Quote:
Originally Posted by Rochard
Sure. Enforce the law.
Entering the country illegal is a crime. It's a misdemeanor. We should treat it like a misdemeanor. Typically, you don't get arrested for a misdemeanor. You surely do not get locked in cages with dozens or hundreds of other people "until further notice". People have rights; Even if they aren't American citizens they still have the same rights as American citizens because US law applies. It's not even open to discussion.
Imagine this... You get pulled over for speeding and they discover you do not have a license plate on your car. Normally you would get a ticket but instead they arrest you. They don't take you to jail, but isntead lock you up in a fenced in pen with thirty other people, you have one toliet, no showers, and you get fed once a day. You do get to see your attorney, and you remain in this "jail" until the judge can see you - which might take weeks or months.
This is illegal. It's un-American.
In the past, we detained people, gave them a court summons, and then let them go about their business. It's very similar to what happens when we get a speeding ticket. There is no need to lock these people up. Locking them up creates all kinds of problems - housing, clothing, feeding them, legal rights.... We need to go back to what we were doing before. Instead, we are building internment camps. We did this before and history judged us badly for it.
The current administration is unable to deal with this.
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Richard, I understand the analogy you provided, but will partially disagree with you. When someone knowingly and willfully crosses the border into another country at a non POE which is typically a land border crossing or airport, I look at that along the same lines as someone breaking and entering into my place of business or home. No one has the right to be inside my home unless I have explicitly given them permission or invited them.
I personally hope that the US government changes the current policies and does not allow anyone to claim asylum when entering the US from anywhere but the designated POEs.
Regarding taking responsibility, if the US chooses to detain anyone, then they absolutely should provide them a safe clean and healthy environment in which to live while they are in custody, be it for one day or several years.
Bjorn_Tasty and others in the various threads have posted a fact, if someone was caught overstaying or crossing illegally into another country where they had no legal right to be, that individual would be detained, processed and deported within X days. We should do the same. For those that seek protection from violence they experience in their homeland, the very first country they enter, that is considered to be a non-violent country according to some international governmental body, should be the same country they should seek asylum. In the case of those coming from Central and South America, if entering Mexico, is the first country in which they are supposedly safe, then Mexico should consider their cases requesting residence.
Ultimately I hope that Federal and State laws change drastically and favor massive enforcement. US business owners and upper management must be held accountable with steep fines and prison sentences for the hiring of illegal workers. Unfortunately our system is broken, and the #1 lobbyist against the Federal verification system which already exists is the US Chamber of Commerce.