Under our own and international law, anybody “unauthorized” crossing the border with “intent” (just the intent) to ask for asylum, is never committing a crime. We, the USA, pushed for this international agreement and agreed to it 1951. It is a ratified treaty. Our despicable present administration cannot weasel out of it, like they did, to our shame, with the Treaty Germany, France, Great Britain, the EU, Russia and China have (have, not had!) with Iran.
When 400,000 Hungarians, 5% of the population, fled Hungary in 1956, we insisted that Austria accept them, and there was no problem for them to go on to Germany, and even the United States. Even so they spoke an incomprehensible language, and maybe German, but rarely English. I know, because like many High School Students I went and helped.
So let me try this again: Treating people as criminals when asking for Asylum, where you may have entered the country unauthorized, is expressively forbidden in the 1951 Convention on the Status of Refugees, which the United States has ratified, i.e. it is a treaty. A TREATY! Ratified! Part of the Constitutional law! Interpol is waiting for you, Bill Barr.
Because, Article VI of the US Constitution declares our treaties “the supreme Law of the Land.” Prosecuting individuals fleeing life-threatening persecution and seeking asylum at our borders is illegal under national and international law. It is a crime. Crime! As soon as the lawless crowd who now has usurped DoJ has been evicted, maybe justice will be done. “Nuernberg justice”, when just having followed orders did not protect you from being hung. I learned well under the US approved curriculum, and Robert H. Jackson was a Saint.
In particular the 1951 Refugee Convention prohibits parties to the Convention from imposing on refugees
- “penalties, on account of their unauthorized entry or presence”,
or who
- “who are present in their territory without authorization, provided they present themselves without delay to the authorities and show good cause for their unauthorized (not illegal) entry or presence.”
Asylum seekers have constitutional US rights! And since we are a common law country, the sky is the limit for punishment.
And apart from the legal aspect and our image ad the Ugly Americans, internally do want Immigrants knowing from Research that their is a plus for the Country. Yeah, in the average we know better than the Trumpist5a d the zealots fronm the Tea Party. We are good intelligent people, because Pew Research tells us letting Immigrants in is good for the country.
The Trump Administrations policy, in our name, of prosecuting every person who crosses the border, no matter his or her circumstance, contravenes the US international treaty obligations. And it is shameful for me, being now a US citizen: another mill stone around my neck. I understand the shock Ilhan Omar must have felt when she was confronted with US racial animosity, ill prepared by her grandfather tales of a Golden land.
Those American perpetrators should remember that European Authorities (here Great Britain on request of Spain) held the Murder-President Auguste Pinochet in jail for 15 months, before, in view of his advanced age, he was released into House Arrest in Chile, where he had to face numerous law suits for murder. He surely had not personally murdered people. Unfortunately, he died before he could be hung as a deterrence for would be dictators. Like Dictator-Presidents Erdogan and Dictator -Premier Modi, the beloved buddies of the Present Occupant of the White House.
Many of these families at our border are escaping unimaginable persecution in their home countries. Te US treatment of them It is particular shameful because they are on an Exodus from one of the triangles of misery the US has created in several regions of the world, bombing their cities, while pretending to liberate those people. They are part of an Exodus, not migrants, when when whole villages are emptying out, Hispanics fleeing from the deadly, US-contra created, Northern Triangle.