“Actually, there is a mechanism for those who’ve been physically present in the US since a certain date and haven’t been rendered inadmissible by something like a criminal record to simply send in an application for permanent residency…” but the date is *Jan 1, 1972*. bsky.app/profile/matt...
See bsky.app/profile/matt...
“Many poor and oppressed people wish to leave their countries of origin in the third world to come to affluent Western societies. This essay argues that there is little justification for keeping them out.” bsky.app/profile/sumi...
The key point that I take away from Carens' argument is that we owe something to those who have lived and worked in our communities for long periods of time.
This is laid out more clearly in one of his other papers philpapers.org/rec/CAROBW
Also see bsky.app/profile/sumi...
Classic Reason Magazine cartoon from 2008: “What Part of Legal Immigration Don’t You Understand?” by Mike Flynn and Shikha Dalmia, illustrated by Terry Colon, showing the complexity and long wait times of U.S. legal immigration.
Oh wow! I wonder how much the waiting periods have changed. I think it's become a lot harder for people from India.
They are also needed considering the low birthrate.
I continue to believe that the registry is the most elegant solution to regularizing the status of millions of people who have already integrated themselves into American communities in every part of the country. It also sidesteps the moral implications of "earned" status noted in the thread above