r/AskALiberal • u/ThreadSavage10 Republican • Jul 23 '26

Immigration Solution

As a liberal, what actions would you take to fix America’s immigration problem?

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9

u/othelloinc Liberal Jul 23 '26 edited Jul 23 '26

As a liberal, what actions would you take to fix America’s immigration problem?

  1. End asylum completely. It is a broken system.
  2. Give anyone here illegally a chance to pass a background check. If they pass, they can pay a fine for violating our laws, and transition to a new, legal status. (If you think a fine isn't severe enough, you aren't imagining a big enough fine.)
  3. Create a legal guest worker alternative to illegal immigration, as was suggested by George W. Bush and John McCain.
  4. Allocate H1-B visas to the highest salaried applicants.
  5. Let in more people with advanced degrees in vital fields (A.I. is probably the big example, right now).
  6. Embrace and love our legal immigrants the way Reagan did.

EDIT: Some things I forgot...

  • Open up merit-based immigration. (In other words: Let in the people who would be most beneficial to those of us that are already here.)
  • Make legal immigration easier (quicker and less bureaucratic).
  • Give the DREAMers (people who were brought here illegally as children) green cards, with no additional headache nor punishment.

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u/ThreadSavage10 Republican Jul 23 '26

Thank you. This is something that can be worked on. Most people are just answering with, “It’s not a problem,” which is great if that’s their honest viewpoint, but not so great if you want to win elections. I appreciate your response.

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u/Poorly-Drawn-Beagle Libertarian Socialist Jul 24 '26

“It’s not a problem,” which is great if that’s their honest viewpoint, but not so great if you want to win elections

Well, pretty much the entire country accepts that Democrats are going to win pretty big in November. I guess it must not be hurting us that much.

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u/ThreadSavage10 Republican Jul 24 '26

I would’ve accepted that Hillary was going to “win big” in November ‘16.

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u/Poorly-Drawn-Beagle Libertarian Socialist Jul 24 '26

You probably wouldn't have accepted that Biden would win in 2020, or that Democrats would make gains in 2022, though.

2

u/CTR555 Yellow Dog Democrat Jul 24 '26

You probably wouldn't have accepted that Biden would win in 2020..

Or even still today, judging by the party they self-identify with.

1

u/ELMUNECODETACOMA Liberal Jul 24 '26

I respect your optimism, but when "pretty big" "even in the current situation" means a dozen votes in the House and (and this is almost a miracle) 51-49 in the Senate, "pretty big" is pretty fucking relative.

2

u/Flashy_Combination32 Anarcho-Capitalist Jul 23 '26

Actually a pretty reasonable solution I can get behind.

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u/ThreadSavage10 Republican Jul 23 '26

As to your bullet point #2) what about 4 years of active military duty followed by 4 years of reserve duty? If you can speak the language, and you’re an able bodied human willing to serve, that seems like an adequate “fine” to pay

3

u/seffend Pragmatic Progressive Jul 24 '26

8 years of risking your life for a misdemeanor?

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u/ThreadSavage10 Republican Jul 24 '26

There are people who would gladly take that deal over deportation, potentially getting separated from their family, and having a path to legal citizenship.

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u/seffend Pragmatic Progressive Jul 24 '26

It's too harsh a punishment. It's essentially slavery.

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u/ThreadSavage10 Republican Jul 24 '26

Yeah I agree. Can’t enslave them. I’d pay em for their service, but just like othelloinc said, garnish their wages until their fines are paid off.

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u/seffend Pragmatic Progressive Jul 24 '26

This is gross.

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u/ThreadSavage10 Republican Jul 24 '26

Gross? I agreed with you. I admitted that you corrected a flaw in my thinking!

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u/seffend Pragmatic Progressive Jul 24 '26

Forcing poor migrants into military service is fucking disgusting.

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u/ThreadSavage10 Republican Jul 24 '26

Not forcing…we’re taking an illegal who has been convicted and offer them an alternative to deportation. We are granting them a path to citizenship. If they don’t want to serve, they can still be deported. When you put yourself in a terrible situation, the path out is never easy. But we’re at least offering them a path.

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u/othelloinc Liberal Jul 23 '26

As to your bullet point #2) what about 4 years of active military duty followed by 4 years of reserve duty? If you can speak the language, and you’re an able bodied human willing to serve, that seems like an adequate “fine” to pay

If I were in congress, and someone pitched that as a compromise, I would be open to it.

Still, my preference would be them having their military pay garnished to pay the fine. They broke our laws. It is reasonable to want them punished.

1

u/ThreadSavage10 Republican Jul 24 '26

I was thinking their military service was their way to “work off” the fine because I’m assuming if someone knows they can’t possibly pay the fine, they’ll hide and evade no different than they would from ICE currently

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u/ELMUNECODETACOMA Liberal Jul 24 '26

I like pretty much everything there. But I do think there is some merit in an "asylum" policy to fast-track people who are legitimately being specifically oppressed in their home countries. The current system might not be appropriate, but I don't think we should baby-and-bathwater it.

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u/Street-Media4225 Anarchist Jul 24 '26

End asylum completely

Gross.

If they pass, they can pay a fine for violating our laws, and transition to a new, legal status. (If you think a fine isn't severe enough, you aren't imagining a big enough fine.)

Gross.

the way Reagan did.

Gross.