Protecting Trump’s enemies from prosecution just reinforces the idea of politics as retribution. Instead, Democrats should be defending his most vulnerable targets.

  • Stovetop@lemmy.world
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    9 days ago

    A pardon is not a conferment of citizenship. It is a clean slate to allow those who had been previously caught and deported or imprisoned, or who are currently in an uncertain state of limbo, to have a clearer opportunity to go through those official channels.

    Those who enter illegally are usually barred from re-entry for years, which means that there is effectively no legal path towards residence or citizenship that can satisfy their immediate need.

        • rabber@lemmy.ca
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          9 days ago

          No it isn’t. I feel stuck in Canada but I’m not entitled to just move to some random place I deem better.

          • Stovetop@lemmy.world
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            9 days ago

            But you have privileges, financial security, and stability in Canada that migrant groups often do not have in their countries of origin. Many are seeking an escape from poverty and violence but are denied asylum, so rather than go back to what may very well be a death sentence, they choose to gamble on illegally crossing the border anyways.

            It’s easy to say “go through the official immigration process” when the only consequence for a rejection is just a sigh and a shrug, but not so cut-and-dry when people wait many years for a “maybe” while you and your family are starving.

            • rabber@lemmy.ca
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              9 days ago

              We have financial security? Do you have any idea how poor the average canadian is right now?

              • Stovetop@lemmy.world
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                9 days ago

                Not poor enough to want to hop across the border and work less than minimum US wages, no. Did you eat food within the last 24 hours? Do you have a bed to sleep on and a roof over your head?

                You must have some device to access the internet, so that is already an incredibly vital resource that millions lack. And Canada’s not exactly rife with violent crime, what would you be running from?

                Every country has problems, but not every country’s problems are proportionate. Mexico’s poverty rate is over 3 times as high as Canada’s and applies to 4 times as many people, and Mexico is still better off than most of Latin America.

                I mean, there are even many people in the US who see Canada as a sort of promised land of universal healthcare and better human rights. Grass is always greener, I guess.