We have never had open borders since perhaps 1800. That is simply not the case.
The challenge isn’t borders but that people overstay visas, the disappear into the melting pot because we don’t ask them to carry national IDs— we have fought that.
Yes, a most complicated problem but one that is increasingly about ‘getting away with something’ rather than something else.
More than the Visa issue, to me, is the immigration issue. Coddling of illegal immigrants is a real slap in the face to those who follow the rules. Plus the dollar cost of confirmance.
"Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, the wretched refuse of your teeming shore. Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me, I lift my lamp beside the golden door!"
A lot of Americans associate this phrase inscribed on the base of the Stature of Liberty as some kind of open arms welcome to the good (and bad) of every other country to our shores. From what I’ve read, it was never really meant to be an invitation to open borders. It was more about our own identity…which was created from all those immigrants.
Seems there are two fundamental questions:
1) Should the U.S. remain welcoming to immigrants and lawful visitors?
2) Does a sovereign nation have the right and obligation to know who is entering, why and under what rules?
Historically, we seem to have always answered “yes” to both of those in some form despite which administration is in charge. It’s the degree with which that “yes” is applied.
Potentially, part of the tension many Americans feel on this issue comes from the fact that our national identity has always been tied to immigration and opportunity. Most of our families came here from somewhere else, often with little more than hope and a chance for a better life. Because of that, the idea of welcoming outsiders runs deep in our culture. At the same time, modern border control and visa systems are really about maintaining order and ensuring the federal government (not local communities after the fact) is managing who enters and under what rules. To me, those two ideas don’t necessarily conflict. A country can remain welcoming and compassionate while still expecting lawful, organized entry and accountability.
I will buy that but they have never been open.
We have never had open borders since perhaps 1800. That is simply not the case.
The challenge isn’t borders but that people overstay visas, the disappear into the melting pot because we don’t ask them to carry national IDs— we have fought that.
Yes, a most complicated problem but one that is increasingly about ‘getting away with something’ rather than something else.
More than the Visa issue, to me, is the immigration issue. Coddling of illegal immigrants is a real slap in the face to those who follow the rules. Plus the dollar cost of confirmance.
Cheers — Cliff
Perhaps "porous" borders is more accurate?
"Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, the wretched refuse of your teeming shore. Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me, I lift my lamp beside the golden door!"
A lot of Americans associate this phrase inscribed on the base of the Stature of Liberty as some kind of open arms welcome to the good (and bad) of every other country to our shores. From what I’ve read, it was never really meant to be an invitation to open borders. It was more about our own identity…which was created from all those immigrants.
Seems there are two fundamental questions:
1) Should the U.S. remain welcoming to immigrants and lawful visitors?
2) Does a sovereign nation have the right and obligation to know who is entering, why and under what rules?
Historically, we seem to have always answered “yes” to both of those in some form despite which administration is in charge. It’s the degree with which that “yes” is applied.
Potentially, part of the tension many Americans feel on this issue comes from the fact that our national identity has always been tied to immigration and opportunity. Most of our families came here from somewhere else, often with little more than hope and a chance for a better life. Because of that, the idea of welcoming outsiders runs deep in our culture. At the same time, modern border control and visa systems are really about maintaining order and ensuring the federal government (not local communities after the fact) is managing who enters and under what rules. To me, those two ideas don’t necessarily conflict. A country can remain welcoming and compassionate while still expecting lawful, organized entry and accountability.