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People who are afraid of being deported are illegal aliens, so they weren't able to vote. I fully support their plight and their right (I am myself an immigran
by atemerev 10y ago
People who are afraid of being deported are illegal aliens, so they weren't able to vote.
I fully support their plight and their right (I am myself an immigrant, a legal alien for 11 years with little chance of acquiring citizenship), however, this is exactly the limit of modern democracy. Non-citizens do not vote, despite living in the country and sharing similar rights and responsibilities.
Birthright citizenship is the largest remaining privilege and discrimination out there — legally enforced, and nearly as oppressive as racial discrimination before. It was really convenient to sweep the issue under the rug — until now.
- camiller 10y ago"I am myself an immigrant, a legal alien for 11 years with little chance of acquiring citizenship" I'm curious, why do you think you have little chance of acquiring citizenship?
- atemerev 10y agoI live in Switzerland, which has strict policies on naturalization. My wife is a scientist (postdoc mathematician), so we have to travel a lot between countries — in Europe, mobility is a significant part of academic culture. Each time (4 times, in fact). Each time, our "uninterrupted time spent in Switzerland" counter was reset.