Wednesday, May 25, 2005

Dangerous use of criminal trespass laws against immigrants

Recently, some local police departments have brought criminal trespass charges against immigrants who entered the United States without permission based on a creative theory that they are in a place where they are not licensed or privileged to be.

This seems to be a gross misuse of the law that is more suited to asking a legislature to pass a new law rather than to invoke an unprecedented application of the law against people whose lives will be shattered while the kinks are worked out. Or the police could have announced its position and allowed it to be challenged in court without first having to force any person to endure the stress of the misguided prosecution.

What people are not focusing enough on is how any wearing away of the rights of non-citizens always poses a threat to the rights of United States citizens.

The same danger exists here -- nothing stops local police from charging a United States citizen with a similar creative, unprecedented theories. For example, if someone has an arrest warrant against them and they are supposed to report to a police station, can the police charge them with criminal trespass because they don't have permission to be anywhere except the police station?

If someone is late for a court hearing, can they be charged with criminal trespass because they have no permission to be anywhere outside the courthouse? We can charge Michael Jackson with criminal trespass because he was late by an hour for one of his court hearings.

If someone refuses to stop when a police officer orders them to, can they be charged with criminal trespass for being somewhere they have no right to be?

If a bartender tells a United States citizen to leave the bar and the patron is slow to leave, can he be charged with criminal trespass for being in the bar without permission?

If a United States citizen jaywalks, he can be charged with criminal trespass because he is standing in a location (the street outside the crosswalk) without permission.

If a United States citizen changes lanes without using his turn signal, he can be charged with criminal trespass because he is located in a car in a spot that he does not have permission to be at.

If an immigrant enters the United States with a valid visa, he applies to renew his visa, and the immigration authorities lose his application so his visa lapses for a week before he gets his renewal approved, can he be charged with criminal trespass for being in the United States during that one week without permission?

What other zany possibilities can you think of?

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