Morals and the Criminal Law: Illegal Immigration - Assignment Example

Morals and the Criminal Law: Illegal Immigration Lord Patrick Devlin aimed at establishing the limits over which society can legislate what some of the members feel was morally wrong. “Nothing should be punished by the law that does not lie beyond the limits of tolerance” seeks to develop a basis for developing interventions on necessary for the maintenance of the society (Devlin 16). Argues that “No society can do without intolerance, indignation, and disgust” (Devlin 17) to imply these feelings are necessary in society since they are what determines the legislative intervention that will be necessary to prevent the situation from escalating when it has already surpassed the limits of tolerance. However, legislation against an act that some in society disapproves has to consider the effects it has on others to avoid infringement into people’s rights as noted elsewhere. Devlin asserts, “But before a society can put a practice beyond the limits of tolerance there must be a deliberate judgement that the practice is injurious to society (Dyzenhaus, Moreau and Ripstein 383). It is therefore such feelings that lead to society exercising checks and balances “to deprive the individual of freedom of choice” and to prevent them from perpetuating the acts (Devlin 17). Devlin provides for important criteria for exercising regulation against practices by individuals based on intolerance, indignation, and disgust. The three provides room for individuals to exercise their personal choices in private and to some extend in public thereby preventing a situation where individuals will have to sacrifice the expression most of their preferences to appease the society. The inclusion of intolerance, indignation, and disgust also provides a basis for defining the extent to which individual liberty should be restricted. There is need for intervention to balance between the danger of the practices by the individual to society in the one hand and the necessary restrictions against the individual in the other. The provisions for exercising individual liberty to the maximum level of social tolerance provides an alternative principle to the basis of criminal law where choices made by the individual must give way to the convenience of the many. As much as the individual has to conform to the societal norms that govern the way of life, the society must also provide the individual will a level of personal liberty where their actions are allowed to prevail as long as they do not harm others. Devlin’s views on tolerance is applicable to the issue related the problems associated with illegal immigration as it since it deals with the perception of people towards others. In this case intolerance, indignation, and disgust towards illegal immigrants will determine the legislation necessary to tackle the problems associated with illegal immigration. The principles advocated by Devlin calls for regulation of the problem to be based on confines of societal tolerance of practices by individuals and the extent to which they are going to accommodate feelings of intolerance, indignation, and disgust. An important consideration in this case is the effect of illegal migration on the economy of the people. Most of the rhetoric against illegal immigration is based on “negative impact of illegal immigration on US public finances” with most of the citizens feeling illegal immigrants were denying them the chance to have gainful employment based on the policy by employers to go for the relatively cheaper cost of labor offered by the illegal immigrants (Hanson 11). The increased level negative attitude towards immigration demonstrates the growing intolerance towards this group of people. The principles that provides for legislation based on the assertions by Devlin provides grounds for legislation since arguments presented by most people against illegal immigrants depicts their indignation on the basis of the effect it has on the economy. These are genuine concerns since the illegal immigrants have in many cases been preferred by “corporate interests who reap the benefits of cheap labor” a situation that leaves many citizens without employment (Koven and Götzke 204). Considering the negative effects of illegal immigration on the livelihood of the citizens, Devlin would advocates for sanctions to reverse the ongoing situation based on the argument that “No society can do without intolerance, indication, and disgust; they are the forces behind the moral law. The problems associated with illegal immigration can also be tackled based on what Devlin notes as the need to protection of integrity of society. This concerns the argument against possible legal action or deportation of illegal immigrants back to their countries of origin where there have been some who argue that illegal immigrants should not be prosecuted or deported since they are only looking for a better life for themselves and that of their siblings. There are multiple levels of argument for this point considering that there are some who are considered illegal immigrants yet they were born and raised in the US while there are some who entered and have lived in the US for many years without being involved in any criminal offence. However, there are some illegal immigrants who whether born within the US or crossed the border have broken civil or criminal laws within the US. The distinction between those who have not been involved in criminal acts during the period of illegal residence and those who have been arrested or have criminal records leads to arguments that it is only those who have been involved in criminal acts that need to be deported or face the necessary legal action. Immanuel Kant asserts the moral claim by illegal migrants to pursue respite or refuge in a foreign country a “universal right of hospitality,” in situation where moving to the foreign lands is motivated by peaceful considerations (Molz, Germann and Gibson 179). This argument is based on the perception that the right to seek a better life belonged to all humanity on earth and therefore there was a need to share the earth with others. In conclusion, moral laws based on intolerance, indication, and disgust according to Devlin can be applied on the problems associated to illegal immigration based on the limits of social tolerance to the issues such as effects on the economy and involvement on acts that contravenes civil or criminal law. Works Cited Devlin, Patrick Baron. Morals and the criminal law. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1965. Print. Dyzenhaus, David, Sophia Reibetanz Moreau, and Arthur Ripstein, eds. Law and morality: readings in legal philosophy. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2007. Print. Hanson, Gordon Howard. The economics and policy of illegal immigration in the United States. Washington: Migration Policy Institute, 2009. Print. Koven, Steven G., and Frank Götzke. American immigration policy: Confronting the nation's challenges. New York: Springer, 2010. Molz, Jennie Germann, and Sarah Gibson, eds. Mobilizing hospitality: The ethics of social relations in a mobile world. Farnham: Ashgate Publishing Ltd., 2012. Read More