The right to self-defense and the right to own whatever tools are necessary to secure that are not granted by the government, but inhere to the individual. (Talk amongst yourselves whether this is handed down by the Creator or it inheres by nature of man qua man.)

The Second Amendment recognizes — it does not grant, it recognizes — that right for anyone in the United States and there’s no exception made for immigration status. If anything, people here in violation of some civil infraction need access to the means of self-defense more, since they so often deal in cash from the work they do and are more distrustful of the police.

I don’t automatically presume ownership of a gun is evidence of malicious or criminal intent, any more than is ownership of a car, a hammer or a butcher knife.

Illegal immigrants: Love’em of Lump’em.

But this policy of early release, while sensible from a strictly analytical cost-benefits standpoint, is tonedeaf to the point of shocking stupidity. Of COURSE it’s going to outrage the hell out of folks.

Personally I’m with Robert, I’m a free trader on goods and labor, at root. Jamesn thinks those Chinese TV sets are regulated, but we found out differently when a bunch of Christmas toys turned out to be painted with or made with lead.

Globalization is here, and the longer we bury our heads in the sand in fear, the more we’ll be harmed from it instead of benefit from the resultant opportunities.

The most important thing on immigration, to me, is not to let short-term populist anger become a justification for harming the overall economy or abridging civil liberties. There are quite a few Americans, to judge by the vocal minority’s rhetoric, who think it’s fine to do both as long as they get to “kick ‘em out.”

The entry of those undocumented workers into the United States is entirely unregulated. We have no idea who is coming into this country, what they’ve done in the past and what they intend to do in the future. Further, the fact that this entry is unregulated means that it is far easier for a potential employer to exploit his new undocumented employees because there is no recourse for those individuals to complain to the government when they get hosed by the boss.

I agree with that we need to move towards a fair trade system as it relates labor, but that means that other countries need to allow US citizens in their labor pool too (try getting work visa in India or Mexico) and we need to know who is coming into this country before we start issuing them hand guns.

However, free movement (trade) in labor is seen as a threat. http://www.dallascriminaldefenselawyerblog.com/2008/03/dallas_police_working_hard_to_1.html

TFA, states that four weapons were confiscated (it’s illegal, for good reason, for an undocumented alien to possess a fire arm in the US), and 5 people were arrested for document tampering, apparently for the purposes of obtaining a license to be a security guard and to carry a firearm. That’s just on the initial raid (meaning, these were the documents they found when they detained these people); who knows what they’ll find once they really start talking to an investigating the individuals they’ve got.

I’m the first to admit that our immigration laws are entirely and completely broken, but several wrongs don’t make a right. For the most part, the weapons charges are the most disturbing; there is no reason why we should accept that someone, who came into this country without documenting themselves, should be allowed to carry a firearm.