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Periscope by Niall O'Dowd

Illegal Immigrant opponents display "low level of moral reasoning" claims professor

Posted on Friday, July 09, 2010 at 08:39 AM

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An Irish American MInnesota public policy profesor has stated that opponent of immigration reform are essentially childish when it comes to their reason for opposing it and that the recent Arizona law displays a"very low level of moral reasoning."

She says government policies much more than the illegals themselves are to blame.

Professor Katherine Fennelly made the controversial comments writing in the Huffington Post.

"Analysis of much of the recent angry rhetoric over "illegal immigration" suggests that many Americans are stuck at the conventional level of moral development, in which the statement "they broke the law" becomes the main criterion for crafting policy responses. If you Google the phrase "what about illegal don't you understand," you will find thousands of adherents to this level of reasoning.

"Considering the immigration dilemma at a higher level of moral reasoning doesn't mean that there is one simple, 'right' policy response. However, it does require examining the root causes of undocumented immigration and its consequences through the lens of more universal principles of justice. If we study those root causes, it's easy to see that our own government policies have produced the problem, rather than contempt for the law on the part of those who enter without authorization or who overstay their visas.

She says that government policies not the illegals are to blame for the dilemma.

"Only one percent of all employment-based visas are issued to low skilled workers. In other words, for these individuals, there is no "line" to get into.

Instead, our government policies have led to a ritualized game of "Gotcha," in which immigrants are drawn to the U.S. because of the prospect of jobs that have gone unfilled by American workers; but once they cross the border, they are increasingly victimized by public anger and by mean-spirited local ordinances and laws.

The newly passed law in Arizona that makes it a crime to be present without a visa or for a legal resident to give a ride to someone known to be undocumented has just raised the stakes in this debate by furthering the game of "Gotcha" at a very low level of moral reasoning."

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DennisQ | Jul 13, 2010, 04:27 AM EDT

The missing word in my earlier post is pseudo-intellectual. It's an expression of right wing contempt for people who question the established order of things. Old style Republicans are people who solve problems by using punishment, a belief that fell out of favor in recent years. When MaryM inveighs against "moral relativism" and "corruption," she'd like to get hold of the wrongdoers and box their ears. Similarly, Monsoonman would take a shillelagh to union organizers - he'd call it cudgel capitalism. Deep down, the old timers believe America's troubles are the result of too many people getting away with things. What to do about America's failing economy? Punish the aliens!

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McNamara31 | Jul 12, 2010, 09:32 PM EDT

DennisQ... Great Post!

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DennisQ | Jul 12, 2010, 07:50 AM EDT

When I see terms like moral relativism and , I sense a yearning for the return of authoritarianism and regimentation. Unfortunately for Republicans, voters haven't forgotten the failed presidency of George W. Bush, a man who inherited peace and prosperity and left behind war and hardship. General Petraeus looks at least competent - a rare trait in a Republican these days. He should have declined the job of commander in Afghanistan. Now he won't be able to run until 2016.

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DennisQ | Jul 12, 2010, 12:12 AM EDT

You can spot them anywhere: the absolutists who inveigh against "moral relativism" - until they're asked their opinion on something they find morally ambiguous. Stridently pro-life, they're also pro-war and pro-death penalty. How many innocent civilians did pro-life George Bush kill in his unnecessary wars? It's as if Thou Shalt Not Kill was a saying, not a commandment. So called moral relativism only applies to sexual matters. Then the rule is, if it advantages women, it's wrong.

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Monsoonman | Jul 11, 2010, 01:15 PM EDT

Can't add anything else to what that MaryM232 has said. She is well caught up on the effete "pseudo" intellectualism, that pervades DC....Mao used the "The 100 flowers campaign" to purge his country of that mind set.

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MaryM232 | Jul 11, 2010, 11:20 AM EDT

What Professor Fennelly displays is moral relativism, and in all candor, shows herself to be on par with a teenager, who upon being told she can't have her own way, screams about how unfair it is, because she is incapable of thinking beyond what she wants, and why there are restrictions. Fennelly can't be bothered to think about US citizens being displaced, the serious unemployment problems here, or that two world respected academics, Matlof at UC Berkeley and Borjas at the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard, have proven that there is no worker or skills shortage of any kind in the US. That what she advocates is displacement, and her insistence is based on her own greed, and indifference. She hasn't a leg to stand on.

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MaryM232 | Jul 11, 2010, 11:14 AM EDT

It's not the law of the US that need fixing, but the corrupt politicians that need routing, and that includes the corrupt politicians elected by the people of Ireland, and Mexico. The Irish and Mexican citizenry need to be held to account for their moral relativism and corruption. My Irish grandparents were good, hardworking people, who didn't ask for anything to be handed to them, they came here legally, and were grateful to the US and transferred their loyalty to the US and no where else. What I see is Ireland and it's people showing contempt for the US, it's laws and citizenry.

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oldbear | Jul 10, 2010, 08:16 PM EDT

The "law of the land" is broken. Just fix it. Ferret out the outlaws (i.e. criminals) irregardless of race/ethnicity and provide a method of classification for America's inhabitants and arrange ways by which they (illegals) can get either a green card and/or earn citizenship early (such as serving in the military) provided they can pass the muster of English and associated tasks

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Monsoonman | Jul 10, 2010, 12:00 PM EDT

Oh Dennis: You are a broken record with the Fox News thingy, give it a rest. Most people who counter your ideology are intelligent thoughtful people who have a wide range of information at their fingertips and a large library of real life experience to counter your left wing blather, such as :"Americas absurdly restrictive immigration laws". For a change, back up your rhetoric with factual proof that America is absurdly restrictive with its immigration policies, in comparison to who?

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hancock | Jul 10, 2010, 11:50 AM EDT

You are obsessed with Fox news. Do you do anything but worry about Fox news? I live in New York, I just look down the street for info about illegal immigration in this country.

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DennisQ | Jul 10, 2010, 02:11 AM EDT

Hancock, Have you done anything other than watch Fox News for your information about immigration to this country? I'll bet the reason that you are repeating slogans here is because that's all you know. You are probably proud that you have done nothing at all to increase your knowledge.

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hancock | Jul 10, 2010, 01:24 AM EDT

Scratch a left winger and you usually find a hypocrite with no tangible, useful, real life skills. Plenty of people immigrate to this country LEGALLY every yeay. I don't think its our job to take care of endless amounts of Illegal Mexicans every year. I believe that would be Mexico's resposibility.

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DennisQ | Jul 10, 2010, 12:40 AM EDT

Scratch a right winger and you'll find an ignoramus who's proud to be one. George Bush ran on a pledge to govern "from the gut," and by all appearances he did so. What a mess he left behind! Similarly, right wing anti-immigration groups decide in advance what their research is going to show. That's how they come out with figures that that they can't document. They just make them up! They're really not much different from the Know Nothing movement of the 1850's which made similar claims about the threat immigrants allegedly pose to the American Way of Life. Early Nativists circulated their lies with pamphlets; today's Nativists do the same with websites.

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hollabackgurl | Jul 09, 2010, 09:04 PM EDT

Immoral, heartless, selfish, short-sighted, unkind, racist and self-sabotaging. Most so-called 'defenders' of mass deportations are one or more of these, in my experience.

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DennisQ | Jul 09, 2010, 07:12 PM EDT

Defenders of America's absurdly restrictive immigration policy display not just a low level of moral reasoning but a low level of other kinds of reasoning as well. For example, they appear to be completely flummoxed by statistics. We're told that immigrants cost American taxpayers "billions" every year, but the very report they cite to justify this claim uses figures that the authors seem to have pulled out of a hat. Incidentally, these same authors have no independent reputation other than their association with the anti-immigration group that pays them. It's significant that these pressure groups quote each other but nobody with credentials quotes them. Basically they're a bunch of phonies.

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