Tom Buffo’s Post

There is no good rationale for this action. “Several Democratic lawmakers decried the plan, including Texas Rep. Henry Cuellar, who called it “wasteful,” and said, “A border wall is a 14th-century solution to a 21st-century problem. It will not bolster border security.” “And for immigrant advocates, moving ahead with the border wall project marks a failure of the Biden administration’s policies.” “The Biden administration is doubling down on the failed policies of the past that have proven wasteful and ineffective,” Jonathan Blazer, director of border strategies at the American Civil Liberties Union, said in a statement. “This politically motivated action will only harm border communities.”

I agree with this opinion.

Tom Buffo - This is ALL ABOUT the crazy NAZI’s (I mean MAGA Republicans) and appeasing them to get to the bigger picture of passing laws and policies. But, we just saw IN ACTION that this type of politics NEVER WORKS!! Just ask Kevin McCarthy!! You talk about “WE” all of us should point out the good, or where we are “ALL” taken care of not just politically, but in this world and how we each live with each other. But, how can I even think this if this is the only type of politics going on today. Yes, there is much good going on in America. As we sink further towards “FASCISM,” we see how the “GAETZ TANTRUM” (the new MAGA tactic) is rewarded, and doing the right thing for all of us, the core of the Biden Presidency, is looked at as a loss. If we are to keep our Democracy, it will take all of us, and not just at the poll, but creating accountability that our government must uphold!! Although the Great Depression was one of the main reasons for the collapse of the Weimar Republic, if you do not believe Hitler and Nazism could happen again, just look around!! Florida, Tennessee, Kentucky, Arkansas, Texas, Idaho, and on and on taking away the rights of people. What do you call this? As you say, “WALLS ARE NOT THE ANSWER!!”

US immigration policy and enforcement is a hot mess. My sense is; 1) Walls are an effective tool. Are they 100% effective? No, of course not. But unless every person and place with one is completely irrational and likes to waste money, I’m pretty sure the data concludes they are reasonably effective. 2) Should the U.S. allow more legal immigration? I believe we should. That immigration policy should be thoughtful, balanced, informed by the needs of the economy as well as humanitarian concerns. America is better because of immigration. It is also harmed by the haphazard, fraudulent, illegal, trafficking migration we are experiencing now. 3) Path to citizenship for those already in the U.S. illegally? That is a complicated one. If someone has been here for a period of time, has been a law abiding, tax paying, productive person, I believe a pathway has merit. But, this should be part of broader immigration policy reform and a one time thing. If it is open-ended, it encourages more illegal immigration and contributes to the problem. Also, IMHO, I believe the vast majority of Americans are welcoming and compassionate people, and are supportive of immigration. It is our politicians, both parties, that are failing on this topic.

Wall’s don’t work. The real problem is republicans do not want to fix the immigration system. They just want to complain about it and fundraise off of it. Why do I say this? Simple: under Obama Comptehensive immigration reform was passed on a bipartisan basis in the Senate. The problem came when Speaker Boehner refused to put the bill on the floor for for a vote. He didn’t do it because it would have passed. His excuse was that it wasn’t a “perfect bill”, whatever that is and never elaborated on what would have made the bill “perfect”. That bill, while not “perfect”, aloud have solved much of the problems we currently have. Any residual issues could be easily fixed. If republicans were interested in fixing the border, they would need to do many things, but among those is to address why all these people are coming here. They don’t care and don’t want to know. The second thing they need to do is to criminalize those that hire people who are here illegally. If they criminalize hiring these people immigration would drop dramatically. Republicans want the cheap labor with no benefits, so they will do nothing to address the border. A wall simply appeases the uninformed Fox News base that chooses to be uninformed.

One reason so many migrants come here is because American businesses will hire them. Fine those businesses heavily. No American will step forward and perform the labors the migrant workers perform. Unless, perhaps, a living minimum wage with healthcare benefits will be paid by said companies. But even then, I doubt all those migrant and seasonal jobs will be filled by Americans. Completely reform the immigration system. Establish a path to legal employment in those sectors that migrants work in. Maybe with eventual permanent residency or citizenship. How about seasonal work visas for migrant agricultural and construction workers? Just some ideas, because walls alone won't change a thing.

Instead of calling illegal immigrants we should call them refugees and join Europe in addressing the problem. These refugees are escaping an economic war. In their case they come here to make money and send back the money to family. We should be using the UN, like we did in other regional wars to settle this. The people coming here are pawns. This is a global problem that will worsen with climate change, a global drug problem (fentynal), food and water scarcity. Why are we funding the UN? After WW2 we had huge refugee problems, that was addressed by countries sitting together under the auspices of the UN.

They have waited too long to try to do something. I have no problem with migrants wanting to come to the US, but it's a process. To let them cross over like they are doing. They need to be put on buses and planes and taken back where they come from and apply the right way.

It's a Stop Gap action for now until some effective Immigration Control could be put into place, I think.

I think the Berlin wall was not really for the germans to decide… 🙄