All you have to do is think about this reasonably (I know, I know). Undocumented immigrants to the US want to come here so badly that they’re willing to do it outside of the law. They know full well that if they get caught just for that, they’re in a fuckload of trouble. It is clearly in the immediate, direct, and personal best interest of an undocumented immigrant to stay well clear of law enforcement. This means - wait for it - not breaking any other laws.
Undocumented immigrants have a very strong incentive to be absolutely well-behaved.
That’s not how it works in NYC. The city police don’t cooperate with ICE and even make an effort to protect illegal immigrants who have committed crimes from being deported. Simply talking to the cops while being an illegal immigrant isn’t going to get someone detained.
This is all beside the point because the migrants in question aren’t illegal immigrants who have entered the country secretly - the authorities have permitted them to enter and already know who they are. (The authorities are in fact spending a great deal of money on them.)
That’s how it should be though. Everybody is equal under the law, so you shouldn’t punish undocumented immigrants harder than civilians.
A few bad apples spoil the bunch.
Same as it ever was, Republicans peddle this xenophobic lie every election.
Democrats just as much. They just proposed the toughest border control bill…
That’s not how I interpreted what happened, Democrats reject the lie but don’t mind secure borders and if that’s what it takes to make government function they are willing to pass bills to that effect.
Yeah FUCK them DREAMers, amirite?
The US would cease to function without all the cheap, illegal immigrant labor it uses for everything from harvesting food to janitorial services.
If it’s a job you wouldn’t want to do, you can bet your ass someone without a social security number has been hired to do it for less than minimum wage.
That’s why the border bill didn’t pass, because the Republicans already had a taste of what happens in Florida with that.
The same people dependent on cheap migrant labor seek to criminalize it. I suppose this gives them more leverage with which to exploit. If the right were serious about ending illegal immigration it would mean going after employers, not the migrants, and if successful it would mean paying people enough that they are willing to do unpleasant jobs. They don’t want that, they want a convenient scapegoat with which to fearmonger and labor they can exploit. As noncitizens, this group doesn’t have political power to push back, and they can be made to seem scary and foreign to their xenophobic base.
