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samueltyler2 You're sorry I feel the way I do?? But you're not full of hate??? Really??
I put up a post that is OBVIOUSLY about immigration, and you go off in your own comment and in reply to other people's comments not about immigration but about what a bad dude our former president was. If that's not indicative of being full of hate for the guy, then I don't know what is. Whatever, let's drop that. No president I have ever studied, read about, or lived under has been perfect or all good. They are human.
But, thank you for returning to the subject of immigration and borders. No, I'm not in the "open borders" camp. At least not today. I do find the concept of open borders to be an aspirational goal though.
The problem with open borders in the Americas today is that there is too much economic disparity across borders. The Schengen Area works quite well in Europe (sure there are some issues, but in general it works very well). I would love to see similar concepts grow around the world as economies develop and neighbors become closer. We are far from this in the Americas though.
Instead,
I demand good governance. As we deport and block our undocumented / illegal workers, we are finding that more and more industries had grown to depend on these people. And it is worth noting that America's economic dependance on a second class of people to whom we would grant none of the benefits of a civilized society is immoral almost on the level of the African slave trade. But I digress. No, I say again, I demand good governance:
1) My Federal Department of Labor should study and issue reports on how many migrant workers are needed seasonally and annually in various industries (agriculture, hospitality, construction, etc, etc).
2) Based on that report, the Department of State should issue Visas in the appropriate number and type and disburse them at our embassies and counselor offices around the world (absolutely not ever at our borders).
3) Those migrant workers should be subject to all the benefits of working in a civilized society that we demand for ourselves (OSHA, Workmen's Comp, Unemployment Insurance, Social Security, Medicare, etc, etc, etc) ... and yes, all those benefits should be paid for in the same way that they are funded for all of us (payroll deductions). Yes, this will drive the cost of labor for these industries MUCH higher. Fine. Get used to expensive eggs.
And as for amnesty for those who have already broken our laws by overstaying visas or crossing our borders without the benefit of Law, sorry, been there, done that. We already gave amnesty to millions of undocumented people in the eighties under, you guessed it, Ronald Reagan. I don't see any reason to do it again. I wouldn't ban these people from ever immigrating here legally, but they would need to get in line BEHIND those already in line at our embassies and counselor offices around the world and do it right. We are a nation of laws and I, for one, want to remain as such.
