Illegal alien arrivals now greater than American births?

[Szdfan]

"Tragedy" is a better word. Use words that affirm the humanity of immigrants and migrants. A lot of the anti-immigration rhetoric is dehumanizing. Referring to people as an "infestation" or saying that immigrants are "polluting the blood of America" dehumanizes people.

The fentanyl pouring into the country at the southern border IS "polluting the blood" of America,literally.

The comment wasn't about fentanyl. The comment was about immigrants.

[Ken]

Asylum was supposed to be limited to the politically and religiously persecuted. The fact that the wait for adjudication of asylum claims is years is the principle breakdown in the system. Hire more judges, no matter what the cost, hearing within 15 days, immediate deportation for those who do not meet the standard for an asylum claim. That is “rule of law,” one of the bedrock principles of American democracy. Enforcing penalties already on the books for those who employ them will help as well.

I would agree with this for the most part. Most immigrants are, in fact, economic migrants. They may be able cite various problems in their homeland as the basis of an asylum claim. But asylum should be limited to actual political or religious persecution by their home GOVERNMENTS. Not the fact that the have a abusive spouse or that there are gangs in their neighborhood. There are abusive spouses and gangs in say West Virginia but that doesn't generate a flood of migrants from West Virginia across the Canadian or Mexican borders.

If the solution is obvious, the question everyone should be asking is why is it not being done. And the answer lies squarely at the feet of Congress. We do not live in a dictatorship where the president or executive agencies can do what they want and spend what they want. Power and authority is shared among the three branches of government and the branch of Congress tasked with funding the government and writing/adjusting laws to achieve objectives is Congress.

And at present, the reason why nothing is happening on the immigration front is largely the fault of one party. It goes all the way back to the debt ceiling crises and government shutdowns of the Bush and Obama administrations and subsequent "sequestration" during the Obama administration where government budgets and funding bills were no longer taken up individually where funding increases or decreases for certain agencies could be considered individually. Instead they are not taken up at all until the very last minute at the brink of shutdown when the previous year's budgets are then rolled over unchanged which effectively means cuts for government agencies like immigration since costs continue to rise even if budgets are flat.

This past year has been instructive. We are in the last week of the year and the House has yet to consider a single individual funding bill for Fiscal 2024 which actually started in September. Rather, they engineered a debt ceiling crisis last May which was ultimately resolved by a deal between the White House and GOP House leaders (McCarthy) that contained new spending caps but prevented a government shutdown and default. Remember? This was the deal that actually brought down McCarthy's speakership since there were a handful of jihadists in the House who actually wanted to bring the nation to default. More recently they passed a short-term continuing resolution under Speaker Johnson to prevent a shutdown during Thanksgiving but that also flatlined spending in all agencies including immigration.

Fast forward to today. In the face of debt-ceiling mandated shrinking immigration budgets the Biden Administration is seeking supplemental funding for immigration. It is part of a larger package that includes immigration/border enforcement, and aid for Israel, Ukraine, and Taiwan. But it appears DOA in the House which has not even so much as scheduled a hearing to even take it up. The Senate has been working on these issues but the House has done nothing this past 6 months other than rename a few Post Offices and obsess about Hunter Biden's taxes.

So if we all agree that we need to do things like hire more immigration judges and speed up the asylum hearing process, and even fine-tune the laws surrounding asylum cases and immigration, then ask WHY that is not happening today.

[HondurasKeiser]

….never misses a chance to blame Republicans.

[Ken]

….never misses a chance to blame Republicans.

Feel free to spin your alternative story about why immigration enforcement budgets are actually SHRINKING in real terms instead of growing. We are all ears.

Here is a place to start with an analysis of the subject by a former high-ranking official in the Department of Homeland Security during the Trump Administration. Where he was Trump's Deputy Assistant Secretary for Counterterrorism at DHS:

Will the debt ceiling deal mean less for homeland security? https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/blogs/n ... -security/

[HondurasKeiser]

….never misses a chance to blame Republicans.

Feel free to spin your alternative story about why immigration enforcement budgets are actually SHRINKING in real terms instead of growing. We are all ears.

Here is a place to start with an analysis of the subject by a former high-ranking official in the Department of Homeland Security during the Trump Administration. Where he was Trump's Deputy Assistant Secretary for Counterterrorism at DHS:

Will the debt ceiling deal mean less for homeland security? https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/blogs/n ... -security/

Are you all ears? In my experience you’re rather deaf to any actual criticism of Democrats.

I think the immigration crisis as we know it,is the result of a myriad mix of factors that are both international and domestic in origin. At the domestic level I think it’s a touch silly and manifestly partisan to lay the blame at the feet of one party. Both Democrats and Republicans have had more than their fair share to play in the immigration debacle.

[barnhart]

What is the connection between the emergence of white supremacist language used to characterize immigration and President Trump bragging that his use of Nazi phrases makes him more popular.

[Ernie]

It's nice that your parents had money, and came from a country that was on the USA's white list.

Neither America nor Australia have a “white list” and they didn’t in 1980 or 1989 either. Doing so legally and in an orderly fashion is slow and expensive.

What about all the rest? Most of them would be glad to pay taxes if the USA would let them do so without jeopardizing their ability to stay and work in the country.

Their desire to do so doesn’t change the fact that America is strained for resources and simply lacks affordable housing at all, and entry level jobs that pay enough for that housing, in most metro areas. Immigrants are, for example, showing up en masse in NYC. A 1 bedroom tiny apartment averages around $3000-$4000/mo on NYC. Most Americans can’t afford that, let alone migrants who are supposedly impoverished and seeking help.

I am aware that some who come want to make $50k instead of 25K (adjusted to their economy). I think these folks should stay where they are (unless it is dangerous to live where they are) and save the jobs here for foreigners who do not have enough income to live and for those who are in dangerous situations. We are in process of helping to sponsor a family of the latter status.

A bigger question is why so many nonprofits and other people feel the best thing for the planet is “Move as many people as possible into America”, regardless of laws, resources, jobs, affordable housing, or the impact it has on the people already here. It seems to me one should first be concerned about his neighbour, and not do things that impoverish his neighbour.

Some people like the Rohingya's that we are hoping to sponsor don't have any citizenship documentation and can't get any. These are some of the poorest of poorest and the folks God/Jesus told us to help. Its not their fault that western countries often give preference to those with money and documentation.
Lots of immigrants move to rust belt cities where others don't want to live and actually bring value to those cities where others don't want to work.
I don't associate with nonprofits and people who think that the best thing on the planet....

I was about to write a lengthy reply and then decided that I could probably use my time better elsewhere.

[Szdfan]

There's a difference between a discussion about how to respond to immigration with limited resources and indulging in racist white supremacy conspiracy theories.

[Josh]

There's a difference between a discussion about how to respond to immigration with limited resources and indulging in racist white supremacy conspiracy theories.

Then stop bringing up race and conspiracy theories.

[Josh]

What is the connection between the emergence of white supremacist language used to characterize immigration and President Trump bragging that his use of Nazi phrases makes him more popular.

White supremacist stuff and Trump have nothing to do with this topic.