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PaperclipPerfector  2yr ago (text post)   5378 thread views

Small-Scale Question Sunday for April 23, 2023

Do you have a dumb question that you're kind of embarrassed to ask in the main thread? Is there something you're just not sure about?

This is your opportunity to ask questions. No question too simple or too silly.

Culture war topics are accepted, and proposals for a better intro post are appreciated.

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Idle question, how does the US government verify citizenship for homeless people? I'm talking the kind who have no money or papers to their name, being kicked around from one place to another, or have such severe cognitive decline they're in no position to identify themselves.

Let's say there's a black or brown dude who doesn't speak any English, and has no papers, but isn't near a border. What then?

It's essentially up the discretion of the authorities. If the police want to just let him go, they can. If the prosecutors don't want to press charges, they don't have to. Those decisions are essentially unreviewable in any individual case.

So in a whole lot of cases, because the formal procedure would be a lot of work for not a lot of benefit, the answer would probably be closer to "local cops deport him from their jurisdiction" than "local prosecutor seek formal deportation from the USA." Drive the weird vagrant to the next town over and leave him there.

The US isn't nearly as aggressive about deportations as you think. In a blue city they'd just be sent to social workers to figure out what their deal is without much investigation about their immigration status.

Well, if the govt wants to deport him, the govt has the burden of proving that he is an alien

Thanks, so in practise they can stick around until proven conclusively to be an alien?

What about issues with lack of documentation, is that possible to resolve or do they linger in limbo?

I don’t know about the documentation. I suppose there are procedures for assigning them a tentative identity going forward.

There's periodically a news story about someone who refuses to cooperate with police in ascertaining his identity being held until his identity can be ascertained. It seems like the system relies on its ability to get compliance even if that compliance is not always voluntary.

There's periodically a news story about someone who refuses to cooperate with police in ascertaining his identity being held until his identity can be ascertained. It seems like the system relies on its ability to get compliance even if that compliance is not always voluntary.

The law has a provision for it - if you refuse to identify yourself and there is no way to find who are you, you could be tried and convicted as "John Doe". It is not a secret trick to get out of prison.

It is less an issue today than in the past due to DNA, widespread documentation and omnipresent surveillance, but could still happen.

True, but OP also asked about someone who is unable to cooperate.

There are procedures to ensure everyone who deals with the government in any capacity has a translator, so it's not as if being unable to speak English prevents cooperation with a police investigation over the medium term.

Yes, but OP also asked about people who "have such severe cognitive decline they're in no position to identify themselves."

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