the removal of an alien from a country where their presence is deemed inconsistent with the country's public welfare. 

In another landmark case, Wong Wing v. U.S., the Supreme Court upheld its description of deportation as a non-punitive measure, a perspective that continues to influence immigration rulings today. 

This stance is rooted in the principle outlined in the 1892 case of Ekiu v. U.S., which affirmed the sovereign right of a nation to control the entry of foreigners within its borders. This principle was further reinforced in Kliendienst v. Mandel (1972), which clarified that immigrants that enter a country illegally and nonresident aliens have no constitutional right to enter the U.S. 

In the Wong Wing case, the Supreme Court further distinguished deportation proceedings, which are civil and administrative, from criminal trials. An alien in deportation proceedings is not deprived of liberty or property without due process of law.

U.S. Immigration Laws Are Among the Most Favorable

The worst outcome for an alien in deportation proceedings is a non-punitive transfer to their home country at U.S. government expense. How can this be cruel and unusual punishment? In most cases, the misinterpretation of definition is done by interest groups such as politicians for the sole purpose of eliciting emotions, which helps bring in votes. 

“On the bright side, the U.S. government has measures to ensure that every immigrant facing deportation gets a fair hearing and can succeed if they have a strong case” says Attorney Mario Godoy of Godoy Law Office Immigration Lawyers.

While this may not be what some politicians and interest groups may want you to believe, the U.S. immigration process is among the fairest in the developed world. The system is designed to offer each immigrant facing deportation a just hearing. These proceedings aren't criminal trials but administrative hearings determining the validity of one's stay. 

The system weighs a migrant's motivations for immigration and the potential aftermath of deportation. This balance ensures that no one is unfairly treated or hastily expelled. Contrary to dramatic narratives painting immigrants as victims, the reality is that the U.S. provides one of the world's most equitable immigration systems. 

Citizen Responsibility

Misrepresentation of facts may not go away as long as interest groups are involved. But citizens must strive to understand the truth about the United States deportation process rather than relying on emotionally charged misinterpretations. 

It is also important to consider that while some individuals face deportation, thousands of others get legal entry into the country, which is a testament to America's determination to welcome all nationalities.