aplusapp

Interestingly, I think the most important thing our country has to do is address the immigration backlog. So many people talk about decreasing border crossings, codifying DACA, deporting criminals, locating undocumented immigrants, etc. Very little attention goes to the fact that we have over 600,000 pending immigration cases. The fallout from that is massive: it means asylum seekers can cross the border, get a date for their immigration case two years down the road, and then — if they aren’t detained — simply disappear. It also means that real criminals get stuck in the system as well, so people who should be deported don’t have their cases heard or get released without being deported. At the same time, thousands of families and innocent men, women and children who need asylum wait in prison to have a case heard. If we clear the backlogs and get back to zero, it’d make everything else a lot easier to handle. - Isaac

How far do you think that goes? There have been plenty of things made legal by the US that were straight up wrong--slavery, Japenese internment camps--and abiding by those laws had a human cost. Some people don't have the luxury of waiting for the laws to change. ~Jordon

When it relates to our immigration system, I think this should be the top priority. Securing the border, deporting violent criminals, giving status to families who would be valuable citizens — none of that is possible if they can't even come before a judge. I'm not here to say whether those things are more or less important than ending wars or fixing the healthcare system, I'm speaking solely about immigration. - Isaac

Do you believe in an Open Borders policy?

This term has been used so much I'm not sure what it means anymore. If you mean "allowing anyone into the U.S." who wants to come, definitely not. If you mean taking a look at every application to come be a citizen, then yes, I think America should consider accepting anyone who wants to come here.

Generally, I think our immigration laws are pretty on point. There are a few loopholes and hiccups that seem very un-American to me, like the idea we can detain undocumented immigrants indefinitely without trial (http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/supreme-court-rules-immigrants-can-be-held-indefinitely-with-no-bond-hearings/article/2650154)

Again, to me, the big issue seems to be administrative backlogs and failures in enforcing the laws we have. - Isaac

I think it's a false dichotomy between allowing immigrants in and national security. Right now there are a lot of instances of immigrants facing possible detention and deportation for calling 911 or attempting to press charges against their abusers. We are giving people a hard choice between reporting a crime and being deported back to a country where they may not be safe or just keeping there head down and making all of us less safe. At the very least, we should allow people to report and file charges without fear of deportation. ~Jordon