Perhaps I'm a bit uninformed but it seems like in eight years you should be able to do something to make progress toward becoming a legal citizen. Meeting with someone every day, for 6 months regarding your legal status versus actually doing something about it seems like a thumb in the nose.

Thank you advice goddess for this insightful post.

Under the Obama administration, only about 1.4 million people were considered priorities for removal.

And yet more than 2.5 million were deported under Obama, more than by any other president. Where was the media outrage then?

The biggest problem with illegal immigration is not the illegals themselves, it's the assimilation of new citizens. We can only assimilate so many people at a time and we're exceeding that limit. Too many new arrivals do not consider themselves to be [US] American, nor do they aspire to be [US] American.

Coming from corrupt regimes, many of them do not place faith in the Constitution the way Americans do (many countries have a hard time understanding our reverence for our Constitution). They've seen their country's constitution changed on the whim of whatever kleptocrat controls the capital that day.

Law and order in their countries depends on who paid the cops last and to whichever tribe the responding police officer belongs. The police in their countries are often nationalized and not infrequently mere arms of the political party in charge; they are not accustomed to the US's constrained and politically neutral federal law enforcement arm.

Often, for their countries, security for citizens is provided by criminal gangs and paramilitary units composed of loyal tribal members; witness the rise of ISIS, the mafia, and other extralegal organizations across the globe.

Assimilation takes time. Illegal immigration robs us of that time.

And yet more than 2.5 million were deported under Obama, more than by any other president.

I'm unsure about this. I'm sure of the number, but I think that Obama counted people stopped at/near the border, attempting to cross, and sent back as a "deportation", as opposed to, well, everybody else.

According to the article, that figure does not include those turned away or discouraged from attempting to cross.

Here's Jezebel's take on this:

http://theslot.jezebel.com/trump-era-deportations-begin-with-a-married-mom-of-two-1792169868?utm_campaign=socialfow_jezebel_twitter&utm_source=jezebel_twitter&utm_medium=socialflow

"Trump-Era Deportations Begin With a Married Mom of Two Who's Lived in the U.S. for Decades"

She's been here violating the law a long time. Why should that be reason for her to be here and to stay here?

I have friends who have immigrated here legally. They had to jump through a lot of hoops for many years to get green cards, etc. I am sympathetic to how horrible it must be to be sent away from a country you have lived in since you were 14. However: Why do you get to jump the line and stay here if you just avoided the legal immigration process altogether?

Let's be clear about the "crime" she committed. She was brought here as child and as an adult she wanted to work. The only way to do this was to forge papers.

Through no fault of her own, she was put in a situation where the only way for her to care for herself and her children was to commit a crime.

"I have friends who have immigrated here legally. They had to jump through a lot of hoops for many years to get green cards, etc. I am sympathetic to how horrible it must be to be sent away from a country you have lived in since you were 14. However: Why do you get to jump the line and stay here if you just avoided the legal immigration process altogether?"

Answer in a nutshell.

Also, as reported in the story, she was the subject of a deportation order in 2013, more than 3 years ago - the fact that she was finally detained for deportation should not have come as any sort of surprise.

llater,

llamas

"Through no fault of her own, she was put in a situation where the only way for her to care for herself and her children was to commit a crime. "

If Europeans hadn't conquered the New World innocent brown-skinned people wouldn't be in this situation!

I blame whitey.

Curtis wrote:

Let's be clear about the "crime" she committed. She was brought here as child and as an adult she wanted to work. The only way to do this was to forge papers."

No, not at all. She was, and is, free to work In the nation of which she is a citizen, without forging anything or breaking any laws anywhere.

"Through no fault of her own, she was put in a situation where the only way for her to care for herself and her children was to commit a crime."

See above. The border is open in the southbound direction, 24/7. Her children may be US citizens, but they are not prevented from the leaving the country and can enter and stay in Mexico with her as minor dependents.

llater,

llamas

Make Mexico great again.
Problem solved. I really don't get it on why they can't keep their people at home. We've been training their best and brightest in agriculture, construction and criminal law for 100 years. When will they figure out how an economy works?

Several ammesties have been offered since she came to the US illiegally.

Why didnt she apply for any of them?

Also, if she is married, why didnt she go back and apply for a green card based on marriage?

Or is her husband another illegal?

Answer: This woman is a provocateur. Not a hapless innocent.

Does it seem terrible to deport people? Tell you what. Enter Mexico illegally, and see what they do to you. I'll write you in prison.

"Problem solved. I really don't get it on why they can't keep their people at home."

Mexican immigration is at a negative. We have been apprehending more non-Mexicans at the Mexican border than Mexicans.

Mexicans birth rates are nose-diving.

Our current problem is actually Central Americans. Ask any manufacturer in SoCal, we are seeing the shift. Well, if you can actually tell the difference between a Mexican and a Guatemalan which to most white people every Latino is Mexican.

"We've been training their best and brightest in agriculture, construction and criminal law for 100 years. When will they figure out how an economy works?"

You haven't been training their best and brightest. You have been receiving the peasant class and wonder why they don't go back home and make drastic politic changes? Are you fucking serious? Poor citizens here of any race don't do that shit either despite having the opportunity and you expect a third world peasant class to go back home and do what exactly? Jesus Christ whenever a white person tells me this I'm like what the fuck these people don't even know how a fax machine works. Why WOULDN'T Mexico be interested in getting rid of its peasant class? Ever talk to a Middle-Class Mexican? (No because like most Americans you assume they dont exist) They think only trash crosses the border and good riddance.

Mexico, like most of Latin-America is owned by the same European descendant families since its inception. Everyone else is at the mercy of paying cartels a nice bribe if they want to move up. Those are the taxes.

It is YOUR governments responsibility to stop illegal immigration. However I have always suspected it really doesn't want to for various reasons not just SJW ones.

"Well, if you can actually tell the difference between a Mexican and a Guatemalan which to most white people every Latino is Mexican. "

I blame whitey.

Curtis: "Let's be clear about the "crime" she committed. She was brought here as child and as an adult she wanted to work. The only way to do this was to forge papers.

Through no fault of her own, she was put in a situation where the only way for her to care for herself and her children was to commit a crime."

Seriously? "The only way to do this was to forge papers." Really?

How about, return to your home country to work. Or apply to become a legal resident. There, I just named two other options. Maybe she did not like them; but, they were available.

And if they weren't available why blame the US? How about we blame her parents for putting her in this legal limbo? How about we blame her home country for not taking her back?

"Through no fault of her own . . ."

Well, maybe it wasn't her fault; but why should it be up to others to fix her situation? Many of us are put into undesirable situations through no fault of our own; but, we fix the situation ourselves! So, she should fix her own situation herself.

Also, if she was here illegally, why the heck is she having children if she can't stay to take care of them? Her parents put her into a bad situation, so she turned around and screwed her own kids?

Sorry, I do NOT feel sorry for those who have broken laws (and yes, it IS a crime; not a "crime" - no need for the quotes there Curtis) to come here. Just what would happen to me if I broke Mexico's (or any other country's) border crossing laws?

We have so much free and good stuff here. Just considering that we have highways and good schools and utilities that work, even being poor here is better than other places. If borders were truly open, as some seem to want, why would not 10 million or 20 million per year flood in? Would that be ok?

She has been here since 95, she could have gotten legal residence

She married another illegal which is why she cant get a green card

Her daughter who is sixteen refered to her family as 'us Mexicans'

Think on that - the family lawyer trying to get her deportation overturned claims the children are US citizens, yet even after living all their lives here still refer to themselves as Mexican.

"yet even after living all their lives here still refer to themselves as Mexican."

Meh their kids don't really consider themselves Mexican and Mexicans themselves don't consider them Mexican.

A simplistic explanation and I can go long and hard on this topic is that 2nd generation kids do that is because when you say American, people go "NO BUT WHERE ARE YOU REALLY FROM"

Hell I get it all the time. So does my dad, and his family has been in California since well forever. My best friend gets "wow your English is really good".

They're basically using Mexican like black people say black.

"I blame whitey"

Well as a minority i thought that was just assumed.

Ppen "You have been receiving the peasant class and wonder why they don't go back home and make drastic politic changes? Are you fucking serious?"
No. That 'best and brightest' language was just one last kick at Obama's ass while we still remember who he is.
I worked construction in SoCal for 25 years. You're right about the peasant class thing. A declining birthrate and negative immigration is good news for the rest of us. Pity about California.

It does not sound like she/them put much effort into staying here legally so other than them being convenient "pawns" for the open border crowd what's the issue?

I guess their mindset is/was "hope it goes away"? Bad things happen to good people and in a perfect world we would get a "do-over".

A good friend went through a LOT of stuff to become a citizen and due to politics (I think) her son is/will be denied entry even for a visit (Good morning Comrade). Is that humane? fair? right?

I hate both available answers.

Via Sailer.

No matter what your feelings about this, it's indisputable that Donald Trump botched it.

This spot on:

> I hate both available answers.

☑

The only possible conclusion is that there are other answers to be explored.

Why should she be allowed to stay here?

Because she's an undocumented Democrat, that's why!

The really stupid thing about situations like this, is the fact that the law went unenforced for so long. It should not be possible to be in the country illegally for 22 years. It should not be possible to be arrested, charged with holding forged identity documents, and then released to continue your crime.

These people are in a sad situation. The lives they have built are being destroyed. However, they should never have been allowed to build those lives in the first place.

It's like letting a wound fester. When you finally get around to treating it, the treatment is going to be a lot more drastic and painful. If you hadn't let the would fester in the first place, everything would have been far simpler.

It's all fun and games until YOUR Social Security Number is used... No sympathy from me, or my (legal immigrant) wife.

"I have friends who have immigrated here legally. They had to jump through a lot of hoops for many years to get green cards, etc."

Yeah, this is the thing that ought to be obvious, but doesn't seem to be in current politics: there seems to be an assumption that people who have immigrated legally, and been through the whole Byzantine process to do so, are going to be big supporters of illegal immigration. What would be their motivation for wanting to see other people get for free that which they had to work hard for? Why would they be eager to see illegals effectively cutting line in front of their own friends and relatives who are trying to immigrate legally? The little bit of data that I've seen on it shows that legal immigrants are no more in favor of open borders than natives are, and maybe even less so. Both political parties seem to be missing this.

"Through no fault of her own, she was put in a situation where the only way for her to care for herself and her children was to commit a crime."

Well, let's see. She came here at the age of 14; she's now 36. So she's had 22 years to straighten out her status. Yet it doesn't appear that she's lifted a finger to do so. And I'll tell you why not. That "forged papers" conviction? That means identity theft. She stole someone else's SS#. In all likelihood she received that person's income tax refund, and/or took out credit cards in that person's name. It probably took years and $$$ for her victim to get the mess straightened out. And it probably wasn't the first time. Sure beats paying taxes. Pro tip: People who break the law to get one thing that they want (entry into the country) are more likely to break other laws to get other stuff that they want.

"Make Mexico great again. Problem solved. I really don't get it on why they can't keep their people at home. "

It's the Castro-ization of Mexico. The Mexican government isn't explicitly Communist, but it's as corrupt and ineffective as the Castro government is. Dirty little secret: Not all immigrants are barefoot, penniless and unskilled. Mexico's government has done the same thing that Castro did, which was to motivate the best and brightest to escape to the U.S., thus concentrating among the remaining population the dullards and slackers who are OK with socialism and declining standards of living, as long as they can get drugs and alcohol and don't have to work very much. Of course the Cuban ones got amnesty, while the Mexican ones either went through the legal process or just came in and kept their heads down, but the effect has been much the same. And as in Castro's case, the Mexican government has been happy to see them go, because it eliminates potential political opposition. It's Curleyization on a national level.

(And this is one of the things that makes immigration policy tricky. Other countries motivating their best and brightest to move to the U.S.? I'm all for that. There are practical considerations, in that assimilation is kind of a slow process and we can only take so many at a time. But in general, if smart and motivated people who really want to live an American life want to come here, I'll hold the door for them. What we don't want is other countries dumping their dysfunctions on us. Sometimes which one is which isn't apparent up front.)

"Hell I get it all the time. So does my dad, and his family has been in California since well forever. "

The last part of the sentence explains it. Get away from the coastal elites, and you'll get less of that sort of thing. Here out in flyover country, most of us are taught that we aren't of high enough rank to get away with being gratuitously rude to people.

"It is YOUR governments responsibility to stop illegal immigration."

Well at least you agree w/Trump's EO.

Know what I would have done as president?

Once Canada butted in to proclaim their moral superiority I would have gone on TV praised them for their stance, and then signed an executive order granting a pardon to all illegal migrants within US boarders no matter their crime as well as a free trip to the Canadian border so long as they turned themselves in, as well as a free trip to all migrants on the southern border to the Canadian border