Thread by @RickSmithShow

Hassan Ahmad: Transparency is always a good thing, and sunshine disinfects. When you can't see what's going on, that's exactly where the problem began. We should have at least provided a benchmark [with what Joe Biden inherited at the border].
@HMAesq #Immigration

Hassan Ahmad: Border apprehension stayed above 1 million during the 1980's. Current numbers of 800,000--there is no crisis. It's a border & needs to be managed better.
@HMAesq #Immigration

Rick: Joe Biden's only been in office 2 mos--he can't snap his fingers & undo 40 yrs of neglect.
Hassan Ahmad: The people crossing the border are entering a broken system. How can you manage a border with 2-way flow when system is dysfunctional?
@HMAesq #Immigration

Hassan Ahmad: We need to make sure the people who cross the border don't become a class of people to be exploited. I'm afraid a lot of the work VP Harris will do won't work.
@HMAesq #Immigration

Hassan Ahmad: We're seeing Republicans screaming at the border because they need a crisis.
@HMAesq #Immigration

Hassan Ahmad: I know how strong & how loud the anti-immigrant voices are, esp in the Republican party, esp after 4 yrs of Trump's rhetoric.
@HMAesq #Immigration

Hassan Ahmad: It's become such a polarized issue. Remember, the vast majority of Americans want a system that works. They don't want kids in cages, backlogs at borders.
@HMAesq #Immigration

Hassan Ahmad: There will always be people who will be unhappy but it shouldn't deter this admin from pushing for compassionate policy that benefits everyone. There are a couple of key points that should be pushed through via budget reconciliation so we don't need 10 R's.
@HMAesq

Hassan Ahmad: Asylum IS legal immigration. A lot of immigrations themselves might not see it that way but it is absolutely legal immigration.
@HMAesq #Immigration

Hassan Ahmad: In the vast majority of asylum cases, immigrants are being asked to navigate this byzantine system without benefit of council, & then the goalposts are moved during the process. Sessions & Barr use a little-known power in immigration law to gut laws
@HMAesq

Hassan Ahmad: We might actually see American migration to Canada if it gets too hot!
@HMAesq #Immigration

Hassan Ahmad: Let the market decide, based on market needs. Various guest worker programs, for ex. Lebanon has absorbed 10% of its population from Syria & neighboring countries. We'd need to absorb 80 million people to be on the same scale.
@HMAesq #Immigration

Hassan Ahmad: If you actually talk to an asylum seeker, no one ever chooses to never be able to go home. They were forced to leave. It's called "forced displacement" for a reason, whether it's civil unrest, climate change, whatever.
@HMAesq #Immigration

Hassan Ahmad: We need to manage the border, not by looking at it as a wall with a door to open & shut, but by allowing people & ideas & goods to cross both ways.
@HMAesq #Immigration

Hassan Ahmad: Who wants to pay smugglers to get them across the border if there's a legal way to come across? Who in the world would send their unaccompanied child on such a journey if they had any other choice?
@HMAesq #Immigration