Immigration laws are becoming harsher on a seemingly daily basis.
Criminal law is one area in which the immigration laws can be seen at their most mean-spirited.
Immigrants are not protected from deportation by the ex post facto clause of the United States Constitution. As a result, crimes and conduct committed years before can suddenly become grounds for deportation with a stroke of the Congressional pen. Short of the death penalty, it is hard to imagine a more severe punishment to impose on a fellow human being. An immigrant need not actually serve jail time for the statute to apply. Recently in Texas the INS has arrested over 500 people and is in the process of deporting them based upon their drunk driving convictions.