Illegal Migration and Middle East Profiling - Essay Example

ILLEGAL MIGRATION AND MIDDLE EAST PROFILING 0. Introduction Illegal immigration and Middle East profiling are thorny issues on which consensus is unlikely to be reached at since the issues cut across many aspects of Americans’ lives. Therefore, there are contrasting views on the issues depending on which side of the divide one falls. Consequently, there are those with the view that racial profiling is discriminatory and therefore an infringement of one’s fundamental Human Rights. The rest are however of the opinion that outlawing illegal migration and employing racial profiling are a necessary evil especially in the wake of the menace of terrorism. Illegal immigrants areundocumented immigrantsor aliens in the United States who enter the borders of United States without government permission or those who stay beyond the termination date of a visa. There are different causes of illegal migration ranging from economic incentives of a better life, chain immigration to join relatives, American government inefficiency, and globalization to trade agreements. Illegal migration however has such benefits as availability of cheap labor and payment of taxes by the immigrants. Racial profiling refers to government activity directed at a suspect or group of suspects because of their race, whether intentional or because of the disproportionate numbers of contacts based upon other pre-textual reasons. This is common in America especially when it comes to people from the Middle East but it should be in tandem with the Fourth Amendment. 2.0. Selected Philosophers On Illegal Immigration and Middle East Profiling 2.1. John Bordley Rawls: A Theory of Justice Rawls would have condemned Middle East profiling and the outlawing of illegal migration based on his write-ups.In his ‘A Theory of Justice’ (1971) he made contributions to liberal political philosophy namely: justice as fairness; reflective equilibrium; overlapping consensus; public reason; veil of ignorance; and original position. Rawlsianism provides for the most reasonable principles of justice as those which everyone would accept and agree to from a fair position. Justice as fairness comprises two main principles of Liberty and Equality with the second divided into Fair Equality of Opportunities and the Difference Principle in the order of priority. The Liberty Principle provides for entitlement of everyone to basic liberties while the Equality Principle establishes distributive justice. Fair Equality of Opportunity provides for access to positions to everyone regardless of their social background, ethnicity or sex. The Difference Principle regulates inequalities by permitting them to the advantage of the worst-off (Cohen and Fermon 146). The original position seeks to eliminate such characteristics as ethnicity, social status, and gender. Reflective equilibrium promotes justice thus informing judgments about general moral principles or specific moral cases. Overlapping consensus is how supporters of different comprehensive doctrines, such as religion or morals, can agree on a specific form of political organization. The veil of ignorance is a method of determining the morality of a certain issue based upon a thought experiment. 2.2. Publius: The Federalist Papers The Federalist Papers comprise of 85 essays written by James Madison, Alexander Hamilton and John Jay and published in the 1787. The Papers were however signed under the pen name of Publius informing the ratification of the American Constitution. The Federalist Papers therefore provide a better understanding and interpretation of the Constitution. The Publius would thus outlaw illegal migration and permit Middle East profiling to the extent that it is not conducted in a manner that is arbitrary to legal provisions. The Papers provide a guide on democracy and federalism. Federalism is thus seen as a means to achieve free government in peace and security since perfect union, safety and welfare are inseparable. Therefore, the Publius principles would promote America’s peace, security and safetyat the expense of people from the Middle East. For instance, Paper No. 10 tackles on how to guard against factions with interest contrary to the rights of others or the interests of the whole community. Madison thus argued that a strong, large republic can deal better with danger than individual states. He identified sources of factions to be diversity of opinion in political life leading to dispute over fundamental issues such as which religion or regime should be preferred; and unequal distribution of property. The central government is thus tasked to provide common defense. 2.3. St. Augustine of Hippo: The City of God St. Augustine would advocate for Middle East profiling and outlawing of illegal migration. In his Civitate Dei (On the City of God), he stated that the state is a disposition rooted in sin and it should not be enjoyed nor improved. However, he adds that the state is a remedy for the effects of the Fall of Man as it seeks to maintain peace and order to the possible extent. Augustine argued that predestination fixes the ultimate destination of every human being and the political states to which they belong according to God’s will. Therefore, some people are elected for salvation and others are elected to damnation thus giving rise to such classes of people as the city of God and the earthly city. Citizens of the earthly are aliens to God’s love and lust for material goodsand for domination over others. Citizens of the city of God are out of place in a world not similar to the city of God. There is no political state or even church that equates to the city of God. He defines justice as giving every man his due and ruling well. States are therefore a divine gift if ruled righteously. The state keeps evil men under control through the imminent fear of punishment. God therefore uses the state to mete out immediate punishment to people who go against laws, customs and nature. Citizens are duty-bound to obey even wicked political rulers. Augustine stated that God uses war to either afflict or console mankind. 2.4. St. Thomas Aquinas: Politics and Law Aquinas would have discouraged racial profiling and may be allowed outlawing illegal migrants to some extent as seen in his discussions on law, justice, the common good and the basis of morality. He divided laws into eternal law and natural law. Eternal law emanates from God who is the author of everything while natural law is eternal law as it applies to human beings. Natural law includes principles that are universally accessible regardless of time, place, or culture. He argued that the world is governed by Divine Providence therefore by use of ration human beings should not disobey God’s law. Therefore, natural law is the measure of human behavior providing the only basis for morality and politics. Through reason, people avoid evil and instead pursue good based on the morals of their society. Political societies are given priority to families since the goals of the former become the good of the whole community where there is the highest natural fulfillment. Further, through speech men can discuss on what is harmful, useful, just or unjust. Consequently, they can cooperate through speech to pursue a common understanding of justice, virtue and good. He advocated for punishment of criminals thus he would have wanted terrorists and illegal immigrants who become criminals to be punished. He however advocated for disobedience to unjust laws which do not conform to eternal law. 2.5. Martin Luther King: The Christian in Society Martin Luther King would be against Middle East profiling since he was generally against racial segregation and racial discrimination. King therefore advocated for racial equality through the advancement of civil rights in the United States and the world in general. He achieved this by following in the footsteps of Mahatma Gandhi’s teachings of civil disobedience and non-violent means of ending racial segregation. In his speech ‘I Have a Dream’ (1963), King envisioned American values to encompass a color blind society. He bases his assertion on the fact that all life is interrelated as it is all intertwined in the same destiny. To make good his assertions, King led in boycotts and marches leading to his demands of black’s right to vote, desegregation, labor rights and other basic rights being enacted into American law. Further, he did not advocate for war since, war took money and resources to be spent on services of social welfare which would result to spiritual death of the society. However, King advised Christians to obey the governing authorities since they are instituted by God. In essence, therefore disobedience towards such authorities amounts to disobedience to God who instituted them. He further postulated that, rulers are to punish wrongdoers and their subjects are to obey them due to fear of punishment and due to their conscience. King cited two ways through which God rules the world namely the kingdom of Christ and the kingdom of the world.The former comprises followers of Christ who obey the law without any problem while the latter comprises everyone else who need compulsion in order to obey the law. Therefore, in public Christians are bound by civil laws but in private they should be guided by godly principles and values such as being generous and forgiving always. Christians are therefore duty-bound to disobey some laws which are not in tandem with God’s teachings. 2.6. Aristotle: The Politics Aristotle would have been in favor of Middle East profiling while condoning illegal immigration. This is based on his view on political science whose main goal is to achieve human good. Therefore, he argues that it is noble to achieve something for a nation or a city-state instead of achieving it for an individual. He defines a city-state to be a sort of community involving some functions and interests in common made up of suchparts as households or economic classes or domes, which are local political units. Therefore, city-states are governed by the constitution, which is the ordering of the inhabitants of the city-state. The constitution is the way of life of the citizens and the rulers’ actions are therefore governed by it. Moreover, citizens are to attain a life of excellence and complete happiness under the best citizens. He would therefore advocate for racial profiling in order to help American citizens achieve happiness (McKenna and Feingold 98). Further, Aristotle distinguishes citizens from other inhabitants such as resident aliens and slaves. He thus defines a citizen as a person who has the right to participate in deliberative or judicial office. In effect, a city-state is a multiple of such citizens which is adequate for a self-sufficient life. In addition, he discusses justice in both universal and particular senses. In the universal sense, he stated that justice means lawfulness based on common advantage and happiness of political community as provided for in the constitution. Justice in the particular sense means equality or fairness whereby citizens have just claims to shares of some common asset. Aristotle thus summarizes justice to mean, treating equal persons equally and treating unequal persons unequally. 3.0. Conclusion From the foregoing arguments, it can be concluded that the common good of the society overrides individual goals. Therefore, racial profiling should be employed with reasonable modest so long as it serves the common good. Further, illegal immigration should be outlawed to the extent that it is inconsistent with the common good of the society. In essence, those illegal immigrants who add value to the American society should be accommodated while those with ill motives should be punished to ensure that Americans are happy in their own land. I therefore concur with the propositions of such great philosophers as Luther, Rawls and Aquinas. Works Cited Cohen, Mitchell and Fermon, Nicole. Princeton readings in political thought. New Jersey: Princeton University Press. 1996. Print. McKenna, George and Feingold, Stanley. Taking sides, clashing views on political issues.7thedition. McGraw- Hill Higher Education. 2011. Print. Read More