The former president also told NBC News that spending billions to execute mass deportations of undocumented immigrants is justified because allowing them to remain would cost more.

  • Sanctus@lemmy.world
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    3 months ago

    So its gonna cost a fuckton and damage our nation irreparably in the process? Hate is a hell of a drug.

    • halcyoncmdr@lemmy.world
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      3 months ago

      Don’t forget the billions of dollars they pay in taxes. Something the billionaires don’t even do.

    • ArbitraryValue@sh.itjust.works
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      3 months ago

      damage our nation irreparably

      How so? There’ll be no shortage of new people who want to come to the USA if the government eventually decides deporting the current illegal immigrants was a mistake.

      • Bassman1805@lemmy.world
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        3 months ago

        How much do you know about the legal immigration process? Because it is barely functional and hanging on by a thread right now.

        • ArbitraryValue@sh.itjust.works
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          3 months ago

          I know plenty about it and it would be very different if I were in charge, but that’s beside the point. What I’m saying is that the damage to the USA from an overly restrictive immigration policy is not “irreparable” because any immigrants denied or deported now can easily be replaced by other immigrants later. I don’t anticipate a scenario where the USA wants to allow in more immigrants but no one wants to come. (Even if that did happen, I’m not sure accepting immigrants in advance would help because they can just leave if it gets so bad here.)

              • ayyy@sh.itjust.works
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                3 months ago

                You clearly support deportation of immigrants. Please correct me if my assumption based on your repeated, explicit statements is incorrect.

                So if you think immigrant workers are evil and should be prevented, that makes the white people who exploit and profiteer from their labor an entire order of magnitude more evil, right? Therefore we should cut the problem off at the source?

                • ArbitraryValue@sh.itjust.works
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                  3 months ago

                  I didn’t express any opinion about whether or not the deportation of illegal immigrants is a good idea. Can you quote my statements that make you think I did?

                  • ayyy@sh.itjust.works
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                    3 months ago

                    any immigrants denied or deported now can easily be replaced by other immigrants later.

                    This shows a total callous disregard for the real human beings involved with this statement. Throwing away the “other” and ripping apart their life, family, and community is what you are supporting, intentionally or not, with your statement.

          • Bassman1805@lemmy.world
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            3 months ago

            I’m dealing with the legal immigration system right now. Your claim that we can “easily” replace anybody with more immigrant is laughable. It’s like a 4 year waitlist right now.

            • ArbitraryValue@sh.itjust.works
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              3 months ago

              When I say “we” I mean the US government or the nation as a whole. Right now you or I as individuals cannot easily have people immigrate legally because the government has deliberately made it difficult. If the government wanted to replace a bunch of deported people, it could change the rules about legal immigration. There are so many people who want to immigrate legally but aren’t allowed to that by changing the rules, the government could get as many immigrants as it could want.

              • Bassman1805@lemmy.world
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                3 months ago

                If the government wanted that, they’d have been making steps towards that goal over the last several years. Instead, they’re thwarting any attempts at a path to citizenship for the people already doing these jobs and actively contributing to our economy.

                • ArbitraryValue@sh.itjust.works
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                  3 months ago

                  I’m not saying that the government wants that. I’m saying they could do it if they did want to. The original claim I responded to was that the damage would be “irreparable” and I’m arguing that the USA is such a desirable place to live that such damage could be repaired by allowing in some of the many, many people outside of the country who do want to immigrate.

                  (A side note: I acknowledge that amnesty for illegal immigrants may be the best policy in practice, but I think that it is a “crime does pay” policy that rewards people for breaking the law and therefore encourages more law-breaking. I would rather deport the people who were willing to break the law and replace them with people who respected it, but that’s probably both expensive and politically unfeasible.)