Of the Bill of Rights, and of Making Criminals out of those who aren't

   If you study who is protected most under the Bill of Rights, you might want to consider the plight of the immigrant.
   Make that, the "illegal" immigrant.
   The Founding Fathers clearly were very concerned that people not be falsely accused, nor wrongly jailed, for amendments four through eight are pretty much devoted to protecting those accused of crimes. In total, no less than 14 protections for the accused are scattered through our Bill of Rights.
   Surely, the founders wanted to protect against government's making criminals out of those who are not criminals. More than anything, this is what the Bill of Rights is about.
   So, consider our undocumented immigrants, and whether they are unjustly rushed into the circle of "criminals." We even call them "illegal" immigrants, which from the start places them in the category of criminals.
   But, do they belong there?
   Consider: The immigrant becomes illegal for no worse of an act than drifting too far to the north. He commits no more of a crime than breathing American air, and standing on American soil. Well, is that not the full measure of his crime? Is that not the whole of what he is doing wrong? For simply breathing American air and standing on American soil, he is tossed into the circle of criminals.
   You forgive me, but I certainly consider it brandishing the criminal label upon him when the criminal label does not belong upon him.
   The founders devoted much of the Bill of Rights to safeguarding against government making criminals out of those who are not. I would suggest, when it comes to the immigrant, that is precisely what we are doing: We are making a criminal out of a person who is not.