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dismantling the State Department
One of the persistent mysteries of Trump 2.0 is why a would-be autocrat is simultaneously concentrating power in himself and dismantling most of the government agencies that would enable him to wield power. In particular, I've been wondering about the announcements in the past few weeks that large numbers of State Department offices, embassies, consulates, etc. are being shut down, their staff laid off.
The other day I was engaged in one of my usual debates with a Person Who Is Wrong And Isn't Actually There (this makes it easier to state the other side's arguments and eviscerate them), talking about immigration.
"But they're cutting the line! Why don't they follow the rules and apply to immigrate legally like everyone else?"
"And which application process would that be? There are five main ways to legally immigrate to the US: employer sponsorship, family sponsorship, refugee status, asylum, and the diversity lottery, and Trump (both 1.0 and 2.0) is trying hard to shut down at least four of the five. Employer sponsorship requires you to have a job offer from a US employer before you come to the US. Family sponsorship requires you to have a close relative already living legally in the US for at least a year or so before you come to the US. Refugee status requires years of paperwork and background checks in your home country before you come to the US. For asylum, you enter the US at a border crossing, immediately turn yourself in to a border guard, and request asylum, they listen to your claim, and maybe they give you an appointment for a hearing (or maybe they kick yo out immediately). And the diversity lottery really is a lottery: your chances of getting in that way are minuscule."
"But they shouldn't come to the US to try to get in; they should apply in their home countries --"
[click]
If you shut down all the US embassies and consulates in a particular country or region, you won't get immigration applications from people living in that country or region. This week's plans for State Department reorganization don't mention the entire continent of Africa, which might mean they intend to have no embassies or consulates anywhere in Africa. (Presumably Saudi Arabia, Israel, and some other relatively-wealthy Middle Eastern countries don't count as "Africa".)
I'm not sure of some of the facts here; if I'm wrong, please correct me.
The other day I was engaged in one of my usual debates with a Person Who Is Wrong And Isn't Actually There (this makes it easier to state the other side's arguments and eviscerate them), talking about immigration.
"But they're cutting the line! Why don't they follow the rules and apply to immigrate legally like everyone else?"
"And which application process would that be? There are five main ways to legally immigrate to the US: employer sponsorship, family sponsorship, refugee status, asylum, and the diversity lottery, and Trump (both 1.0 and 2.0) is trying hard to shut down at least four of the five. Employer sponsorship requires you to have a job offer from a US employer before you come to the US. Family sponsorship requires you to have a close relative already living legally in the US for at least a year or so before you come to the US. Refugee status requires years of paperwork and background checks in your home country before you come to the US. For asylum, you enter the US at a border crossing, immediately turn yourself in to a border guard, and request asylum, they listen to your claim, and maybe they give you an appointment for a hearing (or maybe they kick yo out immediately). And the diversity lottery really is a lottery: your chances of getting in that way are minuscule."
"But they shouldn't come to the US to try to get in; they should apply in their home countries --"
[click]
If you shut down all the US embassies and consulates in a particular country or region, you won't get immigration applications from people living in that country or region. This week's plans for State Department reorganization don't mention the entire continent of Africa, which might mean they intend to have no embassies or consulates anywhere in Africa. (Presumably Saudi Arabia, Israel, and some other relatively-wealthy Middle Eastern countries don't count as "Africa".)
I'm not sure of some of the facts here; if I'm wrong, please correct me.