America needs to fix the loophole whereby illegal immigrants cross the border, get a court date, and may never show up. Today is not soon enough. The one option we cannot afford is to continue to do what we have been doing.
I am exercising my free speech even as I oppose many of the ideas here because I hope they may lead to better solutions.
I am for immigration when done legally and within the bounds of laws without loopholes. I am against caravans of mobile mobs who choose not to knock at our doors but try to bully their way through and kick the door down instead (with thanks to Art Del Cueto, VP of the National Border Patrol Council, on Ingraham Angle 10/22/18).
Breaking America’s law should not be the first act of someone wanting to be an American citizen.
Crossing illegally wherever they desire is not, should not, and cannot be an option.
Processing centers exist for that, and failure to obey the law here combined with the huge chance they won’t show up for immigration court squarely puts the immigrant into “lawbreaker” category.
Anyone who doesn’t want protected borders should show their support by pulling the doors off their house, apartment, or condo so these and other lawbreakers can come and go as they please. I’m sure they’ll be civil, and maybe they will only steal and destroy, not kill.
They won’t do that, not for long anyway, because they innately realize the door is there for a reason.
Before you take a door down, you better know why it is there.
It is there to protect and guard.
It is designed to keep the good in, the bad out, and to choose who gains entry based off a standard of who you want within your house or on your property.
Unfortunately, we have lost common sense about the realities of border defense as a nation while, luckily, keeping it about our personal living spaces.
“Lock your door and keep your neighbor honest” applies to our borders too. It’s common sense which we need to refresh. Borders are meant to be secure like the walls of our houses which drive people to the door so a decision can be made.
Right now, though, the lax borders with the loopholes tempt too many good people and allow entry for the really bad and evil ones.
The Loophole: Catch and Release
Catch and Release is the policy of immigration enforcement where illegal immigrants are released to the community while awaiting hearings in immigration court. This is wrong. It is abused.
“Over the past 20 years, 37 percent of all aliens free pending their trials…never showed for court. Courtrooms, like borders, are porous. On average, 46,000 people each year vanished from proceedings created specifically for those claiming persecution in the lands they called home,” according to a 2017 report by the Centers for Immigration Studies (CIS). Deceptive court reporting lowers the numbers to 37%.
Remember, this person has refused to use known processing centers and has crossed into the US knowing the law will let them slip away if they choose.
In addition, they have failed to follow standards of law provided here. This lists such common sense items as:
- “All travelers entering the United States from all other countries need a passport upon arrival (regardless of their country of citizenship)”
- Entry denials, even if you have papers, are decided by the Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers.
Border protection requires either approval or denial before they can stay in the US.
Why are we letting them stay to roam freely when they haven’t been legally approved?
If I want to go to the Columbus Air Force Base near here, I cannot roam around inside while they figure out whether I should be there or not. That would be insane for the safety of our military personnel. If ten thousand people showed up outside in a mob, the base would go on full alert to protect itself as it saw them approaching.
It is equally insane for the safety of American citizens to have loose borders where illegal immigrants are allowed to do the same within the USA.
You’ve heard loose lips sink ships? Loose borders create disorder.
It’s a disorder that reaches through all of our society.
Because of the loophole, we lose the power to deny approval based on their “good faith.” When they are “released” to return later for their court date, some seek sanctuary areas which obstruct federal law enforcement (see here). Some will go wherever they can and do their best to never get caught.
The ones we must worry about are the few rotten apples coming from Mexican cartels, ISIS-supporting countries, and people opposed to America’s foundations of law.
We have successfully lasted as a country for 240+ years because our Constitution is founded on Judeo-Christian principles. Other countries without such a foundation have tended to experience greater instability when compared for the same time.
Stand-your-Ground Laws & Castle Laws—could they help?
Americans understand the right of defending self and others as witnessed by the huge popularity of the Stand-your-Ground Laws and Castle Laws.
Stand-your-Ground laws are also known as “line in the sand” or “no duty to retreat.” This one, according to one site, allows a person who is legally in an area to defend one’s self or others against threats or perceived threats even to the point of applying lethal force even if the opportunity to retreat existed.
Castle laws usually apply to your home or place of residence, while some extend to your property line and even your personal space away from home.
According to one map, a near majority of the states have the law on the books like Arizona and Texas. The majority of the remaining states practice the concept as if it were on the books. All the states on the US/Mexico border have one or the other.
How many did I just make angry? What’s our strongest defense?
So what do you think I said? Seriously, if you’re mad, you didn’t read what I wrote.
I value all life but realize not all in life value mine or yours. Like those laws allow, I will protect myself and others if ever necessary again.
However, our strongest defense is to pray, vote, pray. We should vote for those who understand the rule of law and act with appropriate civility as they increase the strength of America.
If the consequences to legal American citizens continue to rise as illegal immigrants enter through loopholes, would someone be within their rights to go sit on some land where they had a legal reason to be and then guard it in order to protect themselves and others in America?
Suppose you had lost a daughter, son, or spouse to an illegal immigrant, you might not even be opposed to using barb wire, landmines, and every tactic available in a war to protect the border like military personnel would protect a base.
Illegal immigrants seem fine (they’re not) until they blow up life as you know it like a mobile mob of landmines moving throughout the land seeking who to harm or kill.
Wouldn’t it be easier to have a wall? Would that seem more humane?
Not all who come to the US seek employment but are part of a deployment to harm American infrastructure, laws, and citizens. If you cannot believe that, then thank God you’ve had such a sheltered life so far.
After you consider some of the other suggestions (including those from here which I don’t totally agree with either), I hope you do see a wall as more humane and possibly one of the better choices related to the concept of “Lock your door and keep your neighbor honest.”
I can argue for or against any of these without committing to any of them.
What if, as part of their wait time for their processing, they agreed to work on the team to build the wall? If you can’t work, you can’t stay. If you get injured, you can’t stay. If you don’t like it, you can’t stay.
Whew. I know that made someone mad. Really mad.
It sounds too much like slavery, and I agree. Really though, it is more like being an indentured servant, but without guaranteeing them citizenship.
Maybe we could even pay them like American citizens get paid when we serve on jury duty…$20 a day around here last I heard. Some might say that is too much because they still aren’t American citizens.
Either way, it would be best if we could agree to basic economics and what Grandmother said, “There ain’t no free lunch.” There are costs to everything “free” in America which fall on those who work and pay taxes.
So if they aren’t willing to work there first and then legally as a citizen…they aren’t here to help America be strong.
Please don’t start saying mean stuff out of your anger. Remember, I’m not saying we should do that. I am floating ideas out there without any commitment necessary hoping for some stepping stones to a real solution.
Debate and logical conversations support the laws of liberty which can withstand civil disobedience if nonviolent. But those who love lawlessness and violence eventually face severe consequences (Psalm 11:5, Prov. 3:31).
These might bother some even more
What if we paid Mexico to keep them encamped until their trial date? If they weren’t there for their trial date, they have to start all over. We would have to get faster at processing but have solid standards for how many we would admit and why. Oversight and monitoring would be necessary.
If they were not willing to stay in the holding area, then they would be saying they don’t want to follow American processes for legal entry, and they would be denied. Maybe this could be combined with the previous one too.
Why is having a monitored population important?
According to the CIS, there is a 99.7 percent attendance rate at court and 85% compliance to final orders of removal if they were inside a monitored population. The numbers for attendance to court date dropped from 99% to 55% in lightly monitored populations.
In other words, as the monitoring of those who had court dates dropped even slightly, the numbers attending court dates dropped significantly.
You’ve heard loose lips sink ships? Loose borders create disorder.
It’s a disorder that reaches through all of our society, whether we like to admit it or not.
Confusing the matter is the US Courts who misrepresent how many people miss their court dates. Criminal contempt comes to mind.
As the CIS report states, “Gamed numbers hid the problem. Congress and the public were—and still are—misled by accounting gimmicks that would send a private-sector CPA to jail.”
What about mobile monitoring?
This next one, I really don’t like, but I will place it out there, and I bet I’m not the first to think it. However, I might be the first to write it: chip them.
If they remove the chip and are found anywhere after missing their court date, they will immediately be shipped out of the country without trial.
I’m sure “chip removal” would become a new black market service costing thousands of dollars or worse, servitude to pay off the high fee. Removing the chip would show how much they would be committed to NOT following our laws.
We also should make the fines of being one of those who remove chips extremely undesirable, including loss of citizenship (if a citizen) and more.
Yes, I even made myself mad with that one, because I know it is a Pandora’s Box.
Thomas Jefferson once said, “Most bad government has grown out of too much government.” I think doing this would be a bad government.
I do not want the government tagging and tracking people like animals. But I don’t want humans who might act like vicious animals roaming freely around the U.S. either. So one of the other solutions would be needed.
I’m not a fan of increasing fines on people to increase compliance to laws either. Too many rules and regulations are like too many knots on a sailing ship—they prevent the functions necessary to properly sail.
However, we cannot be afraid of looking at all options, but we must have a moral standard when judging them.
The one option we cannot afford is to continue to do what we have been doing.
For Christians who care about our fellow man and the land we live in, we need to pray for wisdom (James 1:5) for us and for our leaders so we all have the courage to do what must be done in the most loving way possible.
Love--the unnoticed spiritual side about legal entry
Not many I’ve spoken with have noticed this potential connection, but it is a teaching connection sharing the fullness of God’s love to us through a sensitive subject we care about.
When Jesus described himself as the narrow gate and the way to heaven (Matt. 7:13-14), how many of us are trying other ways to get to that spiritual Promised Land of heaven?
“I’m a good person compared to…” doesn’t count.
“I’ve treated my momma and daddy well…” doesn’t count.
“My kids are pretty good…I raised them to…” doesn’t count.
“I go to church at…” doesn’t count.
“I volunteer with…” doesn’t count.
“I think that…” doesn’t count.
Those are all the wrong doors and each is an Illegal entry point by the standard God sets.
“I believe there is a God…” doesn’t count either (James 2:19).
Only one way, one standard, counts.
That is Jesus (John 3:16-18). If we aren’t “clothed in the righteousness of Jesus” when God looks at us, then we are in serious trouble.
Like the parable of the wedding party, when you’re found improperly dressed because of your refusal to wear the clothes the king provides, you will not experience catch and release.
Instead, you will experience this:
But when the king came in to view the guests, he saw a man there who was not dressed for the wedding. So he said to him, “Friend, how did you get in here without wedding clothes?” The man was speechless. Then the king told the attendants, “Tie him up hand and foot, and throw him into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. For many are invited, but few are chosen. (Matthew 22:11-14 CSB)
Does this seem fair?
The king who provides the means (Jesus—Rom. 6:23) to those who have no means (all of us—Rom. 3:23) to meet the standards (holiness—Micah 6:8) of the wedding (eternity with God in a restored relationship) is not mean, but gracious and merciful.
The person who ignores Jesus is not choosing to walk humbly as mentioned in Micah 6:8. Instead, he is foolish as he tries to mingle in the king’s court unnoticed.
God is love, but failing to understand God without understanding he is also just and holy will lead down a wide path where we think we’re getting into heaven, but God would kick us out (Matt. 7:21-23; 1 John 4:1; Matt. 7:13-14, John 10:1-42).
All of this, and you still may not be convinced. I understand.
My first honest prayer wasn’t based off being convinced. It was about seeking God first in private (Matt. 6:6). So if you’re seeking the truth, read that story.
If you are already convicted and believe Jesus will save you and are willing, with his help, to turn from sins, then visit www.peacewithGod.net for more information on how to have peace with the king who loves you and provides the legitimate way of entry (John 14:6).
If you don’t yet know how much God loves you and wants a restored relationship, then please take one of the two steps above to ask, seek, and knock for the only way into heaven (Matthew 7:7-12).
While America may have limited resources and spaces, Jesus reminds us, "Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me. In my Father's house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also." (John 14:1-3)
