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Microsoft Employees Protest Work with ICE

nytimes.com

191–200 of 333 posts

Re: Microsoft Employees Protest Work with ICE

#191

If only legal immigration reform had this much political attention...

They tried and failed pretty recently. It takes a while for people to get on board again when something fails so miserably like that. It took healthcare 15 years to come back after it failed in 94.

Re: Microsoft Employees Protest Work with ICE

#192
post #14

I’m not American and I’ve always found it fascinating how a part of the American population defends the existence of illegal immigrants in American soil. It’s crazy.

It's a country founded by immigrants and for much of its history it welcomed them (with some significant caveats). The assertion that America is only for people who are already here is both radical and relatively recent. That's what's crazy.

>The assertion that America is only for people who are already here is both radical and relatively recent. That's what's crazy.

Benjamin Franklin directly puts forth and supports the notion of America as a place for white people(British/saxon) in the 1750s.

Re: Microsoft Employees Protest Work with ICE

#193
post #159

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You may think it's terribly wrong, but that's how at least half of America thinks about the issue. So far, you only provided (soft) ad hominem attack. Attempting to break a law is not much worse than actually breaking a law.

The U.S. is actually required by law to accept and process valid refugee claims. Or do you think we should only follow laws that you like?

If you love importing whole South America into the USA why won't you just go live there? And leave people, who wouldn't be thrilled to have Pablo Escobar as their neighbour alone?

Re: Microsoft Employees Protest Work with ICE

#194
post #14

I’m not American and I’ve always found it fascinating how a part of the American population defends the existence of illegal immigrants in American soil. It’s crazy.

tldr: I'll be in favor of cracking down on illegal immigrants when people stop hiring them for fear of getting in trouble. This is a naive reading of the politics. Very few people are actively in favor of illegal immigration. Many people believe the cures (that is, the ones that politicians push for) are worse than the disease. My personal view is that if we really wanted to solve the problem, we would do it on the e…

What would the process look like for authenticating individuals that wish to work for your company? Or maybe more precisely, what would meet the burden of proof for any reasonable regulation around such a thing?

This would just drive up the value of stolen identities and make illegal immigrants even more indentured to organized criminals that supply them with such.

Re: Microsoft Employees Protest Work with ICE

#195

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Applying for asylum at a port of entry is not a crime, and none of those people are being detained or separated from their kids. But crossing into the country illegally is a crime, even if you subsequently request asylum. Edit: Someone1234, I would reply directly but I’m rate limited. The incident you’re pointing out is more nuanced than that. To combat human trafficking, we separate children from adults we suspect m…

Are asylum seekers necessarily aware of that distinction?

[deleted]

Re: Microsoft Employees Protest Work with ICE

#196
post #14

I’m not American and I’ve always found it fascinating how a part of the American population defends the existence of illegal immigrants in American soil. It’s crazy.

It's a country founded by immigrants and for much of its history it welcomed them (with some significant caveats). The assertion that America is only for people who are already here is both radical and relatively recent. That's what's crazy.

> The assertion that America is only for people who are already here is both radical and relatively recent.

That's not a very accurate reading of American history. There have been many instances in America's past of anti-immigrant sentiment, and even violence.

Here's a particularly good article about anti-immigrant cartoons from the early 1900s: https://www.theatlantic.com/national/archive/2011/11/racist-...

Re: Microsoft Employees Protest Work with ICE

#197

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Applying for asylum at a port of entry is not a crime, and none of those people are being detained or separated from their kids. But crossing into the country illegally is a crime, even if you subsequently request asylum. Edit: Someone1234, I would reply directly but I’m rate limited. The incident you’re pointing out is more nuanced than that. To combat human trafficking, we separate children from adults we suspect m…

https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/8/1158 > Any alien who is physically present in the United States or who arrives in the United States ( whether or not at a designated port of arrival and including an alien who is brought to the United States after having been interdicted in international or United States waters), irrespective of such alien’s status, may apply for asylum in accordance with this section... http…

All the statute you are quoting says is that you may make a proper asylum claim despite already being in the US. The propriety of an asylum claim has nothing to do with the propriety of illegal entry prior to making it, nor does it wipe it away.

Which is not to say that illegal entry is never excusable. Necessity is a general criminal defense, so if you can show that you really had no choice but to cross into the country illegally or face imminent death or serious injury, then you’ll be off the hook for the illegal entry charge.

Re: Microsoft Employees Protest Work with ICE

#198

Earlier quoted context omitted.

To my understanding, the people who actually showed up at an official port of entry are not the ones facing criminal prosecution and family separation. In fact, most of them are simply turned away or told "we're full for the day" or some such. Of course this often prompts them to just attempt crossing in an illegal way. Regardless, at that point it's no longer a matter of "asking to be allowed into the country". Poin…

An asylum seeker under US law is anyone who requests asylum within a year of entry. There is no question that these people are legitimate asylum seekers. Many of them will not meet the criteria to be granted asylum, but that does mean that their requests are not legitimate.

So at what point do they become an illegal immigrant? That is an official term used by the US government. I suspect it would be very difficult to determine how long an "undocumented" has been in the country before asking asylum. Is it if they don't show up for their hearings? Is there any reason an alien immigrant would not claim asylum when caught? Please forgive my ignorance on the nuances of immigration law, I've just seen the term "asylum seeker" pop up an awful lot lately, and not very much at all before.

Re: Microsoft Employees Protest Work with ICE

#199

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes. Illegal immigrants contribute more to the economy than they get out of it.

What if they are taking your job. They are of course taking away someone's job.

The economy isn't zero-sum. Additional workers require additional housing, food, durable goods, entertainment, services, etc. creating additional demand for yet more workers to produce those goods and services. The economy isn't an assembly line with X number of positions to be filled. It is dynamic and growth begets growth.

In fact, as birth rates decline in the first world and countries' populations age, immigration is becoming an important lever to maintain a sufficient supply of labor to fund retiree's pensions and healthcare.

Re: Microsoft Employees Protest Work with ICE

#200
Who says Microsoft isn't doing more good than harm by helping ICE? ICE will do their job regardless of the tech they use and for all we know, Microsoft is helping ICE reduce mistakes which would otherwise harm the people that ICE needs to manage.

People in general need to be more pragmatic, because we see a lot of emotional reactions which only make things worse.

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