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PaperclipPerfector  27d ago (text post)   34841 thread views

Culture War Roundup for the week of March 3, 2025

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The immigration situation could have been resolved firmly in the mid to late 90s, when even California voted resoundingly for highly punitive measures against illegal migrants and at the height of Pat Buchanan’s popularity and the height of American prosperity and global power.

I wouldn't even say that the measures were "punitive" to illegals, they just weren't deliberately imposing costs on Americans. The landmark California legislation was the simple and straightforward Prop 187:

  1. All law enforcement agents who suspect that a person who has been arrested is in violation of immigration laws must investigate the detainee's immigration status, and if they find evidence of illegality they must report it to the attorney general of California, and to the federal Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS). They must also notify the detainee of his or her apparent status as an alien.
  2. Local governments are prohibited from preventing or limiting the fulfillment of this requirement.
  3. If government agents suspect anyone applying for benefits of being illegal immigrants, the agents must report their suspicions in writing to the appropriate enforcement authorities.
  4. People shall not receive any public social services until verified as a United States citizen or as a lawfully admitted alien.
  5. People shall not receive any health care services from a publicly funded health care facility until verified as a United States citizen or as a lawfully admitted alien.
  6. A public elementary or secondary school shall not admit or permit the attendance of any child until verified as a United States citizen or as a lawfully admitted alien.
  7. By 1996, each school district shall verify the legal status of each child enrolled within the district and the legal status of each parent or guardian of each child.
  8. A child who is in violation of the requirements above shall not continue to attend the school 90 days from the date of notice to the attorney general and INS.
  9. The attorney general must keep records on all such cases and make them available to any other government entity that wishes to inspect them.
  10. The manufacture, distribution, sale, or use of false citizenship or residency documents is a state felony punishable by imprisonment or fine.

That this was what considered so punitive that Democrats fought tooth and nail and got the Supreme Court to strike it down really speaks volumes to me about priorities. Yes, they say, Americans should be forced to provide free schools and medical treatments for people that snuck into the country.

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