You know, I actually agree with the proposal from the editors of the Washington Post about what to do about the “caravan” of Central Americans and others who want to come into the United States that’s making its way across Mexico:
Notwithstanding Mr. Trump’s incendiary rhetoric, the problem of migrants is real. Many cross the border with their children and apply for asylum, overwhelming existing legal mechanisms, feeding what the president calls a “catch and release†revolving door for migrants freed as they await hearings, and contributing to a backlog of about 1 million cases in immigration courts.
A rational response would be to add to the 350 or so immigration judges, who cannot handle the tens of thousands of asylum claims flooding the immigration courts annually. The administration this year hired a few dozen judges, a fraction of what is required. As the caseload has more than quadrupled since 2006, the number of judges has not even doubled, according to congressional testimony in April by Judge A. Ashley Tabaddor, president of the National Association of Immigration Judges.
Further, I would send the judges to the border to adjudicate the cases right then and there. After all justice delayed is justice denied.
But what then? If history is any gauge about 1% of those in the caravan will actually be granted asylum and refugee status. Does anyone really believe that the people in the caravan will accept the judges’ decisions?
The underlying problem is that there are millions (I’ve seen an estimate of 100 million) in Latin America alone who, given a chance, would move to the United States to trade their present problems for a different set of problems. For decades we’ve been treating our own laws with a wink and a nod. If we won’t enforce our laws, who will?
One of the things that has occurred to me is that mass immigration is the present generation’s version of the Peace Corps. Instead of going to far away places with dirt and poverty and disease and civil unrest to make the world a better place they’re bringing the world here. That way they can make the world a better place without courage or commitment or leaving their Internet connections.
“That way they can make the world a better place with(out) courage or commitment or leaving their Internet connections.â€
And that’s progressivism in a nutshell. I care, therefore I’m superior to you. As your superior I have standing to dictate what you will do with my plan to save the world, and how you will pay for it. Report back to me in a month, I’m off to the gym, and then sushi.
then there’s the problem of a sizable chunk of the leadership class is able and willing to subvert what laws we do have.
That’s always been the case. But the difference between now and 50 or 100 years ago is that they can’t subvert the laws for as long without everyone’s knowing about it.
But who really cares about any of this? The caravan was a bust, unless you were old, white, and glued to television or Facebook. It’s degrading to care about ‘dirty’ migrants approaching the dear dear borders of this country. It’s like being terrified of marijuana. I honestly don’t expect a majority arguing for open borders in my lifetime. Maybe I’m wrong. But Trump has made nativism the equivalent of a retro ad about how weed is a Commie tool. He turned it into a defective joke.