3 ms·
I would not want to be a non-citizen in America. I love my country, but I agree with the general sentiment that we have things very wrong when it comes to treat
by dkokelley 14y ago
I would not want to be a non-citizen in America. I love my country, but I agree with the general sentiment that we have things very wrong when it comes to treatment of non-citizens. I believe that much of it stems from fears about 9/11. The Bill of Rights does lots to protect US citizens from an agressive/repressive government. The spirit of the law is that there are basic human rights that the government can't remove without due process. Unfortunately those "human" rights in practice only barely apply to US citizens.
- philwelch 14y agoPerhaps when entering the country, and there is a risk of deportation, and the difficulty of immigrating legally puts far too many people on unsafe footing due to the constant risk of being reported, but on a basic, everyday level you have the same rights. If you get pulled over on the road, the cop can't search your car without a warrant, whether you're a US citizen or just a tourist.
- dkokelley 14y agoThis is true, but I would argue that it's only true because of the assumption that random driver being pulled over is a citizen (or rather that you can't ask a citizen if he or she is a citizen. This was part of the big deal with Arizona's new laws a year or two ago). When writing my post, I was considering the "unlimited detainment", and lack of due process for non-citizens in too many special cases.