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What rights do Illegal Immigrants have that legal residents do not?

I keep hearing people make the argument that illegal immigrants have more rights than legal resident aliens or citizens. I'm curious exactly what rights people think they have that others don't.

Clearly not any of the rights reserved in Article IV or the 14th Amendment for citizens. Clearly not any of the protections from the 1st, 4th, 5th or 6th Amendment, which apply to everyone.

So, exactly what rights do Illegal Immigrants have that legal residents do not?

Update:

Oh, and please cite your sources. Saying "they can do X and legal residents cannot" is meaningless unless you provide some source other than rumor.

Update 2:

To NeilR and Niecy -- you apparently missed the part about citing your sources. How do illegal immigrants have the legal right to those services, where legal residents do not?

32 Answers

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  • Piffle
    Lv 4
    1 decade ago
    Favorite Answer

    i think its just their presence.

    when its hard to get a job and you have illegal immegrants taking down the av wage, people will think bad of them

    you can change that untill the problem, which is what it is, is seen to.

  • Anonymous
    1 decade ago

    There is a misconception that the that the bill of rights only applies to citizens. If that were true then even lawful permanent residents could have their homes searched without a warrant or could be arrested and held indefinitely.

    Not really an answer to your question because there can be no answer. Anything cited is in the abstract and has nothing to do with individual rights as spelled out in the constitution.

  • robak
    Lv 4
    5 years ago

    the main reason it does not make experience is via the fact that's merely incorrect. There are no reward attainable to unlawful immigrants that are no longer attainable to US electorate or criminal everlasting citizens. unlawful immigrants do no longer qualify for welfare or loose healthcare greater desirable than every physique else. An unlawful immigrant who will pay for coverage ought to be able to get greater appropriate therapy than a criminal everlasting resident who does not, yet there is not any loose lunch attainable to unlawful immigrants that isn't attainable to every physique else. It merely isn't real.

  • Anonymous
    1 decade ago

    I don't believe they can have more, but I have often heard the story of individuals who are citizens without insurance having to wait in an Emergency Room, while an illegal gets treatment.

    Is it true, who knows?

    I just want the feds to make a serious effort to enforce the current immigration laws and avoid compounding this mess they have created.

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  • 1 decade ago

    Illegal immigrants are covered by all the rights guaranteed by the Bill of Rights. Exercising those rights may subject them to deportation because of their alien status.

    Think about what this means if Congress were to pass a law that makes being in this country illegally a felony. Deportation would become a matter of criminal law. Instead of being expelled through an administrative proceeding, those accused would have the right to a jury trial and all the rules of evidence would apply. The government would be burdened with "proof beyond a reasonable doubt." Imagine the cost and the caseload.

    Source(s): Whether or not you're a citizen, you have these constitutional rights: The Right to Remain Silent. The Right to be Free from "Unreasonable Searches and Seizures". . The Right to Advocate for Change. Is this true????
  • DAR
    Lv 7
    1 decade ago

    They aren't 'legal' rights. The point is that 'legal' appears to mean little to them, so that many steal services and don't pay taxes, etc. That is beyond coming in excess of the allotment of poor people we want to have to support, which is quite bad enough.

  • Sashie
    Lv 6
    1 decade ago

    I don't think the question is whether they have MORE rights than legal immigrants or citizens, but whether they have THE SAME rights ... and whether they SHOULD have the same rights ... wherever you're sitting on the fence on this issue, that discussion is moot if we don't address the issue of border security and enforcement of existing laws.

    We do have immigration laws, we even have "guest worker programs" already on the books ... why do we need a comprehensive reform? What exactly do we have to change?

    What gripes people the most is the open border policy, the fact that "illegals" undoubtedly do cost society a lot of money which they themselves haven't contributed to ... their children go to school, they get health care etc. since they are American citizens if they're born here ... the fact of so called "anchor babies", which, no matter what various supreme court decisions have come up with, sounds like so much hogwash ... who decides who is "under the jurisdiction of" the United States? Is EVERYONE then, even a tourist here for a week, under the jurisdiction of the United States? I have used the example before ... let's say 10,000 pregnant Moslem women arrive in the United States every month, and they have their babies here ... let's say they bring up their children to hate America, and let's say that their fathers have to be admitted to the US, because we can't separate families ... well, it won't take long before we have an unknown and unknowable amount of home grown terrorists on our soil ... Yes, if they commit a crime here they can be apprehended, but does that REALLY give everyone the right to be, in every instance, under the jurisdiction of the United States? I'm asking, because I don't know ... I don't understand how that can be ... and I don't understand how it can be in any way interpreted as a free for all, and defended as such ...

    I also genuinely don't understand how people who have knowingly broken the United States laws could be singled out for "amnesty" ... and how that could or should in any way be defended, and I don't understand how people could expect American citizens to accept that without proper discussions and showing facts ... facts that prove how law breaking on a massive scale is somehow good for this country ... I could at a pinch understand "amnesty" for legal applicants, who are and have been waiting patiently for years, who have had their backgrounds and medicals checked ... I can't understand why law breakers should get "amnesty", and legal applicants shouldn't ...

    So, this amnesty then should be based on paying back taxes (how will that be calculated and by whom?), a fine, and being "screened" ... at whose expense? And how do we actually find these people to screen, and will they have enough money for the screening process? Or will the tax payer have to pay for that screening too? And if so, should the legal applicants, who have paid for their screening, in fairness get their money back?

    We know a large number of crimes are being committed by illegals .. yes, legal citizens commit crime too, but the crimes committed by illegals are PREVENTABLE crimes ... e.g. if they weren't here, the crimes couldn't have taken place ...

    We can quote the Constitution until we're blue in the face .. we KNOW without a shadow of a doubt that document fraud is rampant, by both legals and illegals, we know that illegals are signed up to vote ... you don't need any links and sources, you have seen them many times on this forum, and if you really do need them, I will find them for you ...

    This goes deeper than just what the Constitution says ... which seems to vary depending on which Supreme Court judge is interpreting it ... justice will have to be SEEN to be done, our representatives will have to be SEEN to represent us ... none of this is being done ... we hear the President wants a Comprehensive solution, which is exactly what we were supposed to receive in 1986 ... well, you know and I know that didn't happen ... our borders are still open, and companies who hire illegals have got away with it for decades ...

    Do you really wonder why people get fed up? Personally, I blame this and previous administrations, plus corporate greed, which goes hand in hand with the administration, for this sorry mess ....

    IF our Commander in Chief wanted to have our borders secured, don't you think he could? You bet he could, but he doesn't want to? Ever wondered why? Could it possibly have anything to do with NAFTA, CAFTA and the Super Highway? The fact that agreements have already been signed between Mexico, the U.S. and Canada? Without as much as informing the citizens of this country, apart from very scant references in the media?

    What really peeves me at least is the way this government considers the United States to be their own private piece of property, to buy and sell as they see fit ... and to hell with even informing the American citizens about decisions that are going to affect us and our children ...

  • 1 decade ago

    The fact is they should not be getting tax paid assistance since they are not legal citizens, they are law breakers. They did not live here paying for generations into this system. They freeloaded onto the legal tax payers backs and are getting subsidized assistance the near poverty level legal Americans do not qualify for. They abuse the system by using many different names and stolen or forged ID's and get more assistance that way. They came here illegally, why would they suddenly start following the law? They are CRIMINALS!!

  • 1 decade ago

    Try in-state college tuition. Military personnel in the same state due to military orders don't even get that benefit.

    Source(s): VA, TX state tuition laws, to name just two.
  • 1 decade ago

    illegal immigrants can vote ,there are also jobs in the work force that legal residents have access to that illegal immigrants can't have for example : you can;t practice law or politics if you are not a legal resident.

  • Anonymous
    1 decade ago

    1)Do not use me in your goofy Neo fundamental experiment first of all. Those are silly and not even remotely useful.

    2) I am not for our government parities the major ones anyway, they are a disappointment to the American ppl.

    3) They have rights because our government is not enforcing Federal laws that are in place now. Employers and any person who has knowledge and is supporting illegal aliens should be fined and charged with aiding and abetting. This is not happening and is encouraged. That is why State governments are balking at Federal laws and doing it themselves. It is happening in my state anyway. And lawsuits are not doing a thing to stop our State officials.

    4) If I broke a Federal law, I would be arrested. I can get out of it depending on if I can buy my justice. lol

    Source(s): I found this source. You are well aware of where to find the others. This one is easier: www.americanpatrol.com
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