Why does the use of “rights” language transform the nature of the immigration debate?
Yuengert: The word “rights” is often the last thing that those who are angry about immigration want to hear. Americans often misunderstand what the popes mean when they claim that there is a right to migrate. In our culture, rights claims are made in an absolute way — rights are often invoked as a way of ending debate, unless someone else claims a competing right, in which case nothing is resolved and everyone feels aggrieved. In contrast, a rights claim in Catholic thought is a reminder of the dignity of those affected by our policies. Rights claims are meant to begin debates, not to end them, and to orient those debates toward the real human goods at stake in policy deliberations. Thus, claims about the rights of migrants are an encouragement to take into account the very real benefits of immigration to immigrants themselves — not to construct policy solely on the basis of its effects on citizens. Q: What does it mean that there is a right to migrate, and why does the right exist?
