“Is that the image you want for the land of the free and home of the brave?”
You made the comment that fences keep people in. In return, I showed you a prison fence that kept criminals inside so you could sleep better at night. Quite a percent of those in that fence are illegals. Now, if you really want, we can tear down that fence and pass out a map to your house. It’s an old article but the numbers from 2000 are 18% for Texas. California, it was 31%. Here’s your proof that I’m not full of “crap” on this subject:
http://www.urban.org/publications/410366.html
“We start as a police state at the borders, no one in and no one out without permission?”
Hmm, last time I flew out of the country, I had to get permission. Had to get permission to get back in. Dang those pesky passports and customs. Last time I cross the border at El Paso, I crossed some bridge and there were guys in uniform... lots of signs and flags, too... some cars were pulled off to the side and their owners were none too happy. Can’t think why we weren’t able to zip willy nilly back and forth the river.
Now, who’s full of crap?
You had to get permission to leave the country?
Are you a crook or felon or simply full of crap?
Passports are not permission slips and customs only comes in to play if you’re importing prohibitied items or items of value.
Unless you want to view a passport as a permission slip, in which case you already had open ended permission to leave as you pleased, the passport being used as a record of coming and going.
I can’t comment about your difficulties going to and from Mexico other than to speculate that maybe you look like a drug dealer or other criminal.
Before this goes on a tangent, I can concede that in an oblique way passport checks can be part of a permission to leave process in that they verify your ID and that one isn’t on the no fly list. Otherwise, it isn’t anything more than validating one’s ID and recording one’s coming and goings.
Unless one happens to look like a drug dealer or other scoundrel.