What to do about "criminal" immigrants

Homeland Security
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Fact: Trump has stated that a lot of immigrants are criminals.
Fact: It is currently hard to enter the US legally as an immigrant. Not only is there paperwork involved, it is EXPENSIVE. See here: The Ultimate Guide to the U.S. Immigration Process Now, if these people are immigrating because it’s hard for them to earn money in their home countries, how are they supposed to get the filing fees, which can easily cost thousands of dollars?
Fact: A current part of the legal immigration process is a background check.

Suppose the President-elect is right. Suppose that a large part of illegal immigrants are criminals. That means that, if criminals are excluded from entering the country, those who DO enter will constitute a much smaller amount. A manageable amount, perhaps?

So. Step up enforcement of the border. But make it easier for people to enter the country legally. Get rid of the expensive filing fees. Set up immigration offices in different countries, to help citizens immigrate legally. And keep the background check in place. Take fingerprints when people are applying for citizenship, to check against both the US criminal database and the database in their home country (and possibly all of South America and Mexico). Then check their fingerprints again when they’re entering the country, to make sure they match the prints submitted with their application. Keep criminals OUT with enforcement, but let workers and their family members IN. You will have less “illegal” immigrants, less human trafficking, and less crime.

Also, I support the mass deportation of criminals. But I think other immigrants should be allowed to stay, or at the very least given the option of EASILY applying for legal immigration status, either while here (which is preferable) or after they are deported (which should be done while keeping in mind that some people left their home countries because their lives were in danger). It should be simple to differentiate between the criminals and the non-criminal immigrants. Just take their fingerprints. If they refuse to have their fingerprints taken, deport them.

3 Likes
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I agree.

To start with, I vote red, live in a red city and state.

BUT… the ignorant rhetoric being mockingbirded by conservatives surrounding immigration has GOT to stop.

Most of those people are clueless about the immigration system. I used to be clueless… until I met and became good friends with people living it.

Most of them were brought to the US by family members when they were minors. Some qualified for DACA and some did not. And a LOT of them are in the process of legalizing their status… which, like you said, includes being fingerprinted and having a background check in their home country and here in the US. So, in other words, they’re being vetted. And the process takes thousands of dollars and YEARS of waiting.

One way we can help those who are currently in the process who will be approved for a waiver is to quit fighting against the parole in place (PIP).

I’ve read through it multiple times, and all that it does is allows those who are approved, to remain in the US instead of going to their home country for a medical exam and to wait for their greencard to be issued. That’s it. Nothing else.

Not only that, it’s NOT gonna invite more people to come in illegally because…

  1. Each person who applies must already have been in the process of legalizing their status in the US before PIP was announced back in June.
  2. Each person must have been in the US continously for a minimum of 10 years prior to the date in June when PIP was announced.
  3. Each person must have been legitimately married to a US citizen before PIP was announced.
  4. They have to prove that they’re an upstanding member of society and that they’ve not had any run ins with the law.
  5. They’re not allowed to go on govt assistance or it could negate their status.
  6. Read #5 again.

So, unless there’s some kind of time machine that actually works that I’m unaware of, PIP absolutely DOES NOT ENCOURAGE additional illegal immigration. It’s a one and done thing.

Not to mention, PIP has been in place for spouses and parents of US military members for a while now. All that the thing in June did was to extend it to the rest of the US citizen spouses and parents.

In addition, a lot these people are small business owners or they are able to find 1099 work somehow. They pay taxes, just like we do. They contribute to the economy. They care about and love our country.

Plus think about it… currently, they can only get a DL in Cali, Chicago, and one other place (I forget where) without showing proof of their status.

If PIP gets allowed to continue, every state will benefit in the way of fees income, at minimum, from drivers licenses and state ID cards. Car insurance rates will go down because there will be fewer unlicensed drivers on the road. They’ll be able to get W2 jobs and pay even more taxes (unless 47 does away with those… which I pray happens) and contribute even more to society. They will be able to get health insurance.

Now… if a bunch of caca was hidden in the pages of PIP the way Pelosi was able to hide $10million for a park across the street from her home in Cali inside a covid bill, then yeah… take a look at PIP, pull out the pork, and then let it go on through without the pork. But from what I can tell from the USCIS govt website, there’s no pork to be found.

Not everyone who is here illegally, going through the immigration process, or who has overstayed their visa is a horrible criminal. To assume or say that they are is the same as saying or assuming that all black people are gangsters or that all white people are racist. And we all know that neither of those is true.