What is your view on this immigration crisis on the border?

[Suburbia]

What is your view on this crisis with children crossing the U.S.-Mexico border from other Central American countries? Who's to blame? Do you think the illegal immigrants will bring diseases to the U.S.?
http://edition.cnn.com/2014/05/19/us/mexico-border-children/
http://thehill.com/blogs/pundits-blog/immigration/211567-why-are-so-many-kids-crossing-the-us-mexico-border-and-what

[memphis]

It's a refugee crisis, not a mere immigration problem. The sooner we recognize that, the sooner we can decide what ought to be done about it.

[Atlas Has Shrugged]

We should take in the children, process them, feed them, and give them the care they deserve as humans. If they have relatives in the country, I'd support giving them limited amnesty from a humanitarian point of view. Those without relatives in the country should be deported in a timely manner.

[bedstuy]

My theory is that Central America hired an exterminator to kill their rats, but they stiffed him on the bill. 

[Atlas Has Shrugged]

This is exactly the kind of stuff my place of employment, Hearts In Motion, is trying to fight by promoting human development in Guatemala.



We obviously cannot send them back. Not only would it be morally wrong, but IIRC a violation of international law to deport people who cite "a fear of violence or harm if they are returned" back. I agree with ChairmanSanchez: care for them, and possibly grant limited amnesty on a case-by-case basis.

But that's only treating the symptoms. We must treat the causes: drug cartel violence, abject poverty, and failing governments.

My position is not as moderate as it sounds, and is the same as Secretary Johnson's. Some people will gain entry to the country, but a vast majority will be sent back. I do have emphathy for them, but we simply cannot take all of them. And we need to start as soon as possible on securing the border further to prevent future arrivals.

[The Dowager Mod]

It's a humanitarian crisis, shame the conservatives are trying to win votes off of the suffering of children.

[Roemerista]

The only crisis is the moral failings of so many Americans not accepting the moral  thing to do, the human thing to do.

[user12345]

A horrible humanitarian crisis that must be dealt with swiftly. Deporting them is not the answer. They are fleeing their homes because they are afraid for their lives and the lives of their children. How can we as a nation that is supposed to care about the well being of all people think more about what it will cost us. These are children whose mothers are trying to protect them from the grim future they would have if they stayed in their home nation. The current places they are being detained is unacceptable. We are packing children into facilities that are practically prisons. The Republicans who scream about the diseases that they are bringing or that it's some kind of scheme Obama has created to destroy America disgust me. If America was in the shape of the countries that these children are fleeing, I guarantee you most conservatives would be sending their children across a border to get away from it too.

[politicallefty]

Deportation should be categorically ruled out right now. That's an unacceptable option for the current situation. Our country has more than enough capability to bring them in. As some have noted above, I don't support blanket amnesty, although it should be issued on a case-by-case basis. For the future, we do need better border security and should turn away future arrivals. We can certainly deal with what we have right now, but I don't think we can realistically deal with a persistent flood of refugees moving into this country. I'm very sympathetic to their ordeal and we should be working to prevent this from happening altogether, which should especially include working with those specific Central American countries to prevent the causes that are effecting this crisis. If we can guarantee safety to those that are currently in this country, only then should we consider sending some back to their families.

[Cassius]

Well, in the short term, the key thing is obviously to strengthen the border. You know, build a wall with a succession of forts along the Texas/New Mexico/Arizona/California border. After all, it sort of worked for the Romans, and their illegals had horses and sharp, pointy objects. Think about it, the Texan section of said wall could be labeled 'Rick's Wall'.  But, that won't solve the problem in the long run, since it won't stop (although it might reduce the numbers a bit) a lot of kids from heading north. And no one wants to see piles of dead children next to a putative wall anyway, so, a long term solution is needed in that case.

Of course, the simplest thing would be to establish a succession of military juntas (with lots of aid from the United States of course) in these Central American countries, give them leave to suspend human rights on a temporary basis, and have them butcher as many of these gang members as is humanly possible. However, such a solution would not be well received by a number of people, so, and alternative might be for the United States to do the job of butchering these gangsters itself by sending in ground forces. Perhaps Central America should simply be divided up into a succession of districts administered by an American Viceroy, or some such post, in order to restore order in that particular arena. Once order is restored, migration levels will drop, and the problem will be solved. Who knows?

[Antonio the Sixth]

I hold the very radical and controversial view that undocumented immigrants are human beings and deserve to be treated with human decency. I know that may sound shocking.

[Small Business Owner of Any Repute]

I hate to say we need to "send them back," but if we don't, this problem really will go from bad to worse.

[Never]

This is a humanitarian crisis, and these children probably shouldn't be deported. All of the ones with relatives in the United States should be sent to those relatives in a quick fashion, but I don't really know what we should do about the kids who came here without a place to go. The American government should probably work closely with the Central American governments where these children are coming from to see if we could be of any assistance in rectifying the circumstances there that are at the root of this crisis.

[Badger]

Well, in the short term, the key thing is obviously to strengthen the border. You know, build a wall with a succession of forts along the Texas/New Mexico/Arizona/California border. After all, it sort of worked for the Romans, and their illegals had horses and sharp, pointy objects. Think about it, the Texan section of said wall could be labeled 'Rick's Wall'.  But, that won't solve the problem in the long run, since it won't stop (although it might reduce the numbers a bit) a lot of kids from heading north. And no one wants to see piles of dead children next to a putative wall anyway, so, a long term solution is needed in that case.

Of course, the simplest thing would be to establish a succession of military juntas (with lots of aid from the United States of course) in these Central American countries, give them leave to suspend human rights on a temporary basis, and have them butcher as many of these gang members as is humanly possible. However, such a solution would not be well received by a number of people, so, and alternative might be for the United States to do the job of butchering these gangsters itself by sending in ground forces. Perhaps Central America should simply be divided up into a succession of districts administered by an American Viceroy, or some such post, in order to restore order in that particular arena. Once order is restored, migration levels will drop, and the problem will be solved. Who knows?

How would increased security help when these kids are largely turning themselves over to the Border Patrol rather than sneaking past them and getting caught?

So a military junta butchering anyone suspected of being a "gang member" will lead to peace and stability from which children won't flee? That's such a stupid thing to say I assume you're merely trolling. Shame on you for wasting our time with your unclever jokes.

[PiMp DaDdy FitzGerald]

I hate to say we need to "send them back," but if we don't, this problem really will go from bad to worse.

More Latino's in the US is only a problem is someone is racist.

[Never]

I hate to say we need to "send them back," but if we don't, this problem really will go from bad to worse.

More Latino's in the US is only a problem is someone is racist.

Having more Hispanics in America isn't a problem at all. The issue is that many of these refugee children don't really have a place to go here in the United States.

[PiMp DaDdy FitzGerald]

I hate to say we need to "send them back," but if we don't, this problem really will go from bad to worse.

More Latino's in the US is only a problem is someone is racist.

Having more Hispanics in America isn't a problem at all. The issue is that many of these refugee children don't really have a place to go here in the United States.

Why is that? Racism.

[Never]

I hate to say we need to "send them back," but if we don't, this problem really will go from bad to worse.

More Latino's in the US is only a problem is someone is racist.

Having more Hispanics in America isn't a problem at all. The issue is that many of these refugee children don't really have a place to go here in the United States.

Why is that? Racism.

I assumed that they didn't have a place to go because they don't have any family members here in America. Of course, these refugee children could be placed in the adoption system, but if the refugee crisis is exacerbated by more children coming to America, that course of action might overtax adoptive services.

[angus]

We should take in the children, process them, feed them, and give them the care they deserve as humans. If they have relatives in the country, I'd support giving them limited amnesty from a humanitarian point of view. Those without relatives in the country should be deported in a timely manner.

That's pretty much my take on it as well.  Not an ideal solution, of course.  I'd also consider finding ways to make those relatives legit, when possible.  The only really weird cases are those who don't have people we can find here.  How do we deport them safely?  And into what life are we deporting them?  Do we have the means to import their parents? 

Ah, where's CARLHAYDEN when you need him? 

[AggregateDemand]

The immigration crisis is a socioeconomic calamity caused by the US' reluctance to take its economic leadership seriously. Immigration is a problem because we have insufficient jobs for immigrants and because we do not outsource enough low-paying jobs to our economic allies south of the border.

Why? Primarily because Democrats have an inexplicable obsession with spending trillions of dollars to eliminate unskilled employment. The policy is as confusing and myopic today as it was during the 1960s.

[Flake]

There's a reason they're coming over here and that's because they believe they and their children shouldn't live in such terrible conditions, and we need to accept these people into our country, wherever they come from, with open arms, and let them become a part of this country.

There's no reason people immigrating into this country should face so many difficulties to come here legally, and there's no damn good reason for people to deport other people back into a place with crippling poverty and high crime rates.

[Small Business Owner of Any Repute]

I hate to say we need to "send them back," but if we don't, this problem really will go from bad to worse.

More Latino's in the US is only a problem is someone is racist.

The problem is that a ton of children are being smuggled by very bad people, via very dangerous means, without their parents or a guardian, into a system ill-equipped to handle them.

I appreciate the suggestion I'm a racist, though.

[AggregateDemand]

There's no reason people immigrating into this country should face so many difficulties to come here legally, and there's no damn good reason for people to deport other people back into a place with crippling poverty and high crime rates.

If we can't provide for someone, deportation is the only option. If you search for the reasons we can't provide for immigrants in the US, it will teach you a great deal about the real failings of the United States, not the imaginary crises we conjure up every election cycle.

[ElectionsGuy]

I would personally deport parent-less children safely back to their parents in the home countries, and begin the process for current illegal familes to eventually become citizens, under strict circumstances. Right now, they probably need food and shelter, and certain organizations can certainly help with that more than the government. I don't support immediate deportations under the current system, but I also don't like the idea of tax payers paying for illegal immigrants who will never see their families or will never become citizens.

[GMantis]

I confess that I don't follow Central American politics closely, but I distinctly remember that all civil wars there ended 20 years ago or more and that most countries there are reasonably free (that's what the mostly US government funded Freedom house thinks, for example), so what exactly is this violence they are supposed to be fleeing from? Turning back genuine refugees is indeed inhuman, but not if they're not really refugees.