(11-29-2018 11:26 AM)RiceLad15 Wrote:  Why would there be an incentive to cross illegally if there are more legal means of entry?
I've provided information before about immigration studies that found that the net immigration numbers increased once it became more and more difficult for people to cross the border. That making it fairly easy for temporary or seasonal workers to cross the border created circular migration where the migrants still resided in their home country and did not put down roots in the US.

I would say that the only ways I can see to solve the problem are:
1) Streamline and increase numbers for the legal immigration process; it is the height of absurdity for Microsoft to have to build a campus just across the border in BC, because they can't get green cards for foreign born top graduates who attended places like MIT on student visas;
2) Allow guest worker status ("red card") with no path to citizenship, including those here illegally now; we can't send them back, but we also should not allow them to profit from bad behavior;
3) Anyone who completes a tour in the military and is honorably discharged earns citizenship; and
4) Quit pouring billions down ratholes in the Middle East, and use those funds to revitalize (or, more correctly, vitalize) Latin American economies; two things that I think could help this process are legalizing marijuana and decriminalizing some other drugs to break the economic power of gangs, and adopting sugar cane ethanol in a major way, like Brazil, to create another cash crop for much of Latin America.

It's time for us to realize that the Middle East is not an essential part of our sphere of influence--it is much more important to China, India, and Japan, among others, because they need the oil more than we do--but Latin America is. It's time for another JFK Good Neighbor policy--not the least because Unitas cruises were damn fun for the Navy. Rio is a far better liberty port than Riyadh (which, yes, I know, isn't a port, but the alliteration works and the point is valid).

Quote:And I decried the use of tear gas earlier because the administration failed every step of the way to alleviate the situation that led to the use of tear gas. Is it that hard to understand?

And what steps would have alleviated the problem that this administration did not take?