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Why do people say illegals should go back to where they came from and is it a matter of racism? (thelemmy.club)
submitted 5 days ago by may_be@thelemmy.club to c/politicaldiscussion@lemmy.world
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So, today, I saw a sign on my school group's wall saying something about undocumented people being welcome here, which I strongly agree with. They should be welcomed as much as any citizen (I'm American so a lot of this will be in relation to my observations in the USA).

However, I have friends and family who are strongly anywhere from "illegals should be tortured" to a more reasonable (not saying it's 100% reasonable, just MORE reasonable) that the undocumented should be deported but not treated badly in the process. Some, like my dad, are right-wingers who believe in changing the border laws and don't support Trump at all (a Never Trumper I think?)

My stance is that the border laws should be changed and that the undocumented are not "illegal", they should be treated like human beings and welcome as any American should.

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[–] webghost0101@sopuli.xyz 6 points 5 days ago* (last edited 5 days ago) (1 children)

Humans have a longstanding psychological fear of outsiders coming from a time where immigration signalled a war was coming closer, And the local economy/culture being upended by the sudden influx of people who all needed a place to sleep and food to eat and would be desperate enough to break your local laws for the survival of their families. If they speak a different language you cannot even reason with then.

this fear is an underlying cause that develops racism.

The world no longer works like this but our minds largely still do.

You have to be able to think things trough even if they are counterintuitive. Borders are just made up inventions, so are laws. People who flee from war/hardship are rarely to blame for those events.

In general there is enough food for all, so much is trown away. Ending world hunger is literally a choice the global elite isn’t choosing to do.

You too would commit crimes if it was the only way your family could survive. You too would wish people understood the hardship you are going through as you’re standards of life are forcefully getting eroded over time.

[–] may_be@thelemmy.club 2 points 5 days ago

You are 100% right, thanks!

[–] OccamsRazer@lemmy.world 2 points 5 days ago

If illegals are treated the same as citizens, then there is no benefit to being a citizen and borders are meaningless. I don't think you should be able to influence politics in the united states or benefit from policies unless you are a citizen, demonstrating or proving some level level of commitment to this country. I'm not worried if you want to stay here and work, and work towards citizenship, but if you cause trouble then you need to go.

[–] Jumbie@lemmy.zip 3 points 5 days ago

Seeking asylum is legal and encouraged.

Most conservatives ignore that law or gleefully equate asylum to “brown people; we hate brown people.”

The rightwing notoriously makes it extremely difficult for people to seek asylum at ports, pushing them towards crossing illegally to seek said asylum.

The rightwing government points to “breaking the law by entering illegally,” then deports the asylum seekers. These days, that deportation includes murder, rape, abuse, mutilation, forced sterilization and a myriad of other atrocities.

At the top of the pile of inhumane Conserv卐tive stances and behaviors in this regard, we find the old evil, racism. That’s why decent people instinctively mistrust any rightwing person claiming other reasons for being against immigration.

[–] may_be@thelemmy.club 2 points 5 days ago (2 children)

Furthermore, I recently saw a post saying "I'm not a right-winger, but I believe illegals should go back to where they came from". Is it possible to be centrist/left-of-center and say that?

[–] Archangel1313@lemmy.ca 5 points 5 days ago (1 children)

I'm pretty sure that post you're talking about is from a troll account. Don't take it too seriously.

[–] may_be@thelemmy.club 2 points 5 days ago (2 children)

Ok, yeah, that's true. They're banned anyway. I wonder why my friends and family say it though, even the more left-leaning ones

[–] AA5B@lemmy.world 3 points 5 days ago* (last edited 5 days ago)

It may help to understand who is “an illegal”. The media and right wing demonization leads us to expect a dark skinned person sneaking across the border, maybe carrying drugs, and otherwise becoming a criminal.

However

  • lots of legitimate citizens and visitors have all different skin colors and ethnicity
  • we make extensive use of documented migratory workers and other temporary visitors, especially in farm work and construction
  • most “illegals” were in the country legitimately, but overstayed their documentation. This is a civil infraction
  • many “illegals” are refugees from persecution and violence. This has usually been encouraged for humanitarian reasons.
  • even today, many of the rest are desperate people trying to find a better life. Many of these are hard working contributing members of society.

Also remember that

  • undocumented aliens may have taxes withheld from their pay but can’t file taxes - effectively donate to the rest of us
  • can not use social safety nets like Medicaid, food stamps, etc. they do not cost us anything
  • can not vote and there is no significant history of them trying
  • generally keep their heads down so they don’t attract attention - lower crime rate than the rest of us

While I also wish we had better controls on undocumented immigration, I recognize they’re people with constitutional rights, that are a net positive for our country, we need them to Maintain our population so it’s in our best interest to make the legal process easier and faster. We also need to face reality and not make living illegal: all kids deserve a good education, regardless, and stupid paperwork shouldn’t drive them underground. We shouldn’t be piling more crimes on them for simply living: that’s us being sociopaths

[–] Jumbie@lemmy.zip 1 points 5 days ago (1 children)

No one is left-leaning. You are or are not. Look past the lies people tell themselves so they can pretend to be decent.

[–] may_be@thelemmy.club 1 points 5 days ago

Makes sense

[–] bufalo1973@piefed.social 1 points 5 days ago

I'm leftist and I think all immigrants should go back to their homeland... not because they should be expelled but because their countries should give them the chance to have a life with their families. I wish all countries in the world could be good places to live and the sad part is we, as humanity, have the means to do that but we don't.

[–] bufalo1973@piefed.social 1 points 5 days ago

It's an "us vs them" mentality.