Can we get something straight? If you entered the country without permission you are not a migrant, you are an illegal alien. You have absolutely no right to be here. And frankly, as far as I am concerned, you have no Constitutional protections beyond innocent until proven guilty. If you are not an American citizen and have no green card your only right is a humane and safe deportation.
As for the splitting families argument, well criminals are split from their families every day. Does the court worry about the family of a convicted drunk driver? Nope, and you don’t either.
If you are here illegally and now are rioting, all I can say is so long, farewell.
Interference with an officer is a crime, resisting arrest is a crime, even if you use non-violent means. Assaulting a police officer is a felony. Harboring an illegal is a crime. I have no sympathy. And I hope the feds use every means possible to track you down and send you to prison just like they did the J6 rioters.
BTW, you do know Trump has deported a fraction of the illegals sent packing by Obama, right? Is your anger over deportations or who is doing it? A little soul searching may be in order.
They have no souls to search.
ReplyDelete100% agree!!
ReplyDeleteHow do you feel about the businesses that hire these people to work in their factories, their slaughterhouses and meatpacking plants, or out in their fields to pick their crops, or in their hotels to clean the rooms, or to wash dishes and cook in your favorite restaurant? Are they as equally deserving of your scorn? How about that nice young Swede or South African with the charming accent that overstayed his/her visa and works at the coffeeshop down the street. Do you hate them too?
ReplyDeleteIf you have read here you would know I have long advocated that the employers of illegals should be punished harshly - $100K per Each illegal employee.
DeleteThose business deserve to FAIL.
ReplyDeleteI hope then you enjoy $15 heads of lettuce or $40 eggs. Low prices today depend on cheap and often undocumented immigrant labor. It’s telling that current immigrant roundups are not very discerning of status, and seem to be avoiding rural, red areas.
ReplyDeleteI agree that if someone has entered the country without permission, they have no legal right to be here. That much is true. But I also recognize it’s not always that simple. One of the bigger challenges today is sorting out what's true from what's not—especially when narratives get repeated so often they start sounding like facts.
ReplyDeleteWe’ve heard a lot about immigrants lately:
That they all crossed illegally,
That they were released from foreign prisons and are hardened criminals,
That they’re overrunning our cities with crime,
That they’re draining public resources and collecting benefits,
That they’re illegally voting,
And yes—even that they’re here to eat our pets.
That last one may sound absurd, but it's been used before as a form of fear-mongering, and it's completely unfounded.
Let’s look at a few facts:
Immigrants—documented or undocumented—do not receive federal benefits like food stamps or welfare. In fact, many pay taxes into the system and get little or nothing back.
They don’t vote in federal or state elections. A few local school districts allow noncitizens to vote in school board elections, primarily because their kids attend those schools—but that’s the exception, not the rule.
The majority of migrants during the Biden administration entered legally as asylum seekers under international and U.S. law. That means they followed legal channels to seek refuge from violence, persecution, or life-threatening conditions, often worsened by the pandemic. Like it or not, we are legally obligated to hear their cases.
As for the “criminal” label:
Study after study shows that immigrants commit fewer crimes than native-born citizens.
The idea that they were sent here as part of some plan to empty foreign prisons is unsupported by any credible data.
Now, I don’t disagree that people here illegally—meaning they crossed without authorization and didn’t apply for asylum—don’t have a legal right to remain. But even there, it’s not black and white.
What about someone who came here as a toddler, lived peacefully, raised a family, and now teaches in a public school? Should they be deported to a country they don’t even remember? That feels needlessly cruel.
And here’s another concern: if we justify sweeps without due process, it’s not just immigrants at risk. U.S. citizens can get caught up too—mistaken identity, lack of documentation on hand, or simply being in the wrong place at the wrong time. We have due process for a reason.
Finally—and this is important—this doesn't appear to be about rounding up hardened criminals at all. What we’re seeing in places like L.A. is enforcement targeting working families, neighbors, and union members with little to no criminal history. People who’ve been part of our communities for years.
So yes, I understand the point that family separation happens when anyone breaks the law. But this seems different. The evidence suggests this is less about justice and more about political theater—stoking fear, creating division, and punishing the most vulnerable for the sake of a narrative.
We have to ask: Are we being told the truth—or are we being played?
A local TV ststion put to lie that illegals do not get benefits - starting with massive tax credits. In many states they do get benefits on healthcare etc.
DeleteI get it. And I’m not sure I support mass deportation. But if you come here and commit a crime - even driving without insurance- then back you go.
DeleteI’ve said we can’t take 10,20 million buyers out of the economy. But we can tax the heck out of money transfers and go after employers.
Joe, I appreciate your willingness to engage with some nuance—particularly your push to go after employers who knowingly hire undocumented workers. That’s something I think many of us can agree on. If there were consistent enforcement of employer penalties, you’d likely see the demand drop significantly.
ReplyDeleteBut on a few of the other points, I’d like to offer some clarification, not as a challenge but in the interest of getting the full picture.
On the “benefits” issue:It’s a common belief that undocumented immigrants receive government handouts, but in most cases, they don’t qualify for federal programs like SNAP, Medicaid, or SSI. There are some exceptions at the state level for things like emergency care or prenatal services—but even then, they’re usually very limited and state-funded.
As for tax credits:Undocumented immigrants who use an ITIN can file taxes and sometimes claim the Child Tax Credit—but only if their children are U.S. citizens or legal residents, which is the case for many mixed-status families. So technically, yes, some do receive limited credits, but they also pay into Social Security, Medicare, and income taxes they will never benefit from.
On crime and deportation:I hear your point about even minor offenses like driving without insurance—but that’s where the reality gets murky. Someone can be ticketed for something like that and suddenly be separated from their family, job, and life of 20 years. Not every infraction deserves life-altering consequences. That’s why due process matters—so we’re not sweeping up long-settled, otherwise-lawful people over something like a busted taillight.
On remittances and taxing transfers:I understand the frustration, but we also have to recognize that those remittances are often lifelines to family members in struggling countries—and many legal immigrants send them too. It’s a complicated issue, and a blanket tax might hurt more people than it helps.
At the end of the day, I think we’re circling the same larger concern: How do we uphold the law while preserving our humanity and not letting fear drive policy?
I appreciate the space to have this conversation.
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I’ve been to Mexico several times - real Mexico not vacation Mexico. I understand why they want to come but we need to have borders and unfettered immigration is not good for any of us. It lowers wages and puts a burden on public services. Think schools and just having to put govt documents in Spanish. Not to mention the free healthcare at emergency rooms (that’s on Reagan)
Delete"The salient fact of American politics is that there are fifty to seventy million voters each of whom will volunteer to live, with his family, in a cardboard box under an overpass, and cook sparrows on an old curtain rod, if someone would only guarantee that the black, gay, Hispanic, liberal, whatever, in the next box over doesn’t have a curtain rod, or a sparrow to put on it."
ReplyDeleteAccording to a new InsiderAdvantage national poll, 59% of voters approve of the move, while just 39% disapprove — a striking +20 approval margin that makes clear where the country stands.
ReplyDeleteOuch