One Set of Rights for All in the U.S.

A question that some have asked in the debate emerging from Monday’s beatings of two suspected illegal immigrants by Riverside County sheriff’s deputies is whether a person illegally in the United States is entitled to America’s constitutionally based civil rights. There should be no confusion on this point. Freedoms and rights guaranteed by American law apply to anyone within this nation’s boundaries or jurisdictions.

The Constitution guarantees the right of every person in the United States to due process. The 14th Amendment holds, “No state shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any state deprive any person of life, liberty or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.”

In broadening the scope of the amendment, the Supreme Court ruled in 1886 in the case of Yick Wo vs. Hopkins that the 14th Amendment’s protection extended to all persons within U.S. jurisdiction regardless of nationality, national origin or race.

Since then, the high court has upheld that ruling in several cases. One was Plyler vs. Doe. In that 1982 case the court decided that persons in the United States even without proof of citizenship are entitled to equal protection under the laws.

Law enforcement agencies can and should use force when appropriate--for example, when an individual is armed, resists arrest or endangers the lives of others.

The U.S. Justice Department is investigating whether inappropriate force constituted a violation of the civil rights of Leticia Gonzalez and Enrique Funes when they were arrested Monday along a Los Angeles-area freeway after an 80-mile chase.

It’s inarguable that civil rights apply to every single person who sets foot in the United States. Americans should all be proud to have those guarantees.