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Comment by ahmeneeroe-v2 | Hacker News Reader

>when they can just cross the border

This is also a choice for the people in charge of the border. Enforcing a border is a solved problem for a rich, large-population nation.

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It isn't. 2/3rds of illegal immigrants come to the US legally (and then overstay). Unless you make it illegal for non-citizens to visit the US, you can't stop most illegal immigration.

We can start with that 1/3rd. Then we remove as many economic incentives as possible to make overstaying visas that much less attractive to tackle the other 2/3rds.

It's weird to see people (perhaps not you specifically) who often support dramatic gun control measures to address a tiny percentage of crime among the first to trot out the old saw that only a relative fraction of illegal migrants got that way by an illegal border crossing. 1/3rd is a lot. 1/3rd is a great start.

Addressing that 1/3rd also would address the real edge cases (as in there are only a few of them) like terrorists and serial criminals.

Yes! Well stated. 33% of illegals would be a huge win, while also aiming at self deportations by targeting incentives.

employers hiring illegal migrants is also an option for them. those employers are not being targeted by ICE. It's the DEA arresting drug users but being buddies with drug lords all over again.

Employers are being targeted [0]. It also can be difficult to successfully prosecute, especially when one can maintain a clean separation between the labor and the enterprise (agriculture is like this with Farm Labor Contractors).

That said, I wish they would step up the prosecutions. It's critical to hammer away at economic incentives for illegal migration.

[0] https://www.cpr.org/2025/04/30/ice-fines-colorado-janitorial...

very rarely, you see even americans being abducted at their work place but the company owners are mostly left alone. If employing illegal immigrants was that risky, it would drop dramatically. This isn't about illegal immigration, it is about hatred and cruelty. Native born american citizens are rotting in prison without so much as seeing a judge or a lawyer, if you defend that, you are a traitor. If you can at least disavow that, I can consider that your argument is in good faith.

Your link shows the company was fined. what a joke. americans are rotting in prison and the company is fined? why the employers not in jail next to the illegal immigrants. Who was in a better position to obey the law? the wealthy employer who screwed over american workers by hiring illegal migrants, or the desperate migrant trying to earn an honest living?

I hope you reflect on your moral character before defending these people.

You seem very angry. Why don't you reread my post and reflect on the fact that we actually agree?

Hiring illegal labor can be difficult to prosecute, much like straw man gun purchases can be difficult to prosecute. In both cases I feel we should try much harder.

Removing the economic incentives for illegal migration is the only way to make a massive dent in it.

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