The fate of those who are crossing the southern border of the United States is a significant source of contention in politics today. I’d like to start at the beginning and share my thoughts.
I take a little time every day to keep up with whatever is in the news and I listen to all sides. I listen critically and with as much skepticism as I can muster because I want to find out some information and form an opinion that is my own. I do not want a news anchor or op ed to tell me what I should believe based on which “side” I’m on.
I am imperfect, but I do my best to stay on the side that is logical and best for the nation as a whole or the people affected vs. what is best for me or for a group of people with whom I identify.
There are many terms thrown around such as alien, immigrant, and refugee and I wonder if enough of us understand the differences and have enough of a foundation of knowledge to even form our own opinions.
All aliens are not immigrants and all immigrants are not aliens. Some can be both an alien and an immigrant.
An alien is someone who is not a citizen of the host country and is there to visit or stay for a while. If you overstay your visa, you are, by definition, an illegal alien.
An immigrant is someone who is not a citizen of the host country and relocates to live in the country. Once you become a citizen, you are no longer an alien. Once an immigrant, you will always be an immigrant. If you have chosen to enter the country without the proper registration and documentation, you are, by definition, an illegal immigrant.
A refugee is defined by The United Nations and is choosing to leave, or forced from their home country, due to fear (persecution, violence, political opinion, beliefs, human rights violations) or necessity (natural disaster, war).
So, who is coming across our border? The answer is that all of these are coming across our border and we need to deal with each individual situation correctly and legally. You can’t do that if you don’t take the time to document who they are, where they are coming from, what their intentions are, etc.
One group likes to point out that if you don’t have a strong border, you don’t have a nation. If you don’t have a nation, you don’t have citizens. If you don’t have citizens, you don’t have rights. I do agree with this.
Another group loves to answer questions about illegal entry into the nation by deflecting and saying that no human being is illegal and they won’t acknowledge that nobody is saying that the person is illegal. They are describing their actions as defined by the laws of the nation.
The sad thing is that when these people won’t answer a good question with a good answer, they are standing in the way of a solution while pretending that they care. They think we don’t see what they are doing. Here’s some advice – if you are going to go on television and discuss an issue, discuss the issue. Don’t waste our time. It doesn’t work. We’re not stupid. We are laughing at how stupid you are. Stop wasting good oxygen.
If you are driving without a driver’s license, you are driving illegally. If you have a driver’s license, you are driving legally. In either case, if you drive over the speed limit, you are breaking a law that, if enforced, comes with a judgment and a punishment. In no case are you, as a human being, illegal. However, your actions are what they are. It’s that simple.
When people on different sides of an issue can’t even find a common ground that is logical, you have nowhere to go. The problem can’t be solved because the two sides can’t have a meaningful conversation, let alone sit in a conference room and hammer out a solution. George Will, and perhaps others, refers to this as mutual incomprehension.
That is where we are in today’s political discourse and I am beyond disappointed and discouraged that our congressional leadership can’t find the time or the intestinal fortitude to engage in a meaningful discussion and solve this issue.
That is my interpretation of what is happening on our southern border, explained a simply as I am capable of.
But, there is something else. There is an industry built on human trafficking that is making the issue at the border worse and the news coverage in this country won’t tell this story.
What is really going on at our border? Human trafficking, sexual and human rights abuses, murder, exploitation, and profits are being made at the expense of real live human beings. This is being done without regard to the long-term effects it is having on these people and families.
How many stories have you heard about a truck load of dead immigrants found out in the desert in the American Southwest? If you heard these stories and weren’t sickened and didn’t stop and ask yourself how it happened, you are missing out on probably the most important aspect of this issue.
Living breathing human beings. Exploited for pleasure or profit by people who have no compassion for their fellow human beings. Those who are aware of the details and aren’t screaming it from the mountaintops should be ashamed.
It this is being politicized by our congressional leaders and our news media, journalists should be ashamed of themselves that they aren’t talking about this all day every day. They lack compassion for their fellow human beings and their level of journalistic integrity is microscopic. They can pretend to care all they want and cry on tv, but we know it’s theater.
Our leaders in congress are guilty of even more abhorrent behavior. If, as has been alleged, the Democrats are obstructing a solution to these issues because they want to politicize the issue during our mid-term elections, their lack of compassion is off the charts. If you really care about immigrants and refugees, care about protecting women and children, then do something immediately, if not sooner.
Republicans also spend time politicizing this issue and go back and forth about who did what when, did Obama put children in cages or did Trump put children in cages, etc. Their time would be better spent if they stopped joining in on the third grade finger-pointing and came up with a solution that ends the human suffering as soon as possible.
President Trump signed an executive order and, if challenged, I believe the Supreme Court would rule that he doesn’t have the authority to legislate with executive powers.
This issue can only legally be resolved by the U.S. Congress. Our Honorable representatives need to get to work.
Amnesty International released this report in 2010
https://fusiondotnet.files.wordpress.com/2014/09/amr410142010eng.pdf
Huffingtonpost.com covered this issue nearly four years ago in 2014
80% Of Central American Women, Girls Are Raped Crossing Into The U.S.
Amnesty International detailed Mexico’s legal failings that are contributing to this issue in January 2018
https://www.amnesty.org/en/documents/amr41/7602/2018/en/
Six days ago, billoreilly.com covered The People Smuggling Industry.
I hope my time spent on this issue Is helpful to someone and teaches us all that we can’t trust others to inform us in great detail. When we watch the news, we are getting a summary. If you want to arm yourself with facts and an informed opinion, you have to do that for yourself.
RS
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