BurningKrome, the issue I am posing is this, with regards to deportation:

there is no efficient means of tracking an illegal immigrant. They go totally off the board, unless arrested. Prior to arrest, they may have committed violent crimes in this country. Arresting them, determining those pre-existing crimes and then deporting them does nothing to address the fact that they've already committed violent crimes in this country. Nothing done after the fact will help those any victims of such crimes. Nothing done after the fact will provide any solution to those prior crimes and to those prior victims.

It may prevent future crimes, and future victims, but this is speculative policing; we don't know that they intend to commit any further crimes, and as such, if they are to be deported, it would be on the objective basis of them being here illegally. No matter the country of origin, we cannot convict a person for crimes he has not yet committed. If we refuse to or cannot legally prosecute them for the crimes they've already committed in this country, but instead merely deport them, there is little actual difference in saying "deport them because they've committed crime here" and "deport them because they've committed the crime of illegal border crossing."

You see the difference there? If they've already committed a violent crime here, deportation only prevents further potential crimes from that individual. it doesn't prevent the crimes they've already committed, which is cold comfort for the victims of those crimes.

And if we assume a preventative posture, deporting for crimes that have not yet occured, but seem likely, the end effect is the same as deporting an individual for illegal immigrant status. You can't prove that a murderer intends to murder again. You can prove that he's here illegally.

Also, tighter border controls...more than a notion. I don't know if there's a budget big enough to provide effective border coverage. I mean all of our borders.

I should point out, I have been working in my orbital laboratory on a continental force shield. I was going to use it to hold the Sci-Fi channel hostage until they start making non-crap movies. But I could rent it out to the USA for a small fee to close off their insipid borders completely.

And when I say, "small fee", I actually mean " large enough to cover the tax bill they sent me." You see, Bush recently nixed the Mad Scientist tax credit, and that hit me hard...

I would put a there, but that would make my enemies in the Justice League take me less than seriously. THE FOOLS!!!!

[Edited on May 27, 2005 by Slander]