5 ms·

I'm sorry that all happened to you, that sounds really bad. I'm not doubting your experience. However I think it's important for Americans in particular to main

I'm sorry that all happened to you, that sounds really bad. I'm not doubting your experience. However I think it's important for Americans in particular to maintain the distinction between "the Constitution applies and border police are acting illegally" and "the Constitution literally has no force in these situations" when discussing these problems in forums like this one. A lot of the recent creeping fascism involves the fascists treating the law as if it didn't exist, but when actually called on it they back off. Of course as a practical matter anyone crossing a U.S. border should understand the risk of arbitrary violence, deportation, detention, or having all your stuff taken.

notch656a 4y ago
I feel it. My only point was that "the Constitution applies and border police are acting illegally" and "the Constitution literally has no force in these situations" are both simultaneously true. Honestly illegal border crossers are the only ones who maintain their constitutional rights, because once they've crossed it is impossible to prove it unless someone actually saw them do it. I've read border patrol officers comment that if a US citizen is found at the border there's basically not much they can do unless someone caught them crossing in the act.
- sky-kedge0749 4y ago
  I'm not sure what you mean by illegal border crossers. Do you mean U.S. citizens who sneak back into the U.S.? It actually never occurred to me that was punishable (instead of just a bad idea) but it looks like it is. I learned something new. By the way, if you haven't seen it, you might like this old favorite of mine: "Born in East L.A." with Cheech and Chong, parodying Bruce Springsteen's "Born in the U.S.A.": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sFUFw1GH6ic https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sFUFw1GH6ic. I was going to it's funny but in light of this discussion, maybe not. Not as funny, anyway. Thanks for sharing.
  - notch656a 4y ago
    > "Born in East L.A." That was great, thank you!

notch656a 4y ago

I feel it. My only point was that "the Constitution applies and border police are acting illegally" and "the Constitution literally has no force in these situations" are both simultaneously true. Honestly illegal border crossers are the only ones who maintain their constitutional rights, because once they've crossed it is impossible to prove it unless someone actually saw them do it. I've read border patrol officers comment that if a US citizen is found at the border there's basically not much they can do unless someone caught them crossing in the act.

sky-kedge0749 4y ago
I'm not sure what you mean by illegal border crossers. Do you mean U.S. citizens who sneak back into the U.S.? It actually never occurred to me that was punishable (instead of just a bad idea) but it looks like it is. I learned something new. By the way, if you haven't seen it, you might like this old favorite of mine: "Born in East L.A." with Cheech and Chong, parodying Bruce Springsteen's "Born in the U.S.A.": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sFUFw1GH6ic https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sFUFw1GH6ic. I was going to it's funny but in light of this discussion, maybe not. Not as funny, anyway. Thanks for sharing.
- notch656a 4y ago
  > "Born in East L.A." That was great, thank you!