Posted on 01/31/2007 1:12:31 PM PST by primeval patriot
How else would you get back to guatemala if you had $59,000? I bet the ticket was under 200 bucks, and I bet it would cost that much to set up other arrangements.
It's not his fault we subsidize so much. I hate when government does a million things it shouldn't do with my tax dollars, and then claims that we OWE them because they did it.
And if he had wings, like the proverbial frog, he would never have had to use an airplane...
Is he an illegal alien or not? You think ittakes a trial to establish that? Seriously? You really are trying to avoid that fact aren't you. Why?
Please.
Do not confuse lack of response with "understanding".
In my case it's more like "ignoring".
"Fine him, deport him, but give him his money back."
Amen.
No. I don't consider a person in our country illegally who boards a plane as "dangerous". The act of entering a country illegally is not indicative of a violent personality. "illegal" is a state of existance, not a character trait.
He's not being fined for being illegal, he's having his money seized for not writing down the number on a piece of paper.
He didn't have the money taken because he was illegal, he had the money taken because he didn't declare it. The seizure rules allow you to take people's property without a finding of guilt or a trial on the merits, through a simple declaration with judicial review, like a warrant.
Being illegal, he will be deported. But being illegal had nothing to do with the money being taken from him.
Glad you cleared that up. Your comments looked like knee-jerk reactions.
And I've never avoided the fact he is illegal. I'm fine with throwing him out of the country, I simply am one of those who doesn't think we should take all his money away because he is illegal. If there are real criminal charges against him, and those charges lead to fines, I'm fine with making him pay those fines from the money he has. If he didn't pay taxes and owed them, take money for that.
I don't think that a job you take AS an illegal is an illegal job, or that they gains you get are "ill-gotten".
Unfortunately, I believe that the latter is directly the result of the former, his protestations of ignorance notwithstanding...
If his intention was to retire in his homeland why would he apply for citizenship? He did need a work visa though.
Did or didn't he spend 11 years washing dirty dishes for you and I to eat off of?
It's not like he forcefully took this money from an innocent party without their consent. That's the government's job.
I am certain that he didn't fill in the form because he was afraid they would find out he was illegal (which I'm also sure they would have, nobody leaves with that much cash without being detained).
I think he didn't understand the consequences of that act.
It's not punishment, of course. Because if it is, it's unfairly administered, since the "punishment" for the same crime is based on how much money you have.
It's not even being treated as a crime, more like a "you didn't write down any money, so you must not have had any, so we'll take it all from you, good day."
Sorry, since when or where in the constitution is it the government's business to check how much private property (dollars) you carry in your pocket?
And since when does statutory law trump our rights in private property?
Isn't the system wonderful?
Anyone can ignore anyone else!
And I don't even need clichés to make a point.
Best regards.
for later consumption
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