Last night when my wife and I were watching the news, the reporter interviewed a teary young woman, an illegal immigrant brought to the United States as a child, who was obviously frightened about what would happen to her if Obama Administration’s Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program were eliminated.
There are several things that need to be understood.
- It is in fact illegal to enter the United States without having your authorization to enter the country reviewed by a duly constituted officer of the federal government. It’s a misdemeanor.
- Re-entering the country illegally after having once been deported is a felony.
- The DREAM-ers do not have a right to be here.
- The only policy that will satisfy immigration activists is open borders whether de facto or de jure.
- The only policy that will satisfy anti-immigration activists is expelling all illegal immigrants and erecting a wall, whether metaphorical or physical.
- The conditions that immigrants to this country experience when they come to this country are very different than those the immigrants of a century ago faced.
IMO mercy requires that there be some process by which some subset of those brought here illegally as children (“DREAM-ers” from the DREAM Act) may be allowed to remain. I don’t know how large a subset that is. I think the process should be fair and reasonable and shouldn’t be a moving target. I don’t believe 100% of those brought here illegally will qualify for any workable program.
No workable reform will satisfy the activists on either side. What should be done about the DREAM-ers?
Make’em pay.
I think all illegals should be I.D.ed, allowed to stay, and taxed at a higher rate commensurate with their status. Make illegal immigration a tougher decision financially for them. This will take workplace enforcement, but it’s bullshit that that cannot be done.
It’s the dumbest thing imaginable to pay for birth and education of the breeders’ progeny whether they be citizen or dreamer and then deny their right to contribute as trained adults by expelling them. If a glut of future workers is foreseen, the sensible policy would be to tax breeding rather than encourage it by pro-natalist tax and welfare benefits, as we do now.
Personally, I don’t think the Dreamers should be dealt with separately from a broader reform. Since that is impossible at present, I think there needs to be a process that would allow some of them to stay. Since that should, ideally, also come from legislation, which is somewhat less impossible compared to broader reform, I don’t see any alternative to the Dreamers being subject to the whims of constitutionally dubious Executive actions.
Were I a dreamer I’d keep my nose clean and stay under the radar as much as possible.
Andy:
IMO there’s a good rationale for treating at least some DREAM-ers differently. No mens rea.
I think this may be the one area where people might be willing to bend on the issue of immigration. You will never make the extremists happy but this may be a good measure of the influence of those extremists.
Steve
Dave,
I agree many should be treated differently, I would just prefer it all be part of a systemic reform. There are, after all, more dreamers being “created” every day.
Steve,
I agree – if people can’t agree to something regarding dreamers then there is no hope of agreement on anything.
IMO “the extremists” are in complete control of the political apparatus.
They are here illegally. They have to leave. While waiting to leave, they should be kept in concentration camps.
Blanket amnesty is the only rational and moral response.
Blanket amnesty on an annual basis?
If that’s what you want, sure.
Open borders then, Ben?
If that’s what you want, sure. I want you to be happy.