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PaperclipPerfector  1d ago (text post)   7178 thread views

Culture War Roundup for the week of March 23, 2026

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Does this mean that they have to physically prevent them from acquiring residence? How does the sovereign make it "impossible", given the reality of the physical world?

I think "acquire a residence" means something stronger than "physically residing". The sovereign has accepted the immigrant's allegiance, however reluctantly, if the immigrant comes to be acknowledged as the lawful resident of a house or apartment within the sovereign's own legal system. If an immigrant goes stealth and squats in an abandoned building without anyone knowing, they could be there thirty years and it wouldn't make a difference - but if they buy or rent a place, and this is on record, and the immigrant would have legal recourse in US courts if someone infringed on their property rights, then the US has in practice accepted them as a subject, whether or not it regards their presence on US soil as theoretically unlawful.

Hence, I read "unless the bare legal prohibition…" as saying "unless we start saying that, because they're not lawful residents, all their real-estate dealings are to be deemed legally void by definition" (which I think is… maybe not quite intended as a reducio ad absurdum, but certainly as a reducio ad this-would-be-a-completely-different-and-very-radical-conversation-that-no-one-seems-prepared-to-have-right-nowum).

Maybe so. I'm not entirely sure. As I was writing this, I just had in the back of my mind that I recalled discussions of "residence"/"domicile", and residence was weaker than domicile, which I remembered also being somewhat weak. It's not helped by the fact that many sources, unless they're really being careful and directly considering the matter, don't bother to specify whether they're talking lawful/unlawful or whether that would change anything.

Looking back at my original massive post, I see this quote from that same commentary:

The term “municipal status” acquired under the immigration laws is in no way to be confused with the acquisition of domicile. An alien, who, whether entering in violation of the Immigration acts, or, after being duly passed by the immigration authorities in the manner provided by law, takes up his residence here with intent to remain has done all that is necessary for the acquisition of a domicile. The only difference is that if the entry is lawful the municipal status is fully established, subject only to termination by the commission of acts subsequent to entry which the law provides shall justify the forfeiture of the domicile lawfully acquired; whereas, if the entry is unlawful the municipal status is not complete except on the expiration of the three year period within which aliens entering in violation of law are subject to deportation on the ground of unlawful entry.

That seems to me, on first glance, to imply that one can "get residence" and even "get domicile" without anything about it being acknowledged as lawful.

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