MACS wrote:Huck - I triple dog dare you to sneak into Mexico and see what happens. You'll be fined, extorted, and possibly imprisoned and beaten. If you're idiot enough to bring your kids, separation will be the least of your worries.
I fish some of their Islands off Rosarito every weekend... know what I have to do? Fill out a manifest with my name, the name of my boat, the names of all passengers, dates of birth, passport numbers, etc... then I have to pay a "temporary visa fee" of damn near $30 per person. Then e-mail it to the jagoff Mexican gov't... every... time.
Know what happens if I get stopped by the Mexican Navy and don't have the proper documentation?
Me neither... because I follow their f***ing laws.
Red tape and payola. Gotcha. Hope its worth it.
I'll bet though that Mexican fishing vessels have to get similar clearance from us.ย ย
And aren't Illegal activities a whole other beast? Like undocumented immigration?
Pretty sure if what you have to go through, annoying as it is, was all an immigrant had to go through to get processed, he'd be very happy. You're apple and orangeing I think.
Smugglers are dealt with harshly by all governments. And should be. Fluck em I have to work for a living.
But when tens of thousands try crossing (and about 1000 drown every 6 months) the Mediterranean to get to Italy,ย or 300 die every year (10,000 dead since 94)ย trying to cross from Mexico (illegally) in to the US, I have to ask 'wtf would make people, families, risk all, life and limb, that way?'.
Desperation, right? Not bassย and mackerel.
Immigration and Refugeeism, legal and otherwise is epidemic. It's a flucked up global reality. Better than from a couple of years ago from what I've read but still nuts.
It's overwhelmingย Europe and Africa and us. Overย 20 million refugees are being hosted in just the Middle East, Africa and South Asia.ย Was a big reason for trumps getting elected, Brexit, the recent bizarre Italian election results... a whole long list of things....
I get your point. Mexico isn't the US. But who is?ย
I don't have the solution, but stupid fox-like soundbites like 'lefties want open borders' aren't helping anyone. Left does it too but to me its just childish bs. Net effect, more division.
A big part of why it's such a hot topic now is Trump has changed the game. It's much harder to apply now.ย So more illegal attempts...
Personally, I suspect/hope that in time, what's practical and humane and financially reasonable will combine to settle the crisis.