06-30-2021, 09:31 AM
(06-30-2021, 02:05 AM)BFritz21 Wrote: Aside from the fact that Kamala Harris went to the border where there's something like two-and-a-half less border crossings than the hot spots in Texas, how was she going to find the root causes in Texas? Was she going to interview illegal immigrants? Wouldn't she need to go into Mexico to find out that information?
Secondly, aren't the root causes known? Drug cartels forcing people to join gangs, drugs, better economic opportunities, and things like that?
Thirdly, let's say she "finds out" that those are indeed the causes, what's she going to do about it? Invade Mexico? It's a pretty big country and I doubt it would be possible to defeat all of those gangs and drug cartels and how would she get a better grasp of the economic problems and come up with solutions from Texas?
Pretty sure she was just trying to beat Trump down there in another failure of the dumpster fire that is the current administration.
Brad, this has to be one of the best threads you’ve posted. There are legitimate talking points here. I hope this thread doesn’t devolve like other threads.
The root causes are really difficult to solve. You’re right, people are coming up here due to Mexico being a warzone, or their respective countries being in turmoil. Think El Salvador, Honduras, Venezuela. An invasion of Mexico wouldn’t do anything, you’re right. The US military could, and would, annihilate the cartels but that wouldn’t solve the problem. More narcos would rise up.
Really, a big chunk of the problem with Mexico is the United States and our absolutely massive appetite for illicit drugs. One idea that has been floating around for a while is legalizing all drugs and providing locations that safely create these products in labs. This would theoretically curb the overdose issues with heroin being mixed with fentanyl and the tax money earned from these sales could be put towards rehabilitation programs.
The cartels have evolved over time though, and drugs aren’t their only source of income. For some, drugs aren’t even the main source of income. Human trafficking, crops such as limes and lemons, racketeering etc are big sources of income, especially human trafficking. Legalizing drugs would be a big blow, however.
For the rest of the countries, it becomes more complicated. I don’t know much about El Salvador and Honduras, but these countries are highly impoverished. Citizens here are making under $1000 per year in a lot of cases. CAFTA was created as a free trade agreement between the United States and Central American countries, so trade is flowing but the industry there just isn’t very developed which leads to fewer opportunities and money coming in.
Trying to just keep people out isn’t a good solution, either. You might be able to slow illegal immigration, but IMO the cost to implement a border wall isn’t going to bring the value necessary. Illegal immigration via visa overstays is around 40%-50%. I personally know two people who have illegally immigrated here this way. They both flew into the country on legal visas and just never went back.
