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MAGAs complain that the border is open and "People who hate us" are coming to Destroy America [1]

['This Content Is Not Subject To Review Daily Kos Staff Prior To Publication.']

Date: 2023-12-04  

Reposted from my Substack.

The first question is "Why don't these people just come legally?" And the answer to that is simple. It's not possible. There are legal Visas available for students, tourists and people with exceptional job skills or those with a relative who can act as a sponsor but if you're a poor blue-collar worker you can't simply choose or purchase a Visa into the United States - you have to be sponsored by a business or corporation.

Before you can even apply for a US work visa, you must have a job offer from a specific US employer. The employer will then sponsor your visa by filing a petition with the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). This type of work visa is part of a wider category of visas called petition-based visas. ['...] Getting a US work visa can be expensive, and the cost varies depending on the type of work visa required, the size of the company, and how many of the company’s existing employees are there on a work visa. The sponsoring employer will cover most of these fees, but the employee may have to pay a portion of it as well.

The cost of an H2-B Visa can be as much as $7000 each for a company with at least 50 employees. This is why many companies would prefer to pay an undocumented worker under the table rather than pay for a Visa and have to also pay worker compensation and employee taxes, let alone health insurance.

According to the actual figures from Border Patrol about 67% of the people they've encountered, or about 4 Million people over the last 2 years, have been "arrested and expelled" from the border. So it's hard to factually claim the "border is open" because it isn't. Anyone with signs of Covid-19, a criminal record, outstanding warrants or flagged by the terrorist watch list is blocked from entry. Border Patrol is doing its job apprehending and processing tens of thousands of migrants per month.

Percentage of people Expelled, Arrested and Released into the US pending deportation

The larger issue is what should they be doing with the people they find?

Trying to kill them with automatic guns, underwater razor wire, razor buoys, alligator pits and sharks with frikin' lasers on their heads are all international crimes. We don't have authorization - without declaring a war - to kill people who are physically in another country or at all if they don't present a current direct physical threat to someone. Just killing someone carrying a backpack is not justice. It's not "self-defense" - it's murder. This is not an "invasion" and it's not a war.

Using surveillance equipment Border Patrol can find and apprehend 85-90% of those who attempt to cross the border. A wall that can be defeated with a rope, a ladder or an angle grinder doesn’t help with that - better equipment and more staff does.

The current rules under Biden are that single adults are not permitted entry, but family units and lone children are allowed to enter. Most who cross *want* to be found by Border Patrol so they can potentially request legal asylum, however, that is only granted to a limited number of migrants per year, usually 125,000. About 32% of those they encounter are not immediately expelled or arrested. Some of those who immediately request asylum are placed on that track and scheduled for asylum hearings while their deportation is temporarily delayed pending the result of those proceedings. Only about 35% have their asylum requests approved, those who are denied are placed back on the deportation track. Rate of Asylum requests accepted As you can see from the chart, contrary to popular opinion, the number of people who have been accepted for consideration for asylum increased during Trump’s term and plummeted drastically in 2021, and has remained low in FY2022-23. Accepting people who request asylum is actually part of International Law under the UN’s 1951 Refugee Convention whose Protocols were ratified in the US in 1967. The core principle of the 1951 Convention is non-refoulement, which asserts that a refugee should not be returned to a country where they face serious threats to their life or freedom. This convention and protocol were put in place largely because of the experience of the M.S. St. Louis which was a ship carrying 900 Jewish refugees during World World II which was blocked from docking in Cuba and the Eastern seaboard of the U.S. Ultimately the ship returned to Europe and 1/3rd of the Jewish refugees on board were ultimately killed in the Concentration Camps of Germany. As the M.S. St. Louis cruised off the coast of Miami in June 1939, its passengers could see the lights of the city glimmering. But the United States hadn’t been on the ship’s original itinerary, and its passengers didn’t have permission to disembark in Florida. As the more than 900 Jewish passengers looked longingly at the twinkling lights, they hoped against hope that they could land. Those hopes would soon be dashed by immigration authorities, sending the ship back to Europe. And then, nearly a third of the passengers on the St. Louis were murdered. Consequently, it is part of U.S. Law to accept refugees for Asylum. Any alien who is physically present in the United States or who arrives in the United States (whether or not at a designated port of arrival and including an alien who is brought to the United States after having been interdicted in international or United States waters), irrespective of such alien’s status, may apply for asylum in accordance with this section or, where applicable, section 1225(b) of this title.

Those who are not processed for asylum are given a hearing date for deportation proceedings -- because we *do* still have due process in this country -- and usually the head of household is given an ankle monitor to track his movements. [It is also possible to claim asylum as a “Defense” from deportation proceedings]

83% of those with deportation proceedings pending who are not held in detention attend those proceedings. This increases to 95% when they are provided legal representation. Immigration judges determine that about 35% - or about 25,000 per year - of those with these cases are to be deported but this varies wildly depending on whether the subject has legal representation or not as shown by data from California.

As of February 2022, across the state, among all deportation cases initiated between 2001 and 2021, 71% of deportation cases that were not represented legally were issued removal orders. By comparison, out of all deportation cases that were represented legally, 16% were issued removal orders.

So depending on legal representation (which 68% of subjects did not have) the odds of having a favorable ruling and being allowed to stay is about 4:1 after a processing time of 2-3 years, assuming they go to all your hearings and don't commit any other crimes. But those odds would be the reverse at about 1:4 without a lawyer. Admittedly, this is still a significant number of people who enter and are ultimately allowed to stay. The Right argues that they shouldn't be allowed entry because they are "Criminals" and potential 'Terrorists" but is that truly the case?

Many studies indicate that even undocumented migrants are far less likely to be criminals.

Crime rates among undocumented immigrants are just a fraction of those of their U.S.-born neighbors, according to a first-of-its-kind analysis of Texas arrest and conviction records. Compared to undocumented immigrants, U.S. citizens were twice as likely to be arrested for violent felonies in Texas from 2012 to 2018, two-and-a-half times more likely to be arrested for felony drug crimes, and over four times more likely to be arrested for felony property crimes, according to a study published by University of Wisconsin–Madison researchers today in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

So this image that those at the border are really a raging band of roving criminals simply isn't the case. Even the Libertarian Cato Institute states this:

The results are similar to our other work on illegal immigration and crime in Texas. In 2018, the illegal immigrant criminal conviction rate was 782 per 100,000 illegal immigrants, 535 per 100,000 legal immigrants, and 1,422 per 100,000 native‐​born Americans. The illegal immigrant criminal conviction rate was 45 percent below that of native‐​born Americans in Texas. The general pattern of native‐​born Americans having the highest criminal conviction rates followed by illegal immigrants and then with legal immigrants having the lowest holds for all of other specific types of crimes such as violent crimes, property crimes, homicide, and sex crimes.

As a third indication only 0.23% of those going through deportation proceedings do so because they have committed crimes.

According to court records, only 0.23% of FY 2024 new cases sought deportation orders based on any alleged criminal activity of the immigrant, apart from possible illegal entry.

Cities and counties that operate as "sanctuary cities" where local law enforcement doesn't directly coordinate with ICE on deporting criminals are on average safer because undocumented immigrants are not afraid of interacting with police.

A 2017 report by the Center for American Progress found that sanctuary counties, or counties that do not collaborate with federal immigration enforcement by holding people past their release date, are safer than non-sanctuary counties, as families can remain together, local economies are strengthened, and crime rates are lower.

Migrants are not responsible for bringing drugs like Fentanyl into the U.S. About 85% of those apprehended attempting to smuggle Fantanyl are U.S. citizens caught using cars and trucks at points of entry.

Fentanyl smuggling is ultimately funded by U.S. consumers who pay for illicit opioids: nearly 99 percent of whom are U.S. citizens. In 2021, U.S. citizens were 86.3 percent of convicted fentanyl drug traffickers—ten times greater than convictions of illegal immigrants for the same offense. Over 90 percent of fentanyl seizures occur at legal crossing points or interior vehicle checkpoints, not on illegal migration routes, so U.S. citizens (who are subject to less scrutiny) when crossing legally are the best smugglers. The location of smuggling makes sense because hard drugs at ports of entry are about 97 percent less likely to be stopped than are people crossing illegally between them. Just 0.02 percent of the people arrested by Border Patrol for crossing illegally possessed any fentanyl whatsoever. The government exacerbated the problem by banning most legal cross border traffic in 2020 and 2021, accelerating a switch to fentanyl (the easiest‐​to‐​conceal drug). During the travel restrictions, fentanyl seizures at ports quadrupled from fiscal year 2019 to 2021. Fentanyl went from a third of combined heroin and fentanyl seizures to over 90 percent. Annual deaths from fentanyl nearly doubled from 2019 to 2021 after the government banned most travel (and asylum).

The second argument often presented is that terrorists, ISIS or Hamas may be sneaking across our open border to attack us. But in point of fact, no terrorists have ever entered the U.S. by illegally crossing the southern border.

Zero people have been killed or injured in attacks on U.S. soil committed by terrorists who illegally crossed the Southwest border. From 1975 through the end of 2020, only nine people convicted of planning a terrorist attack entered the United States illegally – some of them on ships, airplanes, and walking across the border. For instance, the most serious case was Walid Kabbani who walked across the Canadian border with a bomb in 1987 and was immediately arrested. Only three of the nine who entered illegally came across the border with Mexico as young children in 1984, 23 years before they were arrested for a comically planned terrorist attack on Fort Dix in 2007. They were Shain Duka, Britan Duka, and Eljvir Duka.

It's hard to say "never say never" about a terrorist entering by bum-rushing the border, but the fact is that by doing that they lose access to everything they might need to implement a serious terror attack. They wouldn't have a valid ID which they could use to buy weapons or bomb making materials. They wouldn't be able to take flying lessons or legally fly a plane, they wouldn't be able to access dangerous or hazardous chemicals. Their ability to do any real damage would be severely hampered, so they tend to come here using a student or tourist Visa which can be obtained if you have enough money. And terrorists are not lacking in money.

So if the problem isn't crime or terrorism, could it possibly be politics? The final argument used by MAGAs against migrants is that they are "sufficiently American" to be here. They don't "Believe" in the right things. Most migrants on the southern border are refugees from economic destitution and cartel violence. Cartels that are funded by drugs paid for by the U.S. and are armed by weapons provided by the U.S. Some are refugees from Socialism. They are coming here because their survival, and the survival of their children, depends on it. They're willing to trek thousands of miles on foot, through the jungle and desert to reach the U.S., and some don't think they have sufficient motivation?

Considering how the GOP has treated them, is it a wonder that they generally prefer Democrats?

While there’s no way of knowing if these predictions are accurate, the data provide some insights. In 2012, the Pew Research Center’s National Survey of Latinos found that among Latino immigrants who are not U.S. citizens or legal permanent residents (and therefore likely unauthorized immigrants), some 31% identify as Democrats and just 4% as Republicans. An additional 33% say they are political independents, 16% mention some other political party and 15% say they “don’t know” or refuse to answer the question.

Then again, Latinos who come from Communist or Socialist countries like Cuba or Venezuela tend in general to become Republicans, so even this isn’t absolute.

But this entire idea becomes even more sinister when you include the GOP’s “Greate Replacement Theory” that White people are being strategically replaced by Latinos due to the intervention of Jews in order to “change America.” In short, MAGAs believe that new migrants will tend to be sympathetic to Democrats and vote for them. This ignores the fact that undocumented migrants can not vote, and that if you are undocumented it can be an arduous and doubly-difficult task to become documented with a Visa.

x x YouTube Video Again, this argument is nonsense. The fact is that most migrants are trying to come to the U.S. because they also believe in the American Dream. TIJUANA, Mexico — My parents had never heard of the American dream when they came to the United States from Mexico in the early '80s, but they wanted what it supposedly offered. They were after a better life with more work opportunities. Four decades later, they are intimately familiar with the concept and say they attained their version of the dream. My dad says he has a family, a home and a better life than he could have had in Mexico. My sisters and I benefited from our parents' aspirations, too. In Spanglish, my mom says, "Ustedes vinieron a succeed, no para sobrevivir." In other words, we are here to succeed, not to survive. There are migrants today seeking a similar dream, but with less say in how that happens. Last week, migrants were flown from Texas to Martha's Vineyard, saying they were promised jobs that never existed and that they were lied to about their destination. The so-called American dream remains a compelling tale among migrants south of the border, but the objective has shifted. For many, simply trying to stay alive is what's driving them towards the United States. These people aren’t coming to “replace” anyone, they’re coming to survive and to thrive in the one country where that is the entire point of the existence of the nation. They’re coming to live and to work, but they really have no ability to affect the vote because if you are undocumented there are very few paths to gaining legitimate documentation. Suppose your original entry was legal and you are only undocumented because you overstayed a legal visa. In that case, it's possible to stay and become documented again if you marry a permanent resident or citizen. If your entry was unlawful and you have a permanent resident spouse you would need a provisional waiver to become documented. if you obtain higher education you may gain protection through DACA or the Life Act, but outside of these options, the chances of becoming documented are next to nil. Then it takes years of holding a Visa to become a permanent resident with a Green Card, and years more (5) to ultimately become eligible for applying for citizenship. The path to being able to vote may take 10-15 years for someone who entered the US legally with a Visa, it would be even longer for someone undocumented.

These people have no impact on the vote. It's more likely that children they have in the US, who are born Americans, are more likely to reach voting age before they manage to find a way to become citizens themselves. That takes 18 years.

MAGAs have lots of excuses, but no real genuine reasons to fear and denigrate migrants, even the undocumented. They aren't criminals, they aren't bringing drugs, they aren't "rapists", they aren't terrorists, and even if they may lean toward Democrats they can't have any direct impact on our elections legally, only their children might after almost 2 decades.

They just hate these people who are literally running for their lives away from violent drug cartels who are armed and funded by people in the U.S., from economic tragedy and in some cases super-high inflation and socialism. The ease of obtaining guns in the U.S. is what is arming the cartels with the weapons of war — using money they make providing drugs to the U.S.

x x YouTube Video And again, the people mostly transporting the guns south and the drugs north are U.S. citizens hired by the Cartels. If the Cartels truly wanted to invade the U.S. they absolutely could do exactly that — and based on the level of violence in Mexico, Guatemala and El Salvador — it really would be truly horrible.

The Cartels are serious business and very violent criminals. Most of the people at our border are running away from those Cartels. Trying to completely seal the border is like building a fence around a burning building to keep the victims trapped inside.

If you had to face these Cartels, if it was your family and survival at stake, would you be willing to do any less to protect them and get them to a safe place?

I doubt it.

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[1] Url: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2023/12/4/2209492/-MAGAs-complain-that-the-border-is-open-and-People-who-hate-us-are-coming-to-Destroy-America?pm_campaign=front_page&pm_source=latest_community&pm_medium=web

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