• Bongo_Stryker@lemmy.ca
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    7 months ago

    Here’s an interesting article comparing some different approaches to border security: https://leitf.org/2021/04/enforcement-priorities/

    This constant “crisis at the border” bullshit is so tiresome because it is the same as all those other hot button bullshit political talking points like “get tough on crime” or “family values” or “protecting our children”. It is the eternal ongoing crisis that we can be concerned about without ever having to worry about any real solutions presenting themselves. This is a good distraction from other more pressing issues like the alarming rise in homeless population or the ever growing wealth gap.

    Further, people don’t seem to recognize that US foreign policy had a direct influence on the number of people trying to get across the southern border. So many resources and efforts were put Into destabilizing every part of Latin America, that the consequences are still being felt today.

    • ThrowawayOPM
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      7 months ago

      Its only a “constant crisis at the border” because the feds refuse to secure it. Its like climate change, its not going to stop because people want to ignore it.

      • Bongo_Stryker@lemmy.ca
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        7 months ago

        No man, it’s a constant crisis because fox news constantly proclaims it, as it’s a sure fire way of rustling the jimmies of racist boomers, but thanks for your super low effort reply.

        Obama deported more people than any other president in history. The illegal immigrant population in the US stopped growing for the first time in decades. Because this was done by a democrat, these facts were invisible to those who preferred to wring their hands and demand something be done about all the “bad hombres” streaming across the border.

        But tell me, party of small government and low taxes and responsible spending, what sort of “secure border” are you looking for? What’s a practical, reasonable budget for a 2000 mile border? Do you want two thousand miles of concrete barriers and machine gun towers every 50 yards?

        • BearOfaTime
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          7 months ago

          Fox news?

          Wow.

          Who needs fox News to know the Biden Administration is not only NOT enforcing our laws, they’re saying states that are trying to enforce our laws are breaking the law.

          Stop being so ideologically blinded.

          • Bongo_Stryker@lemmy.ca
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            7 months ago

            Ok that sentence is not making any damn sense to me. They’re not only NOT enforcing our laws, they’re saying states that are trying to enforce our laws? What?

          • Bongo_Stryker@lemmy.ca
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            7 months ago

            “Start making it less desirable to sneak into the US and people will stop sneaking into the U.S.”

            This seems like 100% sensible thinking.

            Unfortunately it may be easier said than done. In El Salvador for example, US intervention during the 60’s to stop workers from getting rights, and preventing a minimum wage from being set, came in the form of paramilitary groups that became death squads that would murder anyone critical of the government. Things got more violent and dangerous throughout the 70’s, and in the 80’s there was a revolution, and the US responded by pouring in more guns and bombs so the repressive government could kill even more people.

            El Salvador, once widely considered the murder capital of the world, has been pretty fubar ever since. So imagine someone willing to risk their life and walk 3000 miles for a chance at a better life. They might not be deterred very easily.

            • MomoTimeToDie@sh.itjust.works
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              7 months ago

              So imagine someone willing to risk their life and walk 3000 miles for a chance at a better life. They might not be deterred very easily.

              So then make it such that there’s nothing here for them and make sure they know that their prospects here would be worse than at home.

            • NeuromancerM
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              7 months ago

              It’s easy. You put troops on the border or criminal charges for people who hire them

              My concern is Congress has done nothing to make it easier for people to immigrate legally. If we need the labor, make it easier. Illegal immigration should not be tolerated.

              To me that’s the issue. Congress.

                • NeuromancerM
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                  7 months ago

                  We can read a license plate from space. We can easily track and remove immigrants.

                  If we punished those who hired them harshly, you think they’d hire illegals? Imagine if the ceo for Tyson chicken went to prison. You think other CEO’s would take note?

          • NeuromancerM
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            7 months ago

            Not even 'knowingly", if you hire illegals, you get punished. Most use the, well, we didn’t know they were illegal.

            I don’t hold a grudge against the illegals. They make more in an hour here than they’d make in a day in Mexico.

            I blame the Democrats and Republicans for different reasons.

  • crashfrog
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    7 months ago

    Immigration into the United States, especially for skilled people, should be easier than it is. It should also be easier for foreigners to enter temporarily to do seasonal unskilled work. And it should be a lot easier for citizens of the US to live and work throughout Europe, Japan, and Australia and vice-versa, simply on the strength of their passports. Conversely the asylum system is being abused and needs to be reformed, as well. (It’s being abused by people who are left no other options for immigration into the United States.)

    I largely think trying to secure a 2500-mile land border is a waste of money, the world’s largest game of whack-a-mole, but if that’s what conservatives want out of comprehensive immigration policy reform then I’d support it and it’s good to see Fetterman, who’s always been a reasonable guy, trying to lead the charge here.

    • NeuromancerM
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      7 months ago

      I think h1b should be eliminated. It gives the employer to much power over the employee.

      • crashfrog
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        7 months ago

        It’s pretty standard in all countries for a work visa to be tied to your sponsorship by a particular employer, but you’re right, it puts the employee in a terrible position. I’d like to see the US lead a movement to liberalize this visa category.

        • NeuromancerM
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          7 months ago

          H1b is the worst of the worst. It provides no path to citizenship and if the person loses their job, they have short window In which they have to leave. If they’re are that special and High skilled, we should have a visa that just lets them work for anyone.

          I’ve just seen so much abuse with the h1b. It’s soured me on it.

          • crashfrog
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            7 months ago

            It provides no path to citizenship

            Is it important that it does? Or maybe I don’t understand what it means to not have a path to citizenship. Like you can’t ever naturalize if you’re here on H1b, ever?

            The path to citizenship should be the same for everyone regardless of national origin, it seems to me, and it shoudn’t be related to how you’re in the country, or even if you are to start with. I think someone on a tourist entry should have the same path to citizenship, if they want it.

            If they’re are that special and High skilled, we should have a visa that just lets them work for anyone.

            I agree with this. I’d expand it - I think if you hold a passport from the US, Canada, the EU, Japan, or Australia you should be in a Shengen-like arrangement that allows you free movement and employability in any of those countries.

            • NeuromancerM
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              7 months ago

              Correct. They can never naturalize under an h1b. That’s why employers have so much power over an h1b person. Rarely are they “high” skilled. They’re just a chance to have power over an employee.

              • crashfrog
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                7 months ago

                Then I agree, it’s a flawed program.

    • ThrowawayOPM
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      7 months ago

      We already take a quarter of the worlds immigrants,how much more brain drain do you want? Its killing other countries.

      • crashfrog
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        7 months ago

        There’s no reason for that to be a concern of US immigration policy. Better for us if it isn’t, in fact.

  • Skyrmir@lemmy.world
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    7 months ago

    Show me what taxes the right has proposed to pay for border security. Until they’re willing to pay for it, I’m pretty sure all they want to do is whine about it.

    • NeuromancerM
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      7 months ago

      We already pay for it. Shouldn’t we received what we already paid for? The border patrol budget is 17.7 billion dollars.

      • Skyrmir@lemmy.world
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        7 months ago

        They’re getting exactly what they paid for, and are demanding more. In my experience, getting more, costs more.

        • NeuromancerM
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          7 months ago

          I don’t think we are getting what we are paying for. That’s a lot of money and immigrants are flowing in.

          • Skyrmir@lemmy.world
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            7 months ago

            Great, find anyone showing a waste of money in border security. Other than the fraudulent build a wall fund.

            And even if you did find it, that still wouldn’t pay for the increases that the right is crying about, and not putting up any way to pay for.

            • NeuromancerM
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              7 months ago

              You think 18 billion isn’t enough to secure a border? To me it’s obvious the money isn’t well spent. If we need more money, take it from the social welfare programs. Border security is important to the success of the country.

  • NeuromancerM
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    7 months ago

    Politically I am not a fan of this guy but he’s right about the borders. I also don’t like the attacks on him for suffering a medical condition. The debate about his clothing was disgusting. The man is recovering and I admire him for doing his best. No one should ever mock that.

    • FMT99@lemmy.world
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      7 months ago

      The trouble is, as usual, the Internet’s obsession with turning everything into a black and white issue. Either you want raging bands of Mexican drug dealers to invade the country, or you’re a Nazi that wants to put children in cages.

      • NeuromancerM
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        7 months ago

        I just want people to come here legally. If it’s too hard, then Congress needs to fix it. I have zero tolerance for illegally crossing the border.

        • FMT99@lemmy.world
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          7 months ago

          The main problem with the previous conservative attempts is that is that the draconian approach just doesn’t work. Not to mention the cost to the taxpayer. I don’t claim to have the answer but more prisons and walls won’t stop people from trying.

          • NeuromancerM
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            7 months ago

            The answer is Congress gets off their ass and does their job. Obviously people want immigrants here. Change the laws to allow them to come legally.

            Walls are stupid as the border is large and they are expensive. They’ll slow people but won’t stop them.

        • BearOfaTime
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          7 months ago

          And people still downvote this most reasonable position.

          • NeuromancerM
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            7 months ago

            People see conservative and mostly downvote. They can’t think for themselves. They have to be told how to think. It’s sad

            • mirror_slap@lemmy.world
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              7 months ago

              The problem with the conservative position is that it is idiotic. During the Obama years our efforts to reduce illegal immigration were hugely successful. We attacked the problem in the countries where people were coming from, dramatically reducing the number of people that felt they needed to leave their homes. The Trump years and the inept policies of the fools in that administration cut off the funding for those programs very early, completely derailing years of work because they were too ignorant to understand it was the best way to reduce people hitting our border. Sadly those programs haven’t been renewed yet. I’m 1000% for a strong border, but also 1000% against the “wall” nonsense and all the other garbage that politicians push which won’t work. Just the other day the GOP held hearings in the House where Democrats were trying to push an amendment to a bill to prevent firearms from getting in the hands of the cartels south of the border - and it got ZERO GOP support - literally zero. That’s because the gun lobby wants the cartel money, so… GOP won’t do anything.

              • BearOfaTime
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                7 months ago

                Well, start with not conflating conservative with Republicans.

                Some/many republican politicians have as much guilt as any other politician.

                • NeuromancerM
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                  7 months ago

                  In our modern politics, the two are relatively synonymous, just like criminals and democrats.

              • NeuromancerM
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                7 months ago

                You think it’s idiotic to ask congress to do their job?

                • mirror_slap@lemmy.world
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                  7 months ago

                  I Don’t know how you got that out of what I posted. I was bashing Congress because they were refusing to do anything to reduce the flow of firearms across the southern border. Yes, I absolutely think they need to do their job. I want them to reinstate funding for the programs that were actually working spectacularly to reduce people hitting our borders, but the GOP won’t do that.

      • NeuromancerM
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        7 months ago

        I mostly agree. The dress code is a temporary thing. I have zero issues with that.

        THe problem is he won because the Republicans ran such an odd choice.

        While I am a Republican, I want the best person to win. He wasn’t the best person and neither was his opponent.