A conflict of rights?

Two Chinese asylum seekers have sued our local and federal governments. They are suing for the “right” not to be deported. These individuals claim that they will be severely persecuted if they are sent back to China. They are therefore demanding the right to remain on safe and secure U.S. soil.

Do these asylum seekers have such a right?

Human rights activists claim that they do have such rights. Most of them would probably invoke the World War II example of the Nazi Holocaust, which led to the horrible destruction of more than six million Jews. Left-wing human rights proponents believe that we have a moral obligation to come to the rescue of others–to protect the rights of others.

Even classic liberals and libertarians would go along with the rights-based argument. In fact, it is the entire foundation–the essence–of the Libertarian political philosophy.

Every person has a right not to be deliberately harmed by others. The government’s sole legitimate function, after all, is to protect such individual rights.

Assuming that the Chinese asylum seekers are not lying for economic reasons, and that they would, in fact, be persecuted if repatriated, should we then let them stay? Again, would they have a right to stay? This is the moral aspect of the question.

Now consider the practical side. If we established such a human rights precedent, if we granted these Chinese refugees political asylum, what would happen?

Millions more would undoubtedly be encouraged to come. More boats would be diverted to Tinian. The CNMI government, already reeling from serious financial pressures, would suffer enormous financial losses and teeter precariously on the verge of bankruptcy? Can we allow that to happen?

(We have already spent close to a million dollars and the feds still have yet to reimburse us for our expenses.)

Our government has a duty and a responsibility to safeguard the rights of its residents and citizens; The CNMI government has no moral obligation to protect the rights of more than one billion mainland Chinese citizens. Nor does the federal government. The United States government simply has no constitutional obligation to protect the rights of every individual around the world.

I say, deport them! They have no right to expect us to go bankrupt trying to save them from political persecution.