Another time for a round of Good Idea/Bad Idea

Good idea:  Contacting the authorities when you’re being discriminated against while searching for an apartment.

Bad Idea: Contacting the authorities when you’re being discriminated against while searching for an apartment because you’re an illegal alien. (H/T Cardoza)

(AP) Anne Hobbs was angry. The head of the Nebraska Equal Opportunity Commission had just learned of a Hispanic couple who said their landlord asked for their driver’s licenses _ but didn’t ask the same of non-Hispanic tenants.

Hobbs said it sounded like the couple were “treated differently than everybody else because of national origin,” and sent the case to the state’s top prosecutor, hoping he would sue on their behalf under fair housing laws.

When Attorney General Jon Bruning received the case, he was angry, too _ for a different reason than Hobbs.

“I’m not going to use taxpayer dollars to file lawsuits for illegal aliens,” said Bruning after learning the couple was in the U.S. illegally. “You’re not going to get a free lawyer” from his office, he said, “if you’re not a citizen of this country.”

Okay, here’s a quick little lesson in economics for everyone.  Attorneys cost money.  Attorney Generals and their staffs are paid for using money (as opposed to, y’know, goats, corn, or Nebraska football season tickets).  This money comes from taxpayers.

Guess what an illegal immigrant probably isn’t?  That’s right - a taxpayer.

Yes, I know that illegal immigrants can pay sales taxes, and, since they’re probably renting, they’re undoubtedly helping their landlords to pay property taxes, as well.  That’s great on the state level in states that don’t have an income tax, which, incidentally, is a group that Nebraska does not belong to.  However, they still can’t pay federal taxes (no SSN means no payroll taxes), at least not without a certain level of difficulty and fraud, so they’re still comparable freeloaders, which means that, yes, they aren’t entitled to all of the same services that legal tax paying citizens are entitled to.  One of those services is access to a state-provided attorney in a discrimination suit.

But wait!, you’re undoubtedly thinking to yourself, doesn’t the Constitution demand that the state provide an attorney?

Yes it does - in cases where you are being accused, not in cases where you are prosecuting.  In short, you have the right to defend yourself in court, and you have a right to an attorney when you are being taken to court.  Amendment VI does not explicitly say that only citizens have that right, either, so (Note:  I am not a lawyer) that probably means that an illegal immigrant would have a right to an attorney in such a circumstance.  However, when you are filing a discrimination complaint, you are not being accused of anything - instead, you’re taking advantage of a service which the state has generously provided for you to use an attorney provided by the state on your behalf to prosecute someone.

To summarize:  Nebraska Cornhusker Lawyers 1, Illegal Immigrant Asstards 0.

1 Comment

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  By Gary, May 5, 2008 @ 7:57 pm

  I agree with your view on this, but I do see one small hitch in your argument. A large portion of illegal immigrants actually do pay taxes, under someone else’s SSN. The use of faked or stolen SSNs is huge and growing every day. Illegal immigrants are one of the major customers of identity thieves. Just think about the recent crackdown on McDonalds in town. All of those people probably had federal deductions taken out of their paychecks.

  That said, I still don’t think a non-citizen has the right to use government services for their gain. I think this because they are –>not citizens<–, not because they don’t pay taxes. Even if it was proved every one of them paid taxes, they still would not deserve access to such a service. The only exceptions to that rule I would agree with would be defense if accused of a crime and basic health care.

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