Illegal Immigration; where do you stand?

[considerations]

I have mixed feelings about the Border Patrol situation.  All of a sudden there are a bunch of these guys patrolling the highway (which follows the coast - and Canada is in sight 17 miles north across the water).

They have been setting up roadblocks, checking papers, now they have dogs, and they are planning to build a detention center in Port Angeles. 

They've also been holding public meetings all over the Peninsula to tell folks that stopping people to check their citizenship is constitutional.....

"Yeah we're the good guys but we don't have to have a reason to do this - it is constitutional." 

They are trying to protect us from the Canadians?   It's giving me the willys.   

[MountainDon]

Not from the Canadians, but from whoever their more lax standards might have allowed entry to Canada. 

Maybe?

Ahmed Ressam, an Algerian living in Canada, planned to bomb Los Angeles International Airport (LAX). He was arrested at Port Angeles, Washington after crossing by ferry from Victoria, British Columbia, on December 14, 1999. Customs officials then found nitroglycerin and four timing devices concealed in a spare tire well of his automobile.

[Redoverfarm]

I have to agree w/ Don on this.  I don't think we have anything to fear from a Canadian but who has taken up residency in their country for the oppurtunity to make an entry into the US.  But then again just like Americans there are rotten apples in every basket and I would say that Canada has them also.  But how do you know who they are.  Would you vouch for someone you have never met before?  I wouldn't and I think if the proper training is given to the Border Patrol I would rather them do it.

[considerations]

Terrorist arrested at Port Angeles.... I was here when it happened.  But.  The normal process of entry security pegged and detained him. 

Not this stuff like we are seeing now.   They pull over buses and go person to person, checking papers. 

It's new, its really different.  No probable cause.  If they were doing this in your area you might feel differently. 

No I don't have anything to hide, but if they were really doing their job, they would know the area and its residents, a license plate should tell them what they need to know, and they'd leave the locals alone. 

[Virginia Gent]

Well since this was dug up, I'll give my .02 cents on my views of immigration.

I understand we are a nation of immigrants and I'm well aware of what our Statue of Liberty says, however the worlds population is growing fast and we have a limited number of resources. Some take years to replenish themselves, others take millenia-plus to replenish. That said, I think our country is at a point where immigration levels should be set to "Replacement Level Only".

This gentleman in this video does a stand-up job explaining it: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n7WJeqxuOfQ

[Whitlock]

I don't know if this has been posted here yet



http://www.maldef.org/news/releases/vicente_barnett_2_18_09/

[MountainDon]

No, I've never seen that one before, Whitlock.

As with all, or most news stories we are only being shown the one side of the story. Threatening people when they are not actively threatening you is always a bad idea, even if they are seemingly doing something illegal.


I am somewhat conflicted on this topic. I am a believer in enforcement of immigration laws. At the same time I do recognize there is a need for lower cost labor in many walks of American life. I guess I'd be happy if the present laws were honored by all.


As for what the future will bring, recent reading has convinced me that the USA will actually be searching out import labor in the next 50 years or so.

[muldoon]

I think Kinky Friedman had a good plan,

hire 5 mexican generals; one for different sections of the border.  ie, california, texas, etc.  Put 1 million dollars in escrow for each general.  every immigrant we catch coming over in there section-remove 10,000 dollars from their escrow.  repeat every year - refilling the coffers and keeping incentives up. 

much cheaper than a wall