oski003 said:
Other immigration loopholes can be filled in place of a wall. Babies born on U.S. soil should not automatically be citizens. Those seeking asylum should do so at embassies, not inside of the U.S.
The question is, "what do you do with someone who is illegally in your country?"
Before Trump, I don't believe most of America know that those entering the U.S. illegally were set free inside of our borders. Current immigration law is broken. Building a wall simplifies the issue. It also is a stance saying, "we are going to enforce our border."
Democrats can end the shutdown by funding and authorizing the wall. If not the wall, perhaps they can ask what a reasonable alternative would be that prevents illegal immigrants from being inside the United States.
Republicans have wanted for a long time to give No Quarter to anyone who has anything to do with south of the border origins. It's a racists thing, in my opinion, but never mind that.
There are many questions at play here:
1) if someone is here illegally, is it proper to just dump them in TJ? Even if they are from many countries south of there?
2) if a baby is born here to illegal parents, is it a citizen? Currently constitution says YES, now you are saying NO.
3) what about that Naturalization clause... if you are here for 7 (?) years you automatically earn citizenship. Why is that in my head? And yet, people are hear for decades and it doesn't happen. Why not?
4) add kids to that above. Dreamers. They were raised here and this is their culture and country. Yet republicans want to drop them off in TJ? That's just messed up!
5) more people are coming to US from India and China than Mexico, yet this is not in the public/political dialogue.
6) actually securing the border: there are many aspects that need to be addressed, but Republicans are only discussing ONE thing, a "wall".
7) people and drugs come thru airports, roadways, and shipping containers. Not being discussed.
8) we do not use exit-the-country tracking at airports because of the shared use of national and international terminals for exiting flights at airports. We stamp passports coming in, not going out. Discussed in a recent blog I heard. We should change that to address the
Visa overstay issue, which is bigger than southern border crossings.
8)
Wall can be climbed.
Wall can be dug under.
Slats can have drugs passed thru.
Wall alone does nothing to stop people who overcome such a barrier. Only agents do.
Are we going to man agents over 2000 miles of the border?
Wall blocks large animal migrations.
Wall/Fence can't be built in river.
Fence requires taking of land from owners, tribes.
Fence recessed from river traps some people between fence and river but still in USA. Not right.
What type of technology can be employed other than steel and/or cement - Republicans have not been addressing.
Republicans have allowed Trump to be the lead and sole negotiator, but all he knows is a simplistic concept of Me Win, You Lose. They have collectively not handled this discussion thoroughly (at all) and that's why Democrats oppose the, at face value.
If GOP wants to discuss "border security", there are many things to address. If they want to just discuss a "wall", there's nothing to discuss.
