Immigration brain farts

Some musings as I prepare to watch LA burn again

You can most certainly argue that a concerted effort to round up illegal immigrants is not the best and highest use of our public resources. And I would agree.

You can also argue that there are a number of other illegal activities that should be prioritized by federal law enforcement entities. And I would agree.

You could also point out that many of those being rounded up are not getting Due Process. That is a somewhat murkier issue since traditionally deportations have been treated as administrative procedures rather than a criminal process. But it is more than fair to point it out.

But you cannot argue that the Government is "acting lawlessly" when they arrest, detain and deport someone who has made the choice to enter the U.S. illegally.

The entire "ripping families apartment" canard is useless since that is precisely what happens thousands of times a day when an adult is arrested on most any other felony charge.

Like it or not, Trump made enforcement of immigration laws a priority of his Presidential campaign. And he won. And he replaced an administration who (in my opinion) purposefully allowed millions to come in illegally primarily because they saw them as a reliable future voter base.

I keep going back to this unmistakable fact. If I illegally entered Canada, I would look pretty damned silly if I acted indignantly when they arrested me and sent my fat ass back to the United States. Same goes for any other sovereign nation on the planet that I entered illegally. And I don't think anyone else would feel differently.

I also keep going back to something else I have openly asked about for a quarter-century. If I were a legal immigrant who jumped through all of the hoops needed to become a full-fledged US citizen, I would be INCENSED at those who purposefully avoided that process---then insisted that they not be punished for it.

Tell me, why should the US be the only nation-state on planet Earth that is NOT allowed to enforce immigration policy?

Finally, I am trying to intellectually reconcile protesting the deportation of illegal immigrants by proudly waving the flag of the nation you don't want to be sent back to. And I am failing.