About Illegal Immigration
Ok, so this isn't about tech. But it is a nationally pertinent topic, so I'll address some salient points as I see them. This shouldn't be triggering, but if you need a warning, perhaps you shouldn't read this...
First, I assert that crossing our national border without permission is illegal. I'm sure Google or ChatGPT can list the relevant legalese, so I'm not going to do that. If you don't agree, then stop reading now, since the remainder of this post is based on that assertion.
My second assertion is that, even though the numbers quoted by various news agencies vary depending on their political biases and their level of TDS vs TSS (Trump Derangement Syndrome and Trump Salvation Syndrome, respectively), the number of people that have crossed our national borders without permission or documentation – that is, illegally – is large and, until very recently, growing. We could argue whether and why this is a problem (or possibly a benefit, or both), but this is beside the point of this post.
Thirdly, this problem existed long before I came along and will be a problem after I'm gone. This post isn't about how to stem the flow of migrants, but what to do about the ones already here, and possibly what to do with those who continue to immigrate illegally.
I believe most rational people would concur that removing illegal immigrant criminals is a Good Thing. Where they go and how they get there are postulations for another day and another post. What I want to address is the rest of the illegal immigrant population: the law-abiding (except for the, you know, illegal crossing thing), tax-paying, hard-working, good people.
Our system of jurisprudence is based on a range of criminality and subsequent range of punishments. We don't impose capital punishment (death, in other words) for misdemeanors, nor do we cane people for graffiti (see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caning_of_Michael_Fay). Some may say the law already contains the definition, criminality, and punishment for this crime and doesn't need to be changed, but I disagree on the last point – the law does need to be changed. The punishment(s) for illegal crossing are onerous and disproportionate to the level of criminality. Crossing the border without documentation is more criminal than, say, jaywalking, but less criminal than, say, murder. What we, as a nation, need to do is recalculate a more reasonable, rational punishment that fits the level of criminality for those already in-country, who, except for the crossing, are model denizens (not citizens, yet). Yes, I am advocating a "path to citizenship." Citizen criminals repay society for crime through incarceration, paying a fine, or both. Can we not find an appropriate punishment that fits the severity of illegal crossing, especially for those who have lived here and contributed to the betterment of society for a long time?
As a final aside, one argument for the current system is that it provides disincentive to those intending to cross illegally. Lessening the punishment, the argument continues, will increase illegal crossings. My counter to this argument is that it is based on the fear of enforcement, and that fear is minimized to insignificance when thousands can cross without even seeing a border agent. Since illegal crossers don't see enforcement as a threat, changing the resulting punishment will not change their attitudes: those that want to cross regardless of enforcement will still cross (thinking they won't get caught, so who cares about the punishment); those that won't cross for whatever reason will still refrain from crossing. I assert the number in the middle, those "on the margin," is small.
