Legal Rights Are For Everybody - Or Nobody

Recently, President Obama set aside some federal money to provide attorneys for the Central American children who made their way to this country and turned themselves in at the border. He did this because these children deserve a fair hearing in an immigration court (especially since many, if not most, would have their lives placed in danger if returned to their country of origin), and an attorney is a requirement for having a fair hearing.In fact, our Constitution guarantees everyone the right to an attorney when facing our legal system.

Unfortunately, a lot of people in this country don't agree with the president. The chart above was made from information in a new Rasmussen Poll (taken on September 29th and 30th of a random national sample of 1,000 likely voters, with a 3 point margin of error). It shows that a whopping 68% (nearly seven out of 10 Americans) don't think those children deserve the same rights that Americans have. They want them deported without a fair hearing.

That's a pretty head-hearted attitude, and it's very disappointing. But it's also unconstitutional. Our Constitution doesn't just guarantee legal rights to American citizens -- it guarantees those sam legal rights to everyone on American soil (regardless of who they are or why they are here). Our policing agencies and courts cannot treat a non-citizen in this country any differently than they would treat a citizen. Would we want a tourist to be abused and denied constitutional rights while visiting the United States? Of course not. Why then would we want to deny those rights to these unfortunate children?

These legal rights guaranteed by the Constitution must be granted to everyone in this country. Otherwise, we would have police and courts deciding whether a person has rights, or can be abused without recourse -- and if they can decide one person or group doesn't deserve any rights, then they can also decide any other individual or group doesn't deserve those rights. I don't think we should want to go down that road (especially with this country's history of denying rights to American citizens).

Rights are not something that should be parceled out at the whim of those in authority. They are either guaranteed to everybody, or to nobody.