Gypsy Prejudice?

France got in a lot of trouble from the EU for its recent deportation of many Roma people (not Romanian, Roma, as in gypsies). They dismantled nearly 100 camps and deported approximately 1,000 of them, mostly back to Romania. The EU is deciding on whether or not to fine France, claiming that the mass deportation was the result of discrimination against the Roma people. EU Justice Commissioner Viviane Reding was angered by it, saying that "people are being removed from a member state of the European Union just because they belong to an ethnic minority."

She went on to say that "After 11 years of experience on the commission, I even go further: This is a disgrace. Discrimination on the basis or ethnic origin or race has no place in Europe."

So, is she right? Was this deportation the result of racial and ethnic discrimination?

Well, she's probably right in some respect. France, historically, has not been particularly friendly to immigrants. Europe as a whole has not been friendly to the gypsies in particular, but does that mean that France did this based on that fact?

Well, we have to understand that those people were there illegally, setting up camps on public property and working under the table and not paying taxes. France was well within their legal right to deport them. Think about what the United States does every year. Is there discrimination against Hispanics? Probably, but the US is well within its rights to deport them because of their illegal status.

This case is a legal issue. France deported them because they were illegal, just as they would any other illegal citizen. Just because they historically have discriminated against doesn't necessarily prove that their actions were based on that. Correlation does not imply causation.

That being said, should France have deported them? Of course not.

Anyone who is willing to abandon tradition and family to try to make a better life for themselves is a hero, and heroes should be welcomed with open arms wherever they choose to go. People are naturally free, and therefore are free to immigrate as they please. This includes the Roma people. Instead of deporting them, France should have given them citizenship and allowed them to stay so that they could work and make money like the rest of France. Restriction of immigration is a restriction of freedom, and freedom does not care what country you happen to be in.

Translate this over to the US. Does the US have a right to deport people? Yes. Should they? No. They should give them citizenship and open up the borders.

So, to France (and quite frankly, the rest of the world), stop inhibiting the natural rights of free people. People are free to move about as they please for whatever reason. If you think it happens to be a burden on the system, well then tough titties. Maybe you could try the free market alternative instead of maintaining a democratically socialist government. Whatever you do, understand this: freedom doesn't end when you cross the border.