#83
Being in the United States without valid entry credentials is not a crime, but it is grounds to get you deported. Which is why ICE exists. They're not law enforcement agents, they're policy enforcement agents.
I'm not sure why this is so controversial. If you don't have valid credentials that allow you to stay in the US, or any other country for that matter, you should have no expectation that you can unilaterally decide your own policy. I live in Germany. I'm allowed to stay here due to the policy that covers my employment supporting the USG. Should that condition change, and I am no longer covered by that policy, then I have 90 days. To leave the country. I can go down and apply for a residency permit, which would be almost a certainty, but if I just decided to ignore the law and stay here, they would eventually. Deport me. Most countries would.
#92
It's not an economic argument. The US just deported a 19 year old girl attending school at a private liberal arts college in Massachusetts. She had the means to stay in the US without being a burden. She was likely going to be a net contributor, but she was in the country illegally. Do we want this person? We probably desperately need this person. If for no other reason to compensate for low-performing people who we can't deport because they were born here. But it can't be done by just pretending laws don't exist when you dislike the outcome. The chick I'm referencing is going to be just fine. The only question is where she becomes the net contributor. The US or somewhere else.
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