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If you were in charge of setting immigration policy and defending America’s border, what would you change?
One of Dave Smith's great insights on the immigration debate is that both open and closed borders are antilibertarian, because both involve the state exerting ownership of the border territory.
Locals need to be able to protect their property against trespassers and prosecute criminal behavior in their jurisdictions.
People should also be able to enter the country if someone has invited them to stay and/or work here.
What is the most likely path towards resolving the increase in illegal immigration in America?
Recession will help temporarily, but I actually do think secession is the most likely resolution.
If you’re based in TX/CA/AZ/NM, have you felt/seen the impact of the recent illegal immigration?
n/a, It's been a long time since I lived in a border state.
398 sats \ 5 replies \ @kr OP 25 Jan
I actually do think a national divorce is the most likely resolution.
how would this work? do you see texas going off on its own with all the other states remaining in the US?
i know there are a bunch of other states siding with texas on the issue of border protection, but i suspect some of those states are too far away from each other to form a new country in the case of a split
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I don't know what the exact borders would be, but America is becoming incredibly polarized and issues like this make people feel like sharing a country with the other side is untenable.
There's a pretty large block of states that I believe would leave with Texas. That would certainly include Texas' immediate neighbors and would probably stretch pretty far north and east.
It's possible something like a constitutional convention happens before that, which would radically alter the relationship between DC and the states.
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interesting. i had to look up what constitutional conventions were, sharing a response from ChatGPT in case others following this thread aren’t aware
In the history of the United States, there have been two major constitutional conventions.
  • Constitutional Convention of 1787: This is the most famous constitutional convention, held in Philadelphia, where the current United States Constitution was drafted. Delegates from the thirteen states convened to address the problems of the weak central government that existed under the Articles of Confederation. The result was the creation of a new constitution, which established a stronger federal government with an intricate system of checks and balances.
  • Confederate Constitutional Convention of 1861: This lesser-known convention was held by the eleven Southern states that seceded from the Union, leading to the formation of the Confederate States of America. They drafted the Constitution of the Confederate States, which was heavily modeled on the U.S. Constitution but with several key differences, particularly in relation to state sovereignty and the institution of slavery.
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It's a pretty drastic measure and a complete crap shoot. Everything's on the table for revision, unlike the precision of an amendment.
The reason I could see it going that route is because DC does not have to be involved. There are nearly enough red states to convene one right now, so if this crisis worsens we may see that happen.
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398 sats \ 1 reply \ @kr OP 25 Jan
how many states are required to convene one?
It's a pretty drastic measure and a complete crap shoot. Everything's on the table for revision, unlike the precision of an amendment.
sounds consequential, but perhaps the upside of something this drastic is that it can act as a reset button, similar to the idea of zero-based budgeting in accounting
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A convention requires 2/3's of the states, so 34, but changes would have to be ratified by 3/4 which is 38.
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