‘If I traverse any of the borders of twenty-two states, even with a green card in hand, I may be convicted of crimes variously defined as ‘lewd unnatural; lascivious conduct; deviate sexual intercourse; gross indecency; buggery or crimes against nature.’
This quote highlights the author’s tribulations as a legal resident alien in a racialized American society. The author suggests that although a green card is supposed to verify an immigrant’s identity as a documented non-citizen, it worsens their encounters with the broader American society. That is, carrying a green card automatically ascribes specific undesirable behaviors or characteristics to immigrants. Notably, they are viewed as criminals, and their conduct is subject to scrutiny at all times. If their conduct has been deemed a violation, they may be charged with crimes related to unnatural lewdness, lascivious behavior; deviant sexual relations; excessive immorality; forgery, or crimes against nature.
In truth, most immigrants do not meet any widely recognized description of a felon. Thus, strict immigration laws are ineffective in combating crime. Regrettably, immigration policy is usually guided by panic and stereotypes rather than factual data. Consequently, an ever-changing array of regulations and immigration policing procedures attach the connotation of wrongdoing to immigrants. In other words, immigrants are increasingly being characterized as threats. New categories of offenses have been developed that pertain solely to immigrants; expulsion has become a sanction for small violations. At the same time, measures targeted at ending illegal immigration have grown increasingly harsh instead of reasonable and realistic.
The criminalization of immigrants can be traced back to the era of the slave trade and the civil rights periods. That is to say, the excessive policing and scrutiny of immigrants has little to do with the security of the public but more with colonial racial stereotypes. For instance, the idea was that colonized and enslaved people were uncivilized, barbaric, and backward. Due to these qualities, various policies were used to alienate them from the rest of the civilized society, considered Europeans or whites. Frequently, violence was meted out on the enslaved to prevent them from perpetrating the ‘lewd unnatural; lascivious conduct; deviate sexual intercourse; gross indecency; buggery or crimes against nature.’
Today, several immigration laws are based on stereotypes instead of evidence. These policies criminalize an ever-expanding portion of the immigrant community by imposing a bias on the repercussions of illegal action. Immigrants who have a minor run-in with the law, like being charged with an infraction, may be detained for an indefinite period before being deported back to their motherland and prevented from returning. Accordingly, because of these changes in terminology and criteria of crime, the federal government has been revising what it implies to be a delinquent immigrant for decades.
Further, the quote echoes the miscarriage of justice frequently perpetrated on immigrants. In this case, the author suggests that carrying a green card instantly makes him guilty of any crime. Accordingly, the likelihood of being involved in or suspected of a crime implies automatic guilt. He is unlikely to get a fair trial or have his story heard if he is taken to court. Likewise, the charges against him are narrowed down to specific crimes that carry heavy sentences if he is convicted. The time for immigration policies to appropriately reflect the variety and intricacy of immigration in the U.S. is long overdue. Thus, facts should guide public policy, not unsubstantiated claims or sentiments.