5 ms·

America wasn't for a long time. You can find footage of most leftist politicians supporting stronger borders. Basically, President Trump made it a campaign is

by mises 7y ago

America wasn't for a long time. You can find footage of most leftist politicians supporting stronger borders. Basically, President Trump made it a campaign issue, and so the left stopped. Orange Man bad, basically.

yardie 7y ago
strong borders != a dumb, expensive wall. The left's position has not changed much on border security at all. Process asylum claims faster, penalize employers for participating in illegal hiring, and use modern tech to control borders.
- AlexTWithBeard 7y ago
  Interestingly, two terms of Obama presidency have a notable dip in a number of processed applications: https://trac.syr.edu/immigration/reports/539/ https://trac.syr.edu/immigration/reports/539/
- ng12 7y ago
  I'd believe that under the Obama administration but it's a much tougher sell now.
jknoepfler 7y ago
I refuse to believe that you actually believe what you wrote, upon a moment's reflection. Opposing Trump's approach to immigration doesn't equate to opposing better border security. That's like equating opposition to "No Child Left Behind" with opposing "improving K-12 education." Trump's border policy promises to be both ineffective, extremely expensive, and a semi-permanent symbol of xenophobia and racism. If I had to stack-rank: (a) a literal Southern border wall motivated by President Trump's vile campaign rhetoric. (b) making the border completely open and defunding ICE entirely I'd prefer (b) - but I still think (b) is a terrible idea. I actually (unlike most people who are "afraid of immigrants") know a convicted violent felon who was deported from the United States to their home country (in Europe) after serving a prison sentence who I legitimately think is a threat to people I care about, and who I don't want re-entering the country under any circumstances (Ironically the deportee is a diagnosed pathological narcissist) - and I still prefer open borders to what the current executive leadership of the United States is pushing. The question is not whether to have controls on who/what crosses the border, the question is how and why. I personally think the marginal utility of spending additional Federal dollars policing the border and enforcing immigration controls is a net negative to the United States given our current infrastructure, so I believe we should spend less time and money doing it. That doesn't mean there aren't other avenues for controlling externalities caused by illegal immigration (such as they are).

by mises 7y ago

yardie 7y ago

strong borders != a dumb, expensive wall. The left's position has not changed much on border security at all. Process asylum claims faster, penalize employers for participating in illegal hiring, and use modern tech to control borders.

AlexTWithBeard 7y ago
Interestingly, two terms of Obama presidency have a notable dip in a number of processed applications: https://trac.syr.edu/immigration/reports/539/ https://trac.syr.edu/immigration/reports/539/
ng12 7y ago
I'd believe that under the Obama administration but it's a much tougher sell now.

jknoepfler 7y ago

I refuse to believe that you actually believe what you wrote, upon a moment's reflection. Opposing Trump's approach to immigration doesn't equate to opposing better border security. That's like equating opposition to "No Child Left Behind" with opposing "improving K-12 education." Trump's border policy promises to be both ineffective, extremely expensive, and a semi-permanent symbol of xenophobia and racism. If I had to stack-rank: (a) a literal Southern border wall motivated by President Trump's vile campaign rhetoric. (b) making the border completely open and defunding ICE entirely I'd prefer (b) - but I still think (b) is a terrible idea. I actually (unlike most people who are "afraid of immigrants") know a convicted violent felon who was deported from the United States to their home country (in Europe) after serving a prison sentence who I legitimately think is a threat to people I care about, and who I don't want re-entering the country under any circumstances (Ironically the deportee is a diagnosed pathological narcissist) - and I still prefer open borders to what the current executive leadership of the United States is pushing. The question is not whether to have controls on who/what crosses the border, the question is how and why. I personally think the marginal utility of spending additional Federal dollars policing the border and enforcing immigration controls is a net negative to the United States given our current infrastructure, so I believe we should spend less time and money doing it. That doesn't mean there aren't other avenues for controlling externalities caused by illegal immigration (such as they are).