Originally Posted by
flyphilrun
What's to stop me just staying in the US?
You'd become an undocumented immigrant (of which we have millions). And as a law-abiding alien, you certainly wouldn't do that.
Originally Posted by
flyphilrun
More worryingly for the US, what's to stop any ill intentioned potential illegal immigrant doing exactly the same thing?
Exactly. Good point.
Originally Posted by
flyphilrun
Wouldn't it be easier just to keep int/int transit passengers airside like most European countries do?
Saves the passenger all that immigration rigmarole and saves the immigration officers all that work.
You're right, except for one thing: Such a sensible system would prevent US immigration from "removing" harmless Canadians to places like Syria so they could be tortured (didn't this happen a few years ago?) or from detaining aliens who have no intention of staying in the US.
Our "be very afraid of everyone not a US citizen" policy makes absolutely no sense. But a nation of cowards and idiots gets the government it deserves.