I was never entirely pleased with most Democrats or Republicans. There is always a certain amount of negotiating and pandering in politics. Incumbents may enjoy power, but responsibility is too often ignored by the voters. Those of us who choose to avoid the challenge for personal reasons must tolerate all that is inept in politics. It has restricted our civil rights.
Unfortunately, the most inept, inhumane, and unenforceble set of civil laws are those that involve lawful immigration. It seems that Newt Gingrich ‘was’ the only Republican willing to admit it and seek a solution until Trump. Now, he has forgotten!
America has ignored its roots; it restricts lawful immigration to an outrageous extent. Much of it is geared by anti-immigrant PACs started by zero population growth lobbyists spurring bigotry. Some of our unenforceble rules are geared to permanently disqualify productive, yet unlawful residents. These folks will take the abuse and still live in the U.S. This American insensitivity ultimately affects everyone’s civil and human rights. We now permanently bar too many foreign spouses of U.S. Citizens from lawful immigration for some extremely measly civil immigration violations for which there is no waiver!
As a result, what do Americans do? Well, many U.S. Citizens rebel privately. They believe that the U.S. Government refuses or is unable to adequately fund enforcement. If the Government did enforce, there are many more native born and naturalized U.S. Citizens who will be detained without a speedy trial and even deported by mistake. Yes, a drivers license is not enough documentation! What about that shabby looking birth certificate? And no, an expired U.S. Passport is not acceptable proof of Citizenship!
Our current set of immigration laws lack a moral compass. Most Republicans have now seemed to feign ignorance of America’s current Immigration laws. Mitt Romney catcalls “amnesty” for all programs geared to help DHS clear some of the enforcement docket. As a result, he did a disservice to the G.O.P. and the Nation.
I believe that Romney, among others, feed on a vindictive set of Americans. Many are unaware that an outrageous number of long term foreign born U.S. Residents, without lawful permanent resident status or citizenship, are permanently disqualified from a green card, even if they left the U.S. for consular processing.
Many of those who may qualify for a future legalization program, not an amnesty program, have lived in the U.S. for decades. Many were dragged over the border by their parents. Others were shoved in blankets and driven over the border. These children, now in their 30s or 40s had no choice. Now, they read, speak and understand English better than many Native born Americans. Most also pay taxes.
These kids are Our’s. One of Ronald Reagan’s legacies was Legalization. Yes, the program had a deadline unlike registry, but had limits! To the Republican Party leaders to claim that the G.O.P. is pious, yet remain unwilling to forgive the stranger in Our Land, this ostracism is anti-Christian and sacrilegious.
Those who read the Bible or Tanakh know that we are to welcome the stranger as if we were strangers in the land of Israel. The Exodus from Egypt was caused by ramped up aggression and jealousy. This lead to eventual edicts, followed by impressment and slavery against those who were made unwelcome. What took place in Nazi Germany that led to the Holocaust was an effort to de-personalize those of the Jewish faith. We are de-personalizing immigrants who want to lawfully immigrate, but the laws won’t let them!
What has happened in the U.S. is that we have forgotten that people are unlawfully present, not ‘illegal.’ Contraband and drugs are illegal, not people. At what point can we admit that there must be a statute of limitations on the civil offense of entering without inspection? Perhaps, we need a limitation on prosecution for the crime of unlawful re-entry, as well!
The current civil and criminal immigration legal systems have yet to create such statute of limitations! Why? Well, Republicans are unable to forgive. Perhaps, the Tea Party is unable to accept that law and order requires a balancing of the scales.
Our immigrations laws remain imbalanced and geared against those for whom America remains dependent. As a result, the system has epically failed as a just and righteous orderly program, but for the administrators that are required to enforce it.
To date, there is only one Republican who recognized the Reagan Legacy. That was Newt Gingrich, but his hypocrisy seems to have gotten the worst of him. It seems like a political curse. The rest seem to be affiliated with another political mentality.
I hope that those of us who really read the scriptures learn to have an impact on Rome, rather than simply tolerate when Christians get thrown to the lions, tigers and bears.
A number of our DHS detention facilities, mostly run by private companies, have become arguable cesspools of human rights abuses. The Republicans continue to ignore when detained women foreigners are raped by guards, who were ineptly vetted. Yet, DHS allowed someone to be detained and deprived of reasonable health services to the point that organ transplant was eventually rejected. Does this demonstrate a disregard for human rights?
Let’s face it, the U.S. cannot afford to pay for this immigration restrictionist disaster fueled by vindication that created inappropriate red tape restrictions. Mitt Romney advocated the type of vindictive commentary that now fuels the human rights violations that Americans like to condemn in other nations!
The bazaar part, for me, is that he claims to be a good Mormon. I hope that he changes his ways.
Kevin Dixler, Updates on Immigration and Visa Law 