> Do you have anything constructive to say about the merits of the leave to renew policy itself?
I've discussed this thoroughly in sibling threads: forcing people to leave every once in a while is an extremely useful tool in ensuring that they are maintaining a residence and ties to their home country (where they agreed they would return.)
B-1/B-2 are the quintessential examples of visas requiring "leave to renew" - and note: these folks are granted no permission to work or remain in the United States.
> immigrants aren’t entitled to anything? (but you presumably are!)
I don't feel entitled to anything whatsoever in other countries. As a citizen of the United States, however, our law does indeed entitle me to things that foreign guests have zero expectation or entitlement to.
>As a citizen of the United States, however, our law does indeed entitle me to things that foreign guests have zero expectation or entitlement to.
Based on what? It's a set of arbitrary rules applied within an arbitrarily defined geographical area. Some people may have decided at some point in history to treat you differently and with more respect than other fellow humans. Some other people may want to treat everyone fairly.
All of this is a moral construction. What's for certain though is that you did nothing to deserve to be born where you're born. It follows that you didn't do anything to deserve more rights.
For a lot of Americans, more than you might think, there is this belief that America is #1 in everything because it was Chosen By God, and Manifest Destiny is still real.
They were born in the US because god wanted it, so they are the best. God cannot be wrong.
I came across this mindset a LOT growing up.