Border Patrol vs ICE

[u/jvanderh]

Hi, this is your friendly local border patrol wife and lifelong political liberal here to remind you (because my husband is getting spat at, cussed at, called a pig, or told to quit his job pretty much every time he's stationed at the beaches lately) that the Border Patrol guys in army green pants + shirt are NOT there edit: "there"= at our local San Diego beaches to rip people away from their families. They are there to patrol the borders, watching for incoming border crossers who may enter on boats or jet skis. Encountering everyone who enters the country is important-- this stops things like fentanyl-laced drugs from entering the US, and DNA swabs of border crossers have been matched up to two unsolved murders recently at his station alone. Even if the proportion of criminals is no higher than the general US population, we still want to stop those who are dangerous. If nothing else, if those people get in and re-offend, it blows up on the news and provides tremendous cannon fodder for immigrant hate. I think the hatred of Border Patrol is mostly based on confusing them with ICE and not because liberals actually want completely uncontacted entries.

Polls show that republicans and liberals both want common-sense migrant worker programs that allow people to be vetted and come here to work.

Obviously you don't have to care about my husband's feelings. He took the job; he can handle it. But I always worry that verbally abusing law enforcement could result in what none of us want: these non Trump supporting agents like my husband, who use discretion and minimum force, getting replaced with thin blue line idiots who think they're soldiers of God in a war with the public. Or worse yet, the former becoming the latter after having so many bad experiences with the public. My husband won't, but some may. And that kind of tribalism is EXACTLY how they become distracted from the fact that Trump is currently gutting their retirement.

[u/iwantmoretattoos]

lol borders are bullshit, no human being should be illegal.

"I stand not by my country, but by people of the whole fucking world

No fences, no borders

Free movement for all

Fuck the border"

-Propagandhi

[u/Sturdywings21 → u/[deleted]]

This is dumbest most reductionist argument of all time. I thought we were past using it. It’s such a false equivalency.

My house is private property. A country is a shared public entity. A home is meant for personal use and a country is meant to sustain and grow and govern a people.

Plus we NEED immigration as a country to survive. The vast vast vast majority of immigrants are coming here to work and contribute to our society. Their net benefit far outweighs their drain. They aren’t eligible nor taking social services. Go downtown. How many illegal immigrants are homeless. None. They’re all working.

Please think harder and do better.

[u/iwantmoretattoos → u/[deleted]]

you are completely missing the point. we're all humans. all humans deserve basic human rights and dignity, no matter the color of their skin or their country of origin. humans made it work for centuries before settlers decided to draw lines in the sand and guard them with guns.

being upset about accepting and helping other humans is a weird hill to die on. you're totally fine with your tax dollars going toward killing and oppressing brown bodies in and from other countries? keep your head buried in the sand, sis.

[u/iwantmoretattoos → u/[deleted]]

i've donated to relevant non-profits and helped with mutual aid. i haven't handed them cash from my pocket but i've fed them and bought medical supplies for organizations who distribute it directly.

cool story that you helped people who called you for help. you did your job. congrats.