So you have no problem penalizing those who try to obey the law to accomodate those who don’t?
Regards,
Shodan
In rational, commonsensical terms, there is really only one arguably good reason to put any limits at all on immigration: To protect American workers from wage-competition from cheap immigrant labor. But, somehow, that never seems to be the main consideration driving the legislation.
This either stems from ignorance or cruelty, and it’s shameful either way. First of all, I think you’re referring to “Colombia”, not Columbia, the District of which contains our capital city.
There was a slogan that appeared as graffiti in immigrant neighborhoods of the UK in the 1970s: “We came here because you went there.” In other words, the policies and actions of the UK so damaged the Indian Subcontinent, Jamaica, West Africa, and so on, it pushed people into the migrant stream. The same is true for the United States. The US has spent centuries killing hope in Latin America, among other places. What the “Asian Tigers” (and Israel, and for a while Yugoslavia, and Costa Rica) were allowed to get away with (land reform, the developmental state in general) provoked cries of “OMG TEH KOMMUNISM!!!eleven!! REDS!!!” when Latin American governments and social movements tried it. The US responded with coups, support for right-wing dictators, contras, and all the rest. More subtle things happened with less violence, e.g. NAFTA and CAFTA throwing millions of people out of work and into the migrant stream.
I’m just old enough to remember graffiti in my hometown, reading “US Out of El Salvador!” Needless to say, I had to learn on my own about the death squads, and what the US has done and continues to do to El Salvador and its neighbors. I was infuriated by all of this, and it made a huge impact on the course of my life. You never hear about illegal immigrants from Costa Rica or Belize, do you? There aren’t many from Nicaragua at the moment, since the Sandinistas are doing things like community policing, to cut down on violent crime. El Salvador’s new FMLN government is trying to follow along, in the face of threats and subversion from the US-backed right wing.
Frankly, we owe it to them. But in any case, you shouldn’t worry. Even really conservative economists agree that immigrants go when and where there are jobs, and stop going when they have no such option. It’s supply and demand, the market, you know? If the US had no laws regarding immigration whatsoever, people would migrate to fill the demand, which would trigger a rise in costs as a given area becomes more desirable, which would then lead to a decrease or halt in migration. It’s the reason why affordable housing is a difficult issue in many cities, as more people want to live there now. It’s the market, you know?
Also, immigration is self-limiting. Remittances from the First World go a long way in poorer countries. It’s why emigration from Mexico has decreased, as the country has a sizable middle class now. The same is true for the Philippines, another country ravaged by Spanish/Japanese/American imperialism and neo-imperialism.
Oh, and regarding “more immigrants than the rest of the world combined”… That’s not true per capita.
What was the thing that Reagan did?
(Not being snarky - I’d like to know.)
How nice. Historical interventionism on the part of the United States as an affirmation of the validity of illegal immigration.
“Two wrongs make a right” is now the mantra of the Left. Their infinite humanist wisdom never fails.
Also, charming “street art” remembrances aside, it beggars the mind that the foreign peoples whose lives we supposedly destroyed would turn around and happily want to join the oppressor nation. Darth Vader killed my family so I enlisted in the Imperial Army!
No problem whatsoever, the lucky few who were allowed to immigrate here legally should consider themselves lucky that they ever had that option in the first place.
The intervention is ongoing. Let’s remove both of the “wrongs” by adopting a non-interventionist foreign policy (like FDR’s “Good Neighbor Policy” towards Latin America) and legalizing immigration for low-skilled workers, because the economy needs some, and because they deserve it, and because it helps almost everyone.
Luke Skywalker wanted to join the Imperial Naval Academy, and he already hated the Empire before they killed his aunt and uncle. Desperate people will do what they have to do.
Within reason, I am OK with it. There’s no need to throw the book at everyone for every little infraction. Of course, DA’s exist at a much lower level in the hierarchy than the President, so I would expect them to have less latitude than the President.
Which is not to say that they shouldn’t be held accountable. If a DA decides to stop prosecuting marijuana cases, that’s within his power (I think; we’ll assume so for the sake of argument), but if this makes everyone else unhappy, there are ways to replace him.
Congress has several options. They can impeach a President. They also control funding, so they can shut down the government until an agreement is reached.
There are also options through the courts. The courts have quite a bit of power when it comes to interpreting conflicts between laws and executive orders. Heck, the courts could side with the President, though that would be one interesting precedent. That’s why I say this situation could just as easily be a landmark issue or a forgotten footnote.
Why does it have to be either/or?
I think both are valid concerns, and both are part of the same issue.
If the Republicans weren’t opposed to Obama’s policy, then they would vote for such a law. This is not a secret. But that doesn’t mean there are not also concerns over a power grab by Obama.
It is an abuse of power. Prosecutorial discretion was never meant to be used as a way to not enforce laws a President doesn’t want enforced.
I think that’s an important point.
Scenario 1: We have only so many law enforcement officials, and I need to prioritize where we put them to use best.
Scenario 2: This law is not fair, and so I will choose not to enforce it.
Scenario 2 is fine and dandy until the guy from the other political party picks a law he doesn’t like, but that you do like.
How hard would it be for a GOP President to say, “We’re not going to go after any taxpayer who has paid at least 10% of his gross income in taxes. Resources would be best used to go after those evaders who pay no taxes at all.”
Also, there are Armenians in Turkey today. Some are there because they are the descendants of the urban Armenians (and others who were) spared by the Ottomans, but others have migrated in recent years. I’m not sure of their legal status by and large, but the analogy holds (the Republic of Turkey is not the Ottoman Empire, but considering the attitudes and positions held on both sides, the comparison is apt). People go where economic opportunities beckon, even in a case like that.
Good intention is common sense. Its the other kind that is stupid.
“John Marshall has made his decision; now let him enforce it!”
–President Andrew Jackson, 1832
As for complaints that these immigrants should be following the legal process, they are. For most immigrants to the US, the only legal way in is to come in and hope for amnesty. If we want them to choose a different option, then we have to give them one.
Well, they’re not. I think it’s that we don’t want them to come in. So the question is, how do we make sure that only the immigrants we want to come to the US come to the US?
You seriously think the issue is that we don’t want these immigrants to come? Our very way of life practically depends on the cheap labor they provide. We don’t mind them bring here, we just want to be able to keep them confined to lower caste status.
What is this nonsense. The only legal way to immigrate is to break the law by entering illegally?
Jesus Christ, just admit these people are breaking the law. They are here illegally. Entering the country illegally is an illegal act. It is not the process of legal immigration.
The legal way to immigrate is to be legally granted the opportunity to immigrate. This is kindergarten stuff and so many smart people refuse to learn their ABC’s.
There aren’t enough visas for lower-skilled workers from most places, despite the economic necessity for them, along with the US turning them into refugees in the first place. There is no line in which they can get.
I’m not sure who “we” are here, but the market, among other things, plainly wants them to come.
Quoted very effectively in The Crow, released twenty years ago, in the scene that cost Brandon Lee his life.