WilliamC
Member
- Joined
- Nov 27, 2007
- Messages
- 6,682
You asked the question and I honestly answered it. The United States has the authority to regulate those who come and go within our borders; however, what they do not have is the legitimate authority to prohibit the free flow of trade and travel by limiting it to citizens.
I don't quite agree. The United States Federal Government has the authority to regulate those who come and go across our borders, that is the borders of the United States with other countries, and not within our borders, that is between States.
Since for the contiguous 48 States the only foreign countries that the United States has land borders with is Mexico and Canada, then the above premise implies that the United States Federal Government has the authority to regulate those individuals who come and go between Mexico and the United States, and between Canada and the United States.
When I was a kid, we used to travel from California to Mexico with no visas, passports, etc. and it was adequately regulated. I have no issue to debate with regards to regulate; however, that does not extend to a prohibition on people that come here to engage in lawful pursuits.
And so it should be so. But unfortunately today the United States Federal Government, through it's flawed domestic and foreign policies, has created conditions along the border that are no longer peaceful. Thus they have created a 'need' for more stringent border control and for identifying those criminals who congregate along the U.S. Mexico border.
And, since, you are dodging the issue about "illegal" aliens instead of dropping that term for the accurate undocumented foreigner, I feel that you want me to agree that there is some "problem" to solve when you simply need some appeasement. Create a Guest Worker program and be done with the cow manure.
I have repeatedly stated that until the flawed domestic and foreign policies of the United States Federal Government are addressed and rectified, then there is no peaceful solution to be had, including your idea of a guest worker program, which the United States already has.
Personally I have worked with many many foreign nationals from all over the world, and they all followed legal guest worker programs to get their visas.
But not all individuals entering the USA are looking for legitimate work are they?
The government has a law stating that it is a civil violation to enter the United States improperly. Then, THEY DO NOT PROVIDE A "LEGAL" MECHANISM FOR THE FACT SITUATION.
Imagine that, the United States Federal Government is f@%ked up.
Why am I not surprised?
What part of that do you not understand?
I am not arguing that the United States Federal Government has a rational immigration policy.
What part of that do you not understand?
But you seem to agree that the United States Federal Government does have the legitimate authority to set immigration policies, or am I wrong about that?
That is as plain of an English sentence that one can give you. Now, let us do the "legal" part:
People enter the United States without the requisite paperwork for the simple reason that no visa existscovering their fact situation. Congress is charged with providing us with an uniform Rule of Naturalization. (See Article 1 Section 8 of the United States Constitution) Congress hasn't even done that!
Again, why am I not surprised that the United States Federal Government has flawed immigration policies?
They do.
They also have flawed domestic and foreign policies that create circumstances that criminalize the US Mexico border in particular.
Do you disagree with this?
Let's do an analogy and maybe you can understand this:
A statute says that you must have a permit to carry a firearm in your state. So you contact state officials. They look at you with a blank look and say we don't issue a permit in this state. You have a Right to keep and bear Arms, so exactly what law are you breaking if you don't have a permit that does not exist?
I don't know where you're from but here in Mississippi I just need to go to my local State Troopers office and they will be kind enough to take care of my request for a concealed carry permit. So I don't follow your analogy.
You want to demand that people come here "legally." No such concept exists in the legal language as it pertains to this issue. Everything is not legal or illegal. Sometimes it is proper and improper. Proper and improper have nothing to do with "legal" or illegal. They are totally different concepts.
Of the dozens of foreign nationals I worked with over the years all had followed the requisite legal mumbo-jumbo to be in the United States so I don't follow your argument.
There are those who wish to avoid legal entry into the USA for nefarious purposes as well, and while the policy shouldn't be to treat all people this way (which it is incidentally but that's a different discussion) neither should it ignore this fact.
A cop issues you a ticket that is filled out improperly. Is it a crime? No, it is not. So how can his actions be illegal?
Now you are losing me. How is this related to immigration policy?
You have digressed to conflating.
I reiterate, Government is incompetent.
An anti - immigrant Congressman, who happens to an attorney, did propose legislation which would change 8 USC 1325 so that Improper Entry would be changed to Unlawful Entry. That legislation FAILED. If it were illegal to enter the U.S. without papers, it would not have been necessary to change the statute to read unalwful instead of its current IMPROPER.
How are my posts not fully answering your questions?
Oh I think you are doing better, but it isn't the minutia I'm interested in so much as understanding your world view.
Carry on.