What do Independents and Agnostics think of Trump's immigration enforcement?

[AgnosticBoy]

Under Trump, the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has been carrying out raids that target illegal immigrants. Tom Homan, who is Trump's head guy on immigrant enforcement, has said that he's only going after the criminals first, and then later he will expand operations to include other immigrants.

I'm sure, a lot of people can agree that dangerous immigrants should be deported. But then there's this story of a teen immigrant that was detained by ICE:

Mass. teen arrested, placed in ICE custody despite legal status, lawyer says

A Lynn, Massachusetts, teen was arrested following a domestic dispute, and shortly after placed in Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody, police said.

www.wcvb.com

LYNN, Mass. — A Lynn, Massachusetts, teen was arrested following a domestic dispute, and shortly after placed in Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody, police said.

Zeneyda Barrera, 18, was arrested at her home in Lynn Monday morning after a neighbor heard a commotion. Barrera is accused of pushing her 12-year-old brother during an argument over a cellphone, according to a Lynn Police Department report.
Barrerra's lawyer, Patrick Callahan. "It's not something I ever thought would be on their radar,"

He said the case was likely to be dismissed, but before Barrera could leave the courthouse Monday, federal agents stepped in.

"They came to the courthouse looking for her. They had a detainer with her name on it," Callahan said. "This case screams miscarriage of justice."

Barrera's mother told WCVB she hopes "to God that they let my daughter free so she can return to her family."

The family came to the U.S. from Nicaragua two years ago and their application for full asylum is being reviewed, Callahan said.

The reason I started this thread is because I see that there are a lot of reactions to this story and Trump's immigration enforcement actions overall, and many of it goes too far.

So this is the conversation for us agnostics and Independents to shine, putting aside all political biases, unproven/unreasonable extreme positions, and share your thoughts and reactions to this story and Trump's policies overall.

 

[AgnosticBoy]

I definitely see that the US has a big problem with immigration at the Southern border where it allows people to sneak in or to abuse our asylum system. The obvious negative effects are that we end up allowing more people into the country than we can handle and our support systems (housing, schooling, healthcare, etc.) get overwhelmed. I've commented on the impact of mass surges of immigration on communities and the economy here.

However, I also see the point of the other side. A good number of illegal immigrants, including the Dreamers, are already established, they work, have American kids, friends, and family. Why is deportation the only result for this group and not amnesty or other penalties not involving deportation? Why isn't this considered esp. given the large number of immigrants that are in the country that would make it hard to deport (deporting more than 10 million people even possible)?

Given all of these points, I agree with some of Trump's policies while disagreeing with others.

Trump's immigration policies for the Southern border and outside the US
I agree with much of Trump's policy to secure the border, including building a wall if need be. I also think we need to stop "catch and release" and let people claim asylum in their country of origin or remain in a neutral country, like Mexico, until their asylum case can be heard. The alternative has made it too easy for people to enter and remain in the country and it has overburdened our court systems leading to a back log of immigration cases that need to be heard.

Re Trump's policies for immigrants in the US
Where I disagree in a lot of cases is when it comes to how he's enforcing immigration with those who are already in the country. For instance, if or when he starts to deport immigrants that have been law abiding since entering the country, then I would question why amnesty is not on the table. I disagree with leaving that up in the air just to perhaps leave immigrants in fear. Although, I can respect the laws and if the penalty is to deport, then I could accept that reluctantly but that would be my last option. But one place I agree with Trump's efforts in the country (as opposed to just at the Southern Border) is with deporting all immigrants that have committed crimes while in the country. And before any amnesty is given, I think fixing the border issue should be done so that we don't have this issue again in 5, 10, or more years down the line.

 

[AgnosticBoy]

Mass. teen arrested, placed in ICE custody despite legal status, lawyer says

A Lynn, Massachusetts, teen was arrested following a domestic dispute, and shortly after placed in Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody, police said.

www.wcvb.com

My reaction to the story of the undocumented teen taken by ICE in Lynn, MA is that ICE could've waited until the teen is convicted of a crime. From what I've read of the story, it was a domestic issue and charges could've been dropped.

Sadly, what I notice are two narratives that perhaps both sides want to paint. The Republican side wants the media to focus on the massive number of immigrants that are taking up resources in the community. When the media focuses on that, such as they did when Texas Gov. Abbot were sending large numbers of migrants to NY, then that tends to make American opinion negative towards migrants. Afterall, no one wants to see a large surge of migrants in their area and that became a problem in some NY cities.

But then we have those on the Left that want to focus on deportations, and they want the media to highlight families being deported.

I suspect it's a game that both sides are playing to the narrative and the perception in the process.