Immigration Debate and Illegal Minors

[hardblue.livejournal.com]

Over the last two years, a crisis has developed on our Southern border: a children’s migration of increasing scale, in which thousands of unaccompanied minors from Central America have made the dangerous journey to the U.S.-Mexico border, many apparently motivated by the belief that some sort of legal status awaits them. [...]

The young migrants are not, obviously, deeply familiar with the ins and outs of U.S. politics; they’re following smuggler-spread rumors, for the most part. But the rumors exist for a reason: They’re fueled by a sense that “if you want to get into the U.S., now is the time,” a scholar of Latin America told The Washington Post. And the Obama White House has conceded that a “misperception of U.S. immigration policy” is playing a role — one significant enough to dispatch Vice President Joe Biden to Central America to clarify that we are not actually opening our borders to any minor who reaches them.

-- Ross Douthat at The New York Times

Although Obama has been fairly heavyhanded in deportations, there has been some more shows of compassion toward children immigrants. And we are in the middle of another round of debate over immigration enforcement and amnesty.

Comments

[hardblue.livejournal.com]

But I don't know if 'harsher' means they are any more successful
than we are, in terms of how many get through.

[fizzyland.livejournal.com]

A friend of mine moved back to Mexico City - ironically so she could enjoy a higher standard of living and described watching a rally for Mexico to open up their southern border. Immigration officials poured in and mass arrested everyone - and the news following up said all illegal aliens were being immediately deported.

Los Angeles holds an annual rally of that sort - fighting for rights for undocumented, um, people and all the city does is shut down a big chunk of downtown to let it go on.

In any case, last I checked, illegal immigration at our southern border was at or near a net zero. And I guess we don't care about Canadians because reasons.

[hardblue.livejournal.com]

In any case, last I checked, illegal immigration at our southern border was at or near a net zero.

Whoa, how do you check that! That sounds like our people
should be happy - no problem!

[fizzyland.livejournal.com]

Most of those reports are two years old so critics will no doubt claim that the trend has totally reversed itself in that time or they read hack sites like Breitbart that run headlines such as 'Migrant Army Massing at Border."

It's a choose your own adventure sort of scenario.

[geezer-also.livejournal.com]

The key is in the stats are two years old.
It all has to do with the economy. Fewer people were coming, and people were eve,n going home, or trying their luck in other states, because there was just no work.
It's kinda tongue in cheek but you can almost guage the illegal flow by driving by the areas where the day workers congregate.
Fizzy is correct, but I can't remember the actual method used for calculating the numbers.
Heck iirc they figure the number of people that get thru based on some multiplier of the people caught. My way of going by how many people are looking for work is probably just as accurate ;)