OK not a fan of protecting criminals(people who have committed theft, rape, ect)
Correct me if I'm wrong, but doesn't being a sanctuary city mean not that people who commit violent crimes are somehow protected from prosecution but that people who witness or report such crimes are not asked about their immigration status. The idea is that making them worry that reporting or testifying about a crime will make them vulnerable to deportaton and thus deter them from reporting or testifying.I say get rid of the criminals first hell or high water get them out. After that then start with people who are here illegally, but be ready to pay $20 for strawberries.
Correct me if I'm wrong, but doesn't being a sanctuary city mean not that people who commit violent crimes are somehow protected from prosecution but that people who witness or report such crimes are not asked about their immigration status. The idea is that making them worry that reporting or testifying about a crime will make them vulnerable to deportaton and thus deter them from reporting or testifying.
Many are starting to ask for a legal definition but no, there is no legal definition of sanctuary city. It does not exist in law. But we have all seen it observed as law (de facto) at least in practice which is causing all the flak. That is unless you want to blame the Federal government for enforcing what is in fact….law. Somehow that gets lost in the conversation.
Paul, The 11 million, or however many there are, are not all the sameBINGO!!! All ICE is doing is enforcing a law at has been on the books for I don't know how long. Tulla, you're worried about them being able to come forward and testify and be safe from deportation when they are in violation of the law right off the bat. They are here illegally and no discussion is going to change that.
Paul, I'm not sure anyone thinks all eleven million illegal immigrants should be regarded in the same way. Even Trump seems to recognize that "dreamers" are different.One question is how one defines "dreamers." Is a 16-year old who crosses the border with his or her parents a dreamer? Is a 14-year old who crosses the border alone to join parents already here a dreamer? Do you want to deport people who have been here twenty years or more, have never committed a crime since entering the U.S. and who in most cases have been employed by American individuals or companies who either knew those people were illegal or who made no attempt to find out even though they (the employers) usually knew there was a real chance the employee was an illegal immigrant? And how much of our resources (including those of police departments) do you want to direct to identifying, rounding up, and deporting all illegal immigrants?BINGO!!! All ICE is doing is enforcing a law at has been on the books for I don't know how long. Tulla, you're worried about them being able to come forward and testify and be safe from deportation when they are in violation of the law right off the bat. They are here illegally and no discussion is going to change that.
Paul, The 11 million, or however many there are, are not all the same
Paul, I'm not sure anyone thinks all eleven million illegal immigrants should be regarded in the same way. Even Trump seems to recognize that "dreamers" are different.One question is how one defines "dreamers." Is a 16-year old who crosses the border with his or her parents a dreamer? Is a 14-year old who crosses the border alone to join parents already here a dreamer? Do you want to deport people who have been here twenty years or more, have never committed a crime since entering the U.S. and who in most cases have been employed by American individuals or companies who either knew those people were illegal or who made no attempt to find out even though they (the employers) usually knew there was a real chance the employee was an illegal immigrant? And how much of our resources (including those of police departments) do you want to direct to identifying, rounding up, and deporting all illegal immigrants?
Are you as eager to throw the book at anyone who has ever employed an illegal immigrant? I know of dozens (note the plural) of people who have had landscape businesses, or bars, or construction businesses in the Philadelphia area and have employed young illegal immigrants from Ireland in recent decades. Didn't Trump's own first nominee for Labor Secretary hire illegal immigrants? As for taxes, guess how many Americans falsify their incomes? I've asked people to do a number of jobs for me--mostly related to home repairs and renovations--and they have refused to take the work if I wasn't willing to pay cash. How much of our resources do you think we should invest in addressing such illegal acts? And do you really make no distinction whatsoever between people who were brought here illegally as children and people who came as adults?Tulla, they should be regarded the same. They are here and have been here illegally. It's the law for God's sake. I don't care about the sob story of how or why they came here. People left the old world for the same exact reasons. Wars, famines. Nothing new. But they did it the right way The rules for entry have been in place for quite some time. As I said in my post, your discussion doesn't change that. The only way I would soften my thinking would be to change the tax code to a sales tax, nation wide. That way, at least they're paying something into the government
Paul, The 11 million, or however many there are, are not all the same
Paul, I'm not sure anyone thinks all eleven million illegal immigrants should be regarded in the same way. Even Trump seems to recognize that "dreamers" are different.One question is how one defines "dreamers." Is a 16-year old who crosses the border with his or her parents a dreamer? Is a 14-year old who crosses the border alone to join parents already here a dreamer? Do you want to deport people who have been here twenty years or more, have never committed a crime since entering the U.S. and who in most cases have been employed by American individuals or companies who either knew those people were illegal or who made no attempt to find out even though they (the employers) usually knew there was a real chance the employee was an illegal immigrant? And how much of our resources (including those of police departments) do you want to direct to identifying, rounding up, and deporting all illegal immigrants?
Ok it's illegal. So crack down on the companies which employ them. Ever hear a Rep say that?
So, Paul, do you think that whatever it takes to round up all 11 million and to deport them should be done now? And, to take Reluctant's point, would you go after all of the tens and perhaps hundreds of thousands of people who have employed them to the full extent of the law? What do you think that would require in terms of law enforcement and court resources? Are you willing to pay that bill? I won't pursue the question of morality here, but it is very hard to see how, for instance,deporting a 20-year old college student or farm laborer who was brought by his parents when he was two can be considered the right thing to do.Try all the discussing and validation you want Tulla. It is against the law!! So if the system is broken, you just want to let it take its course and let's let everyone in because they're dreamers and America is a great place and blah, blah, blah!! As I said, no amount of discussion will make it legal. What, dreamers don't have to follow the rules??
Did the dreamers "willfully opt to break the law?"Reluctant: Good point! Like Paul and I have been harping on....it's that law. We can cherry pick (illegal parking, running lights, etc) but do so at risk of penalty....because it is against the law. The issue of illegal immigrants who willfully opted to break the law, making a mockery of those doing as much legally is no different. There was a process these people thumbed their nose at it. They are parking here illegally!
tulla: Guess how many American's falsify their income? Where did that come from or paying cash to contractors...that you assume is for purposes of avoiding taxes. If they are illegals, I'm not ICE anymore than I don't pull over someone speeding on MacDade Blvd...not being a cop.
You will never get beyond it being illegal, making the question, what in hell do we do with them and the clowns that run Philly (Kenney), NYC, LA, etc. I hope they get pulled over!
So, Paul, do you think that whatever it takes to round up all 11 million and to deport them should be done now? And, to take Reluctant's point, would you go after all of the tens and perhaps hundreds of thousands of people who have employed them to the full extent of the law? What do you think that would require in terms of law enforcement and court resources? Are you willing to pay that bill? I won't pursue the question of morality here, but it is very hard to see how, for instance,deporting a 20-year old college student or farm laborer who was brought by his parents when he was two can be considered the right thing to do.