"They're only rounding up the criminals," you say. But your definition of "criminal" is rapists and murderers, and their definition of "criminal" is overstaying a visa and getting a job picking vegetables.
@madbarrister both definitions seem to have merit. I thought I heard Vance say they'd start by going after the first category. As for the second category, what's your proposal if one overstays a visa?
@SecondJon If your job is to round up people, the boss man will only count heads, so you always pick the category that is easiest to do and guarantees your Christmas bonus, i.e. the family with kids. Because where are they going to run?
As for my proposal... /
@SecondJon
1) Create a path for workers to work if someone is willing to hire them (could be path to citizenship, could just be right to stay as long as they're working)
2) Make the cost of hiring migrants higher than hiring citizens - a higher pay rate that can be clawed back by a higher income tax rate. You don't devastate industries that would die without workers, and you provide better working conditions for the migrant workers at the same time.
.../
@SecondJon 3) Imposing strong penalties against employers who circumvent the rules when there is a legal path to hire migrants would seem less Draconian.
4) If there were a legal path to work, there would not be such demand for traffickers, and those who just want to work will be more motivated to be registered.
@madbarrister I hear you. Did you know there's already paths forward that don't include overstaying your visa?
As an immigrant myself I happen to know that's the case. So.. The good news is most of your plan is in place already. It was long and costly and painful but that was before 12 years of Obama/Biden /Harris, so maybe it's a lot easier now.
I agree with #3, that there should be penalties on employers who hire those not following the legal process.
I don't love the idea of creating an underclass of people to pick cotton or veggies or whatever. I didn't like it when W proposed it either.
As far as future telling/mind reading about how they'd go about it, I'm no good at that stuff, so I've got to go off of actual words and actions, so until we see otherwise, I'll expect the new admin to focus on those with violent criminal history before anyone else.
It's troubling to me when anyone applies a stereotype to all immigrants. Those who are in violation of immigration laws aren't all poor starving mothers, nor are all violent gang members. And not all of us immigrants are here to violate even immigration laws.
Lots of us immigrants are law abiding residents, and naturalized citizens who share the concerns of natural born citizens. And maybe we appreciate what America is more, and want to both protect that and welcome others into it in ways that continue to build on the goodness that is here.
@SecondJon If the intention is to focus on violent criminals, the compassionate thing to do for those who only overstay visas, but commit no other crime is to say so explicitly.
@SecondJon The actual words are that if you have overstayed your visa, you are a criminal.
The underclass is already there, whether they pick vegetables in America or Chile or Guatemala and the veg is imported.
A sane immigration policy would reflect the labour market instead of going off feelings about migrants.
Thank you for your civil engagement. Happy to chat.