2 ms·

As a practical level, I agree with you completely. On an ethical level, however, I find it difficult to put much blame on the OP. To quote Madison: "It will be

by john_b 12y ago

As a practical level, I agree with you completely. On an ethical level, however, I find it difficult to put much blame on the OP. To quote Madison: "It will be of little avail to the people, that the laws are made by men of their own choice, if the laws be so voluminous that they cannot be read, or so incoherent that they cannot be understood; if they be repealed or revised before they are promulgated, or undergo such incessant changes that no man, who knows what the law is to-day, can guess what it will be to-morrow. Law is defined to be a rule of action; but how can that be a rule, which is little known, and less fixed?" [1] Mistakes are human and they happen. It should be the responsibility of our nation's immigration officials to help people through the inevitable difficulties and mistakes that happen in a system as complex and Byzantine as our immigration system. Yet the post-9/11 trend seems to be that immigration officials see themselves more as a pseudo-police force rather than civil servants. As such, the default suspicion of any non-citizen and "guilty until proven innocent" attitude the OP describes is not surprising. Even if whatever mistake she made is a critical one that should prevent her entry into the US until it is resolved, I cannot see any justification for deporting her and forbidding her from reentering for 18 months. When people try to live and work as productive and positive individuals in the US and our legal system actively treats them in a hostile and suspicious manner, justifying it by a minor clerical mistake [2], we have a duty as citizens to recognize the real problem and work to correct it. I find it ironic that in an earlier age we (as a country) ridiculed the "papers please" culture of Soviet Russia and assumed that we (as freedom loving Americans) could never become such a country. [1] Federalist #62 [2] A visa is a piece of paperwork. If immigration officials were deported every time they made a mistake on their paperwork, prevailing attitudes towards immigrants might be very different within their ranks.

ChrisBland 12y ago
Internet high five for quoting the federalist papers! If only more people in our country (or Washington) would read them we would all be better off. So the main point I was trying to make was this: She was not discriminated against because of her race, her sexual orientation, her religion, her actions, her associations. She was singled out for not following the rules, which, she admittedly knew that there was an issue with her visa before trying to enter the country. While I can understand there are hurdles to jump through, the thing is, everyone has to jump through them. There were no 'extra' requirements for her that she didn't know about. The immigration system is meant to treat everyone attempting to enter the country uniformly, not fairly. While that may suck, its the only option that scales. Otherwise we will be left to the judgment (and corruption) of CPB officers. I would much rather her be turned away for not having visa documents in line every time than it be a crapshoot/flip of a coin if you get to stay based on the mood of the CPB officer. That is a trade off I am willing to accept with our immigration system. What irked me a bit about her writing was to me she appeared to have some sense of privilege because she worked as an entrepreneur and in tech. That if only the immigration officers would listen to her work they would overlook her invalid visa documents. That somehow her case was different than those who had relatives in the country who had missing documents, than the agriculture worker just trying to make a better life for himself and his family. Everyone should be treated the same and the same rules should apply to all, no matter your role, industry, etc.

by john_b 12y ago

ChrisBland 12y ago

Internet high five for quoting the federalist papers! If only more people in our country (or Washington) would read them we would all be better off. So the main point I was trying to make was this: She was not discriminated against because of her race, her sexual orientation, her religion, her actions, her associations. She was singled out for not following the rules, which, she admittedly knew that there was an issue with her visa before trying to enter the country. While I can understand there are hurdles to jump through, the thing is, everyone has to jump through them. There were no 'extra' requirements for her that she didn't know about. The immigration system is meant to treat everyone attempting to enter the country uniformly, not fairly. While that may suck, its the only option that scales. Otherwise we will be left to the judgment (and corruption) of CPB officers. I would much rather her be turned away for not having visa documents in line every time than it be a crapshoot/flip of a coin if you get to stay based on the mood of the CPB officer. That is a trade off I am willing to accept with our immigration system. What irked me a bit about her writing was to me she appeared to have some sense of privilege because she worked as an entrepreneur and in tech. That if only the immigration officers would listen to her work they would overlook her invalid visa documents. That somehow her case was different than those who had relatives in the country who had missing documents, than the agriculture worker just trying to make a better life for himself and his family. Everyone should be treated the same and the same rules should apply to all, no matter your role, industry, etc.