Hexi Hunag A03 week 7

This week I read the "the criminalization of immigration and privatization of the immigration detention" and thought it was very interesting what the prison industrial complex is doing. First of all, I think that it's a terrible thing that our prisons are privatized and have gone out of control with the number of people they are incarcerating and also how unfitting the punishment is for the crime. From a strictly capitalist view what they're doing is brilliant but very inhumane and the fact that they see immigrants as less than human is what enables this to happen and is one of the early stages of genocide. However, borders exist for a reason and they should be respected. Of course, there are people who have been terrible victims of circumstance but that begs the question does a person's hardships allow them to violate the practices of the society they are entering? Does a person who has suffered more deserve to come to the US or any country for that matter than someone who has respected that country's expectations for entry? Nonetheless, we should not be criminalizing people who enter the US seeking a better life and punishing them, damaging their psyche and cause them to likey reenter the system soon after through the prison "revolving door" but reinforcing good behavior. I think a good compromise would be to allow have a more accessible immigration program but not allow them all the protections and voting rights as a citizen, reward them with more and more rights and protections and then make them a citizen, this way we are encouraging better behavior by positive reinforcement, being humane to those in harsh circumstances and not upsetting those who went through the proper channels to enter the US legally.

I linked a video to George Carlin's piece on rights, where he talks about how there is no such thing as natural rights or God-given rights, only privileges.

Ackerman, A. R. (n.d.). The criminalization of immigration and the privatization of the immigration detentions: implications for justice.