62 upvotes, 9 direct replies (showing 9)
There's 3 big groups of people that are being talked about when we refer to undocumented people.
1. People who snuck into the US in the dead of night, by foot, in cars, on boats, with no trace or documentation. These people come with nothing more than the clothes on their back. We have no way or tracking or knowing where they're at if they don't report themselves. This is that thing they want you to be afraid of. They want you to think the wall will solve this. But this type of illegal crossing is very small.
2. People who applied to get a tourist visa and overstayed their welcome. We know who they are. We tracked that they came but never left. At one point, we even checked to make sure they were decent people. They were good enough to get a tourist visa. They just over stayed, or otherwise found work here.
3. Refugees who come seeking a better life and protection from their own countries. These people either apply and are invited, or they do step 1 but intentionally get caught at the border. These people are also checked, vetted, and verified before they're let in. We know exactly who they are and what they're doing here. This is that group that people claim were never checked properly but they were and coming in as a refuge is 100% legal.
The weird thing is you say "undocumented immigrants allowed in" well there's 3 answers.
Refugees were allowed in but they're not undocumented immigrants.
Visa overstayed were allowed in, but they're not allowed to overstay.
Last, border crossers are the only ones who are truly undocumented immigrants and those were definitely not allowed in at all.
Comment by 1singhnee at 24/01/2025 at 19:23 UTC
35 upvotes, 2 direct replies
Don’t forget people who come on student visas then ditch school to start a multimillion dollar company illegally.
(I’m looking at you, Elon Musk[1])
Comment by flyengineer at 24/01/2025 at 22:04 UTC
10 upvotes, 1 direct replies
There are also non-tourist overstays.
If you are on a work visa and get fired or laid off, you are supposed to leave the country or find a new job willing to sponsor your visa within 60 days. Some people fall out of status when a pending job offer falls-through.
Comment by theinforman2 at 24/01/2025 at 23:38 UTC
5 upvotes, 0 direct replies
There’s also those who got conditional green cards and never renewed them. Technically they’re not here illegally but they’re not allowed to leave the country and wouldn’t be let back in if they tried to reenter and it would be extremely expensive to go through the process of getting a permanent green card.
Comment by domesticatedwolf420 at 25/01/2025 at 04:34 UTC
2 upvotes, 1 direct replies
These people are also checked, vetted, and verified before they're let in. We know exactly who they are and what they're doing here.
That's not true. Many come with no documentation.
coming in as a refuge is 100% legal.
Not if you lie about your reasons for seeking so-called asylum
Comment by Krillkus at 24/01/2025 at 22:12 UTC
1 upvotes, 0 direct replies
A Filipino guy I worked with in Canada had to take some time off to complete his immigration process, which I was told involved him driving down to the border and being intentionally rejected entry into the states. First time I'd heard of that!
Comment by grabacr at 25/01/2025 at 03:32 UTC
1 upvotes, 1 direct replies
So the correct term for the first 2 would be "illegal"?
Comment by Brookeofficial221 at 25/01/2025 at 05:40 UTC
1 upvotes, 1 direct replies
That’s why we used to use the term “illegal aliens”. It covers all of these.
Comment by HotSteak at 25/01/2025 at 08:00 UTC
1 upvotes, 1 direct replies
Is #1 really "very small" when it's 2.5 million per year?
Comment by Late_Pear8579 at 24/01/2025 at 21:36 UTC
-5 upvotes, 1 direct replies
This purposefully understates the known fact that traffickers, who exploit the migrants, along with non-profits, who also exploit migrants, instruct the migrants to make bullshit asylum claims. So their first action upon coming to the US is to lie and play the system. Great indicator that they’ll be a good citizen.