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Comment by jtreminio | Hacker News Reader

I am being honest here and have no desire to come off as trolling:

What is the difference between a convicted felon and an illegal immigrant?

Why can someone pack up and leave the only country they've ever known, move to a new country that is by all measures hostile to their plot and speaks a language that they do not know at all, and end up bettering themselves?

Why can't a felon do this?

If an illegal immigrant can wash dishes for a restaurant, pick crops from a field, mow lawns in the sun, or paint homes and install carpet, what is preventing a felon that

* Has work authorization

* Speaks the language

* Quite possibly has a stable family structure already in place

from making something positive and productive of themselves?

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Sometimes the distinction is blurred. Some mom and pop businesses would hire convicted felons and give them jobs to help them build a work history. Sometimes illegal immigrants also come to commit crimes (this is what the anti-immigration crowds will tell you).

There is a cultural perception that illegal immigrants will work hard (possibly read as "are desperate enough to accept more abuse") while a convicted felon (being an American) will be too proud to do menial hard work and also will be highly likely to damage property or steal or assault a customer. [I am talking about crude cultural perceptions, not my personal views].

A whole new aspect is the prison industrial complex. Due to the Drug War, PIC has amassed a significant work force (read slaves) and they will do everything they can (lobbying, media, campaign contributions) to make sure prisons stay full. If prisons are full, they get paid. So there was a case in Georgia when they thought they should punish those that hire illegal immigrants. So they has passed some law. Then PIC stepped in and offered "replacements". They unleashed the new workforce and it turned out pretty horrible. Inmates did not want to pick strawberries in 100'F heat for a couple of dollars a day.

and end up bettering themselves?

What is the percentage of undocumented workers that end up truly bettering themselves while staying outside the immigration system?

Quite possibly has a stable family structure already in place

That's nowhere near a given for many (perhaps most) felons.

>What is the difference between a convicted felon and an illegal immigrant?

One has a felony show up on their background check, and the other has no record to speak of?

Felons, even if they are looked down upon by a great part of society, still enjoy many protections.

Illegal immigrants ... not so much.

Any job an illegal immigrant can get, a felon can as well.

If you're a felon, guess what? You fucked up. Time to cowboy up and start from the bottom.

> Any job an illegal immigrant can get, a felon can as well.

Do you have any idea how difficult it is for undocumented workers? There is no upward mobility in their jobs. They either get documented, get exploited, or go home. Why should a person who served their 20 years again be pushed to a level where they are exploited, (unpaid wages, unsafe work environments) as undocumented workers often are? This will perpetuate more societal problems than assisting individuals with their recovery.

Any job an illegal immigrant can get, a felon can as well.

Yes, and they frequently do, and frequently experience the same abuses that undocumented workers do.

Anechoic, I can't reply directly, but that goes back to my original question.

> If you are a male between the ages of 14 and 17 who is convicted of a violent felony, your chances of getting re-arrested are better than 80%

Why is this true of felons, but 80% of illegal immigrants don't commit felonies?

Why is this true of felons, but 80% of illegal immigrants don't commit felonies?

I wonder if perhaps the added deterrence of getting kicked out of the country has an effect at reducing felonies among undocumented immigrants. Also, immigrants in general tend to be, as a group, more determined to better themselves than most which is why they're here in the first place. Plus you have things like parole restrictions that limit where a felon can go, move, visit and work.

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