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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]The growth could have come almost entirely from the busloads of migrants that were sent here. It's certainly not coming from people moving from other parts of the country to DC on purpose, because the city still is losing people in that direction.[/quote]t

Ding ding ding.

Net tax base loss. [/quote]

So what?

Immigrants need a place to live too!  Why can’t it be DC?

We need to do more to fund services for the unfairly underprivileged District residents.[/quote]

And  “undocumented” immigrants need a place to live, too.  It’s called their country of origin.  In the US illegally?  Deport them.[/quote]

A good proportion of recent migrant arrivals - maybe even a majority - are not present illegally, but have applied for asylum and are awaiting a hearing. This is a right afforded by the refugee convention to which the US has been a signatory for three-quarters of a century.[/quote]

No one cares about these refugee treaties and most other countries don't actually follow them. The US is the one of the few wealthy countries stupid enough to allow unfettered illegal immigration. The US does not have an obligation to save the world. Accepting large numbers of refugees and asylum seeker creates a significant risk of social instability and it will burden taxpayers. Charitable immigration for individual misfortune does not create a basis for a strong immigration system that will enhance the well-being and economic prosperity of the US. [/quote]

Those treaties are the law of the land, friend. People should and do care about the law of the land. Not all countries are signatories to the refugee convention, but those which are generally abide by its provisions.

For Western European countries, this has implied the absorption of millions of refugees from Syria, Iran, Afghanistan, and various African countries. On a per capita basis, they absorb much higher numbers of asylum seekers and undocumented migrants than the US does.

Like any other sovereign nation, the US could de-ratify the refugee convention and free itself from the obligation to abide by it. This could be done via the same mechanism that the US became a signatory in the first place. I don’t think anyone - even Trump - thinks that is going to happen, however.

What has changed over the past few years is that Venezuela, Haiti, Cuba and - to a lesser extent - China have become increasingly unlivable for the middle class and routes have been forged through the Darien Gap to allow migrants to travel from Colombia to Panama and, from there, to the US border. That journey is still incredibly difficult, though. If you have the slightest interest in the issue, I’d recommend watching this video of an Englishman joining thousands of Venezuelans and other migrants along the route: https://youtu.be/aswvkdCpZYc

Before the Darien was opened, it was very difficult for Venezuelans, Haitians, and others not able to fly into Mexico to reach the US. Closing the Darien up again is not going to happen. So you are not going to see a drop in asylum numbers until the economies of Venezuela, Haiti, and Cuba stabilize.[/quote]

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