Biden’s Immigration Plan is Racist and Possibly Unconstitutional | Binetti

By Christopher Binetti
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Biden did not talk about immigration much during the Campaign or during most of the transition. Now that he has a friendly Senate, a friendlier House, and control of the Executive Branch, he is going to make immigration a priority for the first time. His initial plan is not necessarily going to be his final plan, but he right now is offering to give unearned amnesty to the vast majority of over 11 million unauthorized immigrants. He is also talking about giving near-automatic citizenship over 8 years to unauthorized immigrants, while not necessarily giving automatic citizenship to legal immigrants who have here longer than eight years.

Also, citizenship is supposed to come seven years after permanent legal status, but Biden’s plan would make it five years for unauthorized immigrants, but longer for legal immigrants. Not only this, but getting legal permanent status (Green Cards) will be made easier for unauthorized immigrants than for legal immigrants.

Most unauthorized immigrants are Latino and legal immigrants are much less likely to be Latino. Moreover, some ethnic groups have a much harder time coming to this country due to having to cross whole oceans and thus are disproportionately affected by an advantage for unauthorized immigrants over legal immigrants. Italians, for example, are almost never unauthorized immigrants and have a much harder time coming here, legal or illegally, than immigrants from Latin America.

Biden’s plan does what Democrats have long argued is both racist and unconstitutional: disproportionately favoring one racial or ethnic category. As Democrats like me have long argued, disproportionately discriminating on race for political purposes is unconstitutional. However, the treatment of unauthorized immigrants more favorably than legal immigrants, as seems to be the case, is disproportionately to the benefit of one racial/ethnic group: Latinos (specifically of certain ethnicities, not all Latinos) to the detriment of other racial and ethnic groups.

This is a type of voter suppression, however the ACLU is not going to object to it. Italians have a hard time coming to this country legally and since it is hard to come here illegally across the sea, we are disproportionately disenfranchised by this proposal. Other ethnic groups, such as Indian Americans, will be likewise disproportionately disenfranchised. In the end, the Democrats, for partisan-political reasons, will be granting preferred status to one ethnic or racial group, which in all other situations would have the Democrats outraged as the guardians of anti-racism.

Make no mistake, the Party with which I am associated is doing something to change the voting demographics on purpose. 11 million new citizens will ensure structural advantages in the voting math for a generation if not longer. Already, the inclusion of non-voting unauthorized immigrants is used for apportionment and redistricting creates the unconstitutional situation in which voters in different districts have different voting power due to malrepresentation.

The Democrats only care about voter suppression when it affects their constituents. Indian Americans and Italian Americans are not viewed as their constituents, so depriving them of voting power, effectively disenfranchising them, does not seem to bother Democrats or civil society, which is 90 percent Democratic. However, the Constitution possibly has a problem with flooding the voter roles with people of one race, who are not legally entitled to even be here, in order to outvote people who have come to this country legally, who are disproportionately in different ethnic or racial categories than the preferred group.

Civil rights should be for everyone. However, my Party refuses to acknowledge the civil rights of Italian Americans and other ethnic groups. Liberal democracy will continue to crater in this country if your right to vote is based strictly on which party you are likely to support. As a liberal Democrat, I know what happens to Italian Americans in New Jersey due to our perceived “undesirable” status. It is is important to not nationalize this racist policy of ethnic preference in which the politicians literally pick their own voters.

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Dr. Christopher Binetti is a political scientist, historian, adjunct professor, and President of the non-partisan non-profit 501c3 civil rights organization, the Italian American Movement.

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Christopher Binetti
About Christopher Binetti 2 Articles
Dr. Christopher Binetti is a political scientist, historian, adjunct professor, and President of the non-partisan non-profit 501c3 civil rights organization, the Italian American Movement.