Addressing the Intersection of Racial Justice and Immigrant Rights

Abstract

Addressing the Intersection of Racial Justice and Immigrant Rights
Bill Ong Hing
Professor of Law and Migration Studies
University of San Francisco School of Law

They say a picture is worth a thousand words. This Article is about the intersection of racial justice and immigrant rights. The images of Border Patrol officers on horseback in September using long “reins” or whips to stop Haitian migrants from entering an encampment on the banks of the Rio Grande River and “grabbing” some migrants by the shirt say it all. Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez denounced the actions as part of a system “designed for cruelty towards and dehumanization of immigrants.” To Representative Ilhan Omar the incidents constituted “human rights abuses . . . . Cruel, inhumane, and a violation of domestic and international law.”

In this Article, I have two main objectives. The first is to explore the intersection between racial justice and immigrant rights. The recent treatment of Haitian migrants is emblematic of that intersection. That intersection demonstrates how immigration laws and enforcement policies are prima facie evidence and a concrete manifestation of systemic and institutionalized racism. In short, this critical race theory critique explains why the battle for immigrant and refugee rights should be viewed as an important part of the battle for racial justice. My second goal is to begin a discussion on how immigrant rights attorneys and advocates can begin to incorporate this racial justice lens of United States immigration laws in their practice. In that spirit, I explore strategies for combating racial injustice in the criminal justice system (such as Murgia motions and the Black Rage defense) and consider how analogous approaches might be utilized in the immigration field.

Keywords: Immigration Enforcement, Racial Justice, Race and Immigration