Trollminator wrote:
You don't really deserve a long response but I care about this issue a lot. First of all, show some respect as despite the right-wing propaganda you are well aware that bad actors make up a very tiny percentage of migrants. If you can't see through that and understand the level of danger and losses those families have endured leading to their total desperation to decide to leave everything behind and risk their lives crossing a vast body of water in a packed vessel then you are simply subhuman.
Now, if you mean to say what do we do to prevent bad actors from coming in and shouldn't there be respect for borders then that is a discussion most reasonable people can have.
If you were paying attention before Trump came along, our country slowly drifted into this situation. Most immigrants coming to the US are economic migrants, not people from war-torn countries lacking basic survival needs. That's a significant distinction. In Germany and across the rest of Europe, right-wingers are concerned about the cost of helping those people, what the long term plan is, and whether assimilation is possible, and the effect it might have on their culture. That is very different here, despite what right-wing nuts peddle every day. We don't have financial packages for immigrants and there is a very long history of successful assimilation (melting pot).
The US has taken in economic migrants since the beginning of time. All our ancestors came from less wealthy nations than the US, so we are all leaches. The millions of white Europeans that "poured" in over the last century weren't dealing with good economic situations at home, and some even left to escape legal trouble (think Trump ancestors). So we have a history of this, and it has been a double-edged sword. Immigrants do the work that most Americans wouldn't think twice of avoiding at all costs, and they do it cheaply and with no benefits or protections. They pay rent, pay for transportation, for food, for their kids' expenses... all that money is spent here and benefits our GDP. Money left to send back home is immaterial. Many have children here, which of course grow up as Americans, attend college and build their lives here (me for example), also net producers.
Our economic infrastructure has supported this process for a very long time, and unquestionably it has been a low-priority issue for the most part. The bipartisan discussions have started with the elephant in the room. First, what to do about the 11 million or so undocumented immigrants that reside here? Of those 11 million, many have children that are either American or that were raised here since a very young age and are culturally more American than not. That's where the problem lies, both parties have been very aware of the basic issues of potential separation and logistics when dealing with reform.
IMO, some kind of reasonable reform would consist of a mechanism to review the status of those 11 million and give them the opportunity to be legalized as green card holders if they meet some form of good-citizen standard (pay back taxes, no criminal offenses, etc..) or to be processed out under certain circumstances. The dreamer act is a no brainer IMO, kids that have been raised here their whole lives and are expected to be contributing members of society should have legal status, be able to attend college and work legally - there should be a clear path for their permanent residency. The reality is that like in every other large developed nation, we will always have illegal migration, so it is a matter of how much is tolerable without causing major labor and economic disruptions. Think immigration is so evil? I will point to Japan quickly. They have a mass shortage of health care workers and a quickly aging population. Their refusal to let foreign workers fill that gap is going to result in a catastrophic situation.
Part of the reform discussion is also labor law reform. Across most of Europe, illegal migrants have a brutal time finding work. There is certainly demand for their cheap labor, but companies are really well-regulated when it comes to hiring people that are legally able to work. As a result, there is a huge disincentive for economic migrants there. In the US, we have a very different supply/demand structure and our laws are more friendly, with certain industries almost fully dependent on cheap immigrant labor. Ask farmer unions across the country how they feel about ending immigration completely. Some have called for legalizing seasonal work, whereby foreigners apply for certain manual work in the US at much lower rates than what would be paid to Americans, albeit still much higher than they pay illegals. That is how desperately they need these workers, they are willing to compromise.
Another major part of the discussion is border security and enforcement. We have a massive documentation issue, which makes the whole reform discussion much harder. We have the right to enforce our border laws and ultimately no matter how globalized the world becomes we are separate nations, so more work is needed there. As a country, we haven't given enough thought to how to best secure the border and prevent mass immigration, especially when it comes to those entering in unsafe and life-threatening situations.
So in general, the consensus is the highest priority would be what to do about the 11 million, then how to ensure that the border is protected in a humane way and that going forward there is a standard and more constructive mechanism to deal with immigration.
Now for a quick take on Trump's actions. First, he is doing it backwards. It is not the small number coming in now that is most pressing, it is the elephant in the room, the 11 million. Second, the current enforcement of the border laws is inhumane and impractical. Perhaps they are preventing more from successfully entering, but are they properly documenting them? Are they actually stopping them from trying to come in again? Is it ethical (or even lawful) to separate adults from their kids? This is not a solution and not even close to being a good start. This amounts to instigation and using children as a political pawn. This is a new scummy level of political tactics that was not used before. All to appease the base, because the only tangible results will be to prove that Trump can process more immigrants back home than Obama did. Like other issues, this one is vastly complex, but there goes unhinged Trump again swinging his bat in the air with blindfolds on. Trumpers should really stop thinking these complicated issues can be dealt with in simple snap-of-the-finger tweaks.
Trumpers need to ask themselves what is behind this persecution. Are you all ok with Trump totally trampling on human rights, further destroying families, for the sake of sloppily trying to keep a very small numbers of bad actors out? Are you all ok with the ICE intimidation tactics and random searches, often done on Americans who "look like foreigners" again for the sake of unsuccessfully trying to catch the bad guys? If you say yes, think about your own motives. Think about the pretense. He started all this by pointing to the bad actors... he's been telling you all that is why he's doing all this. IMO that has very little to do with anything. Trump is that guy that offers scapegoats, he's that guy that will tell you doing horrible things is totally fine because it will M@GA. This is how he keeps you hooked. You are relying on a terrible human being and leader to guide you. It's gotten to the point that trumpers are totally comfortable with inhumane tactics, as long as he sticks to those rotten dems.