Quote from: Dances With Trees on Today at 11:10:47 AMNo one's existence is illegal.
No one is less of a human being because of where they live or how they got there.
Some people are undocumented. Being undocumented is not a grave enough offense to justify extrajudicial murder. Nor even deportation without due process. Certainly not extrajudicial incarceration.
I agree with what you are saying, so allow me to clarify what I mean.
An
illegal alien is someone who entered the country by other than legal means. They do not have a passport, visa, or work permit that grants them permission to be in the country. That is not the same as
undocumented.
In today's society, I find it very difficult to find a reason that someone would not have documents of some kind.
My great-grandfather came across the border from Canada when he was 16 to help with grape harvests in Pennsylvania and New York. He had his immigration papers from England to Canada. But he had no documents showing permission to be in the U.S., but back then, none were required. He married the daughter of one of the farmers whom he worked for. That gave him employment history, a residence, and a marriage certificate showing he was married to a U.S. citizen.
His son, my grandfather, was born at home on a farm. No birth certificate. However, when he needed one (driver's license, social security, etc.), he had what is known as an Attestation of Live Birth. It is a sworn statement by witnesses who were there when he was born. Using that form, he obtained a birth certificate.
Other situations still involve school, church, and employment records. Anyone in a country, unless they are hiding, has some sort of document showing how long they have been there, what they were doing, and where.
I do realize that undocumented people exist who are not criminals. I only question why they are undocumented. It is not difficult to obtain a work permit or another document verifying one's legal presence. Passports and visas are a little different, as cost alone can be prohibitive.
So I do not equate undocumented with illegal. We have legal channels for people to immigrate without sneaking in. There are even organizations willing to help make that happen and can expedite cases involving an emergency (such as asylum).
I believe that every human has a right to defend their position in court before any action is taken against them, whether it is deportation, execution, or a removal order. The illegals that the Administration is supposed to be targeting are those who have had their day in court, and the court has issued a removal order for whatever reason. But when you impose a daily quota, grabbing anyone and everyone will suffice, hoping they nab enough of the bad ones to meet it.
