The Permission Slip

NOTE: Being in this country without legal documentation is more or less the equivalent of Public Intoxication - a class 4 misdemeanor (USC Title 8, Section 1325) - up to a year in jail &/or a $250 fine. We're not talking Crime-Of-The-Century here, kids.

If you're slagging immigrants on a technicality - ie: "I don't mind them being here, I just don't want them to be here illegally" - then you have to know what's legal and what's not.

And we have to agree on the basic premise that everyone has an obligation to follow the law, not just the orders of the boss.

Crossing our border without permission is illegal, except when you cross that border to ask for asylum.

We signed on to an international treaty that sets out the terms for immigration and asylum, and under our constitution, treaties carry the weight of law.

Beau Of The Fifth Column - Justin King

The rule of law is kinda the whole fucking point for "both sides" of this issue. We should be able to recognize that there's common ground here, agree on a set of facts, and move into a debate on how best to advance the greater good.

You'd think so anyway.

Unfortunately, we're dealing with a political phenomenon that depends on the suspension of objective reality.

We're up against a kind of "thinking" that has no use for consistency, rejects the concept of shame, and substitutes loyalty for truth.

So we can't expect to make much headway relying on well-reasoned argument, but we can't abandon the effort. It's what we've got - it's what differentiates us from the Daddy Staters.