Episode 82

full
Published on:

16th Jul 2025

Immigration’s Hidden Costs: Courts, Cash, and the American Dream

Ever wonder why immigration feels stuck? Picture judges buried under 4,500 cases each, families waiting five years for a hearing, and detention camps costing billions. Hosts Dave and Jerremy expose the broken system, from billion-dollar detention budgets to wealthy investors bypassing the line. They tackle the heated birthright citizenship debate—is it time for a change?

Timestamps:

  • (00:00) System Overload: Judges Drowning in 4,500 Cases Each
  • (00:55) Detention Costs: Billions Spent on "Alligator Alcatraz"
  • (05:11) Wealthy Loopholes: How Millionaires Skip the Line
  • (10:16) Birthright Battle: Is the 14th Amendment Outdated?
  • (16:05) Call to Action: Solutions for a Broken System


📢 Solving America’s Problems Podcast – Real Solutions For Real Issues

🎧 Listen on  Apple | Spotify | & More!

🌍 Join the conversation on Instagram | YouTube | X

Transcript
Alex:

"Ever wonder why immigration feels stuck?

2

:

Picture judges buried under 4,500 cases

each, families waiting five years for

3

:

a hearing, and detention camps dubbed

‘Alligator Alcatraz’ costing billions.

4

:

Now imagine skipping it all with

a million-dollar investment.

5

:

In this episode, Dave and

Jerremy unravel a system that’s

6

:

as broken as it is revealing."

7

:

Dave: Okay.

8

:

Yeah, man.

9

:

Check out

10

:

Jerremy: some

11

:

Dave: of these issues.

12

:

Alright we spend, and it's gonna be a

lot more with the budget bill coming in.

13

:

Uh, but we spend, three

and a half, a billion.

14

:

That's a billion with a B on,

uh, detention and deportation.

15

:

So that, that's crazy.

16

:

And we spend a billion dollars

on courts doing adjudication.

17

:

But here's the thing.

18

:

There's 3 million people that are

looking for like their day in court,

19

:

and they deserve a day in court.

20

:

And actually like the, the immigration

courts, it's, it's not like a, you

21

:

know, it's not like what we would

think of, like when we were talking

22

:

about like the incarceration and all

the stuff that we were talking about.

23

:

Like those were, those were courts, like

how we would be thinking about them.

24

:

These are immigration courts.

25

:

They're like they're

administrative, right?

26

:

But here's the kicker.

27

:

There's only enough judges.

28

:

Uh, if you take all of the judges,

each one of them has 4,500 cases,

29

:

and so there's like a five year

waiting list for, you know, that's

30

:

the quickest you would ever see.

31

:

So you're in this like perpetual

limbo of like, am I here or am I not?

32

:

You know, will I ever get seen?

33

:

Yeah.

34

:

Will, I won't.

35

:

Yeah.

36

:

And so like, these things can go

for years and years and years.

37

:

It's like, so what's the big deal?

38

:

Like, why don't we be hiring?

39

:

Like, how are we not hiring like a

bunch of administrative judges on this?

40

:

Right?

41

:

Like, easy to like, you know, is

this a real asylum case or not?

42

:

You know, like some people said, I'm,

you know, in asylum, but I'm not.

43

:

And then some people are like,

yeah, it's serious asylum.

44

:

It's like, okay, then

we're gonna take you.

45

:

You know, like we need the judges.

46

:

Like, why do we spend all this money?

47

:

Like so down here in Florida.

48

:

I don't know if you saw

any of the news on this.

49

:

They have put up what's being

called alligator Alcatraz, and

50

:

it's just outside of Miami here.

51

:

And it's on an old, not an old base.

52

:

It's on an old, airport.

53

:

You know, like they were gonna be

building like this huge airport down

54

:

here, and they decided like 40 years

ago that they couldn't build it because

55

:

of environmental concerns, right.

56

:

But they were gonna build

the largest airport in the

57

:

United States here in Miami.

58

:

And so, but they left all the runways.

59

:

And so, ICE has come in and DHS has

come in and they've put up temporary

60

:

trailers to house like a thousand people.

61

:

And so like, there's all

sorts of protests with that.

62

:

And I'm like, I don't know.

63

:

I saw the trailers.

64

:

They look pretty nice,

but that's all detention.

65

:

Those aren't like courtrooms.

66

:

And I feel like we spent, you know,

a little bit less money on detention

67

:

and deportation and a little bit more

on getting people through the system,

68

:

because once they have the adjudication,

then it'd be like, okay, you know,

69

:

do you stay or do you go yes or no?

70

:

Right.

71

:

Yeah.

72

:

Like yes or no.

73

:

It's a yes or no.

74

:

But just starting with deportation and

spending all that money on deportation,

75

:

I don't know if it's that effective.

76

:

Jerremy: Yeah.

77

:

And we could spend, but we also

have to spend that much money too.

78

:

'cause like, you could go after all

the people, you know, all the kids

79

:

who are going to college to be, to

get, they haven't passed the bar yet.

80

:

Dave: Yeah.

81

:

Jerremy: And all they

need is administrative.

82

:

Yes or no.

83

:

Like, that could be one of their first,

Hey, spend some time on this case.

84

:

You're a college kid in Virginia

and you get 25 cases go through

85

:

'em, and the judge or the counselor

or whoever that has passed the

86

:

bar just gets to sign off on it.

87

:

Mm-hmm.

88

:

You know, with an auto pin or whatever.

89

:

Dave: Yeah.

90

:

Jerremy: There's from your perspective,

and I would agree with it, I think

91

:

that is a process or like, rather

than spending all the money on keeping

92

:

him here let's spend the money on

figuring out should they be here.

93

:

Mm-hmm.

94

:

Because there's gonna be definitely a

large portion that will slash should.

95

:

So we can say, yep, you belong here.

96

:

You deserve to be here.

97

:

Thanks for being here.

98

:

Welcome to America.

99

:

And then there's gonna be probably 25%

or less that probably shouldn't be here.

100

:

And great, we can deport

them, but we don't have to

101

:

spend money on detaining them

102

:

Dave: Yeah.

103

:

Jerremy: Versus going

through that court system.

104

:

And that's a lot of people, man.

105

:

That's a long, long,

long, long, long history.

106

:

Um, if a judge saw one case a day

right, it would take 'em 10, 15 years

107

:

just to go through the current cases.

108

:

Which to your point, yeah.

109

:

I think that's a relatively

big glaring oversight.

110

:

It's like, just speed up that

process and just make you a little

111

:

bit more formalized as well.

112

:

So me, man this is gonna be fantastic.

113

:

Fantastic to talk through.

114

:

Because then you also have the, uh, the.

115

:

The one that my wife, and I'm

sure we'll all hear from her later

116

:

'cause she definitely wants to

hop in on this immigration topic.

117

:

Dave: Yeah.

118

:

Jerremy: Uh, because that's

how she got here, right?

119

:

She was an immigrant and so she's really,

really stoked to have that conversation.

120

:

But one of the things that she's

most frustrated by is, hey, if you

121

:

have a bunch of money, it's a lot

easier to become American citizen.

122

:

It sure is.

123

:

Uh, we are, that's a lot easier.

124

:

Dave: We are, uh, we're exploring that,

you know, in my situation, my, my boo

125

:

too, like if you make an investment

in the United States, you okay?

126

:

You want to hear how it's done.

127

:

You want to hear how it's actually

done and it might make you crazy.

128

:

Living here in Miami, you see all

these big buildings, you might be

129

:

able to actually see 'em behind me.

130

:

Well, you've been down here, right?

131

:

Like these giant buildings.

132

:

And so this is how the Four

Seasons was built down here.

133

:

The Four Seasons needed a

hundred million dollars.

134

:

And so they partnered with, a company

that would provide the financing.

135

:

And the financing comes from

well off international people.

136

:

And so they got a hundred people

to put up a million dollars.

137

:

The company who built the building

would employ a bunch of people.

138

:

And that's what the requirement is.

139

:

You have to invest in the United States,

employ a bunch of people for a certain

140

:

amount of time in an economic zone.

141

:

And with that, that's how you

get your permanent residency.

142

:

The person who's making the building

gets a really, really cheap loan, and

143

:

the people who want a permanent green

card get permanent residency easy.

144

:

And so at the end of this process, what

you get is you get a place to live too.

145

:

Mm-hmm.

146

:

So not only do you get to build

the building you get return on your

147

:

investment and you get a place to live.

148

:

And that is only available to people who

have a lot of money that can be without

149

:

like a million or $2 million for a few

years while building's getting built.

150

:

And I think that that is bonkers.

151

:

So now you have permanent

residency because you built

152

:

a building in South Florida.

153

:

Jerremy: Yes.

154

:

Well, um, I can see the pros and the

cons to this deeply because the truth

155

:

is money makes everything easier.

156

:

Sure.

157

:

It makes everything faster, right?

158

:

It's one of the coolest

lubricants in the world.

159

:

Money, time, and energy, like those are

the only three things you can spend.

160

:

And you definitely would rather spend

money than time and energy if you can.

161

:

The bridge,

162

:

Dave: what we also get around here

is a bunch of empty buildings.

163

:

And that happens in New York City too.

164

:

Uh, I mean, so many of the buildings,

and I saw it in San Francisco so many

165

:

of the buildings are essentially empty.

166

:

Uh, and I know people who

live in London, same, same.

167

:

So it's people who have built

those buildings have residencies.

168

:

Oh, perfect.

169

:

We can give those to the homeless

170

:

Jerremy: people.

171

:

Dave: Well, that's the thing is

that, like these buildings are

172

:

empty, but somebody owns them, right?

173

:

And so mm-hmm.

174

:

Like in Florida, they might

show up for a few weeks out of

175

:

the year, but that's it, right?

176

:

Yeah.

177

:

But they have permanent residency.

178

:

And so that is driving up the cost of

housing here in South Florida, which

179

:

totally is, is, yeah, money is important

and money's great and money's building

180

:

these buildings, but like, what's at

the end of this rainbow is not great.

181

:

Jerremy: Well, again, what's back to

my, one of my original solutions of the

182

:

whole, add, if you are a real estate

developer or builder, there's a certain

183

:

percentage of what you have to build

that goes directly towards a real estate

184

:

initiative, created homeless drive that

focuses on putting people into a building.

185

:

It's like, Hey, you're gonna build

an entire apartment complex in Miami.

186

:

Amazing.

187

:

You also have to donate $15,000 of that.

188

:

Of your profits, your procedure,

your carrying costs, or the

189

:

equity that you took out after

you built it, that's tax free.

190

:

Dave: Yeah.

191

:

Jerremy: You have to take a portion

of that and give it to this real

192

:

estate initiative that builds homes

for homelessness and put 'em in there.

193

:

But yeah, man, it is

really, really interesting.

194

:

And again, should that be allowed?

195

:

I think the answer is yes.

196

:

It's a really hard to go, Nope.

197

:

Don't do capitalism in capitalist society.

198

:

Um, if you got a bunch of money.

199

:

Sure.

200

:

Because if you do want to take away

this deficit, you go, listen, a million

201

:

dollars buys you a green card and

you sell a million of those things.

202

:

Yeah.

203

:

A million times a million.

204

:

Dave: Yeah.

205

:

Jerremy: Yeah, that's gonna start

chipping away a little bit at this

206

:

deficit like that if they're spending

it correctly, and sourcing it correctly

207

:

and facilitating it correctly.

208

:

And so these are, you know, again, to

me, really fascinating discussions.

209

:

And man, I just cannot wait to keep

picking each one of these apart.

210

:

Mm-hmm.

211

:

I think that's what's gonna be most fun

is really picking a certain portion of

212

:

this immigration issue apart and providing

it to our panelists and saying, okay,

213

:

hey, border patrol, let's solve it.

214

:

Hey, immigration status, let's solve it.

215

:

Yeah.

216

:

Um, let's figure out some really

cool constraints and things that

217

:

are working and things that are not

working, and things that you could do

218

:

and things that you would do better.

219

:

And it's just gonna be a really,

really a fascinating topic.

220

:

On that note, for all of our listeners,

if you have ideas, thoughts, opinions,

221

:

perspectives, or solutions that

you're like, man, I would really love

222

:

to just give some of my insight, my

thought, my deliberation on this topic.

223

:

Hit us up and let us know how we can,

uh, bring you on or at least propose

224

:

your ideal a little bit more seriously.

225

:

Dave: Love it.

226

:

Alright here's a hot button one, and then,

we'll, I think we'll wrap it up there.

227

:

Uh, birthright citizenship.

228

:

14th Amendment says straight up,

you're born here, you're a citizen.

229

:

And this is getting

challenged in the courts.

230

:

Now, I did a deep dive on this, uh,

because I was like, oh, of course,

231

:

the 14th Amendment says, it turns

out that there is, there are some

232

:

bits and pieces that have never been

litigated, never been through the courts.

233

:

There is some ambiguity in there that

is just never been defined, right?

234

:

Like, I think, you know, I think on the,

on the service of it, most people will

235

:

be like, oh, yeah, that's pretty clear.

236

:

You know, like if you're born here,

you're a citizen, but there's a clause

237

:

in there that says you're a citizen.

238

:

If you are subject to the jurisdiction

of the United States and, uh, this, the

239

:

14th Amendment was specifically built

for slaves, saying, okay, you know,

240

:

like if you're born in the United States

and you're a slave, like nobody can

241

:

deny you, you are an American citizen.

242

:

And it was never meant for anybody who

was from outside of the United States.

243

:

It, you know, specifically

it carves out legislatively.

244

:

You know, like if you're, if you have a

kid here and you're an ambassador no, no.

245

:

You, you're not a, you're not a citizen

because you're not subject to the

246

:

jurisdiction of the United States.

247

:

Where this gets kind of squirrely is,

if you don't have a, you know, if you

248

:

don't have a legal right to be here,

like if your parents are, quote, uh,

249

:

undocumented, are you actually subject

to the laws of the United States or not?

250

:

And it's a maybe not, because you know,

like there's certain rights that you

251

:

don't have because you are undocumented.

252

:

Like you couldn't get drafted or, you

know, like you actually, couldn't, be

253

:

penalized for not paying federal taxes.

254

:

You know, like there's certain rights and

privileges that you do not have because

255

:

you, you know, you are not a citizen

and you don't have the right to be here.

256

:

So are you fully, part of the

jurisdiction of the United States?

257

:

And it has been tried, you know,

like there was what was called

258

:

the Arc case over a hundred

years ago, which had to do with.

259

:

The Chinese, and it was legal authorized

or like permanent residence that happened

260

:

to be Chinese born, that had a child.

261

:

And the child, went back to China and

then came back and then was deported.

262

:

And the Supreme Court said, oh, no, no,

no, no, no, this is an American citizen.

263

:

And so like, that has been the foundation.

264

:

Mm-hmm.

265

:

But they were permanent residents and

so like, it actually has never, ever

266

:

been adjudicated to be like, oh, it

is your birthright if you are here.

267

:

But it, nobody's ever said,

well, okay, certain classes of

268

:

people, they are not citizens.

269

:

Are undocumented people, citizens or not.

270

:

And so by birth.

271

:

And so that, that is, that

is an interesting thing.

272

:

I think it, do you what's your, what's

your thoughts and feelings on this?

273

:

Jerremy: Agreed.

274

:

Very fascinating.

275

:

Number one.

276

:

Number two, I'm glad it's getting

some attention because again, that's

277

:

probably one a lot of people are

like, dude, most people don't even

278

:

know how many amendments we have.

279

:

Right?

280

:

So to be clear, it's like, yes, that

one definitely should, especially with

281

:

all this essentially turmoil, right?

282

:

Being arose arisen about immigration.

283

:

Dave: Yeah.

284

:

Jerremy: I think that's one

where we probably need a

285

:

little bit more light on her.

286

:

We need a little bit more freshness

because again, if you do have two

287

:

illegal immigrants that come across the

line that she's eight and a half months

288

:

pregnant and they boom, have a baby.

289

:

Dave: One of the most

critical things actually.

290

:

The original case was the Supreme

Court in the Wong case, and I think

291

:

this was like in the 1880s, right?

292

:

Like as, so it's, it's been a hot minute.

293

:

The Supreme Court at the time,

on their case, they said it's

294

:

British common law, right?

295

:

Like so it's mm-hmm.

296

:

It's, it's found.

297

:

So like that's what we'll go back to.

298

:

It's British common law.

299

:

And it was like, okay it, and it's like,

it's some Latin term for like by blood.

300

:

And so, by the simple fact that

you are in the country and you are

301

:

born there, then by blood you, you

are a citizen of Great Britain.

302

:

Here's the thing though.

303

:

That was changed.

304

:

You do not get instant citizenship

if you are just born in the uk.

305

:

It is.

306

:

It fundamentally changed.

307

:

In fact, the United States is

among few countries, like almost

308

:

no countries in the world.

309

:

Do you get.

310

:

Automatic citizenship.

311

:

Yeah.

312

:

You know, the United Kingdom doesn't do

it like nobody envisioned like modern

313

:

immigration practices and patterns.

314

:

Like, there are people who do birth

tourism where they will come to

315

:

the United States and hang out for

a couple of months, give birth to

316

:

their child, and then you go back to

wherever they're from, just so that

317

:

their child can have a US passport.

318

:

So like the whole foundation of this

was British common law that was the

319

:

original, but that's all changed.

320

:

I'm like, oh, okay.

321

:

That's curious.

322

:

So I, fundamentally, I think like

if you're born in the United States,

323

:

you're definitely a US citizen.

324

:

I think that makes sense to me.

325

:

But I totally get where people

are coming from on this one.

326

:

Jerremy: Oh, me too, man.

327

:

Yeah.

328

:

I think, like I said, to your point, it's

good to be, it's good to get addressed.

329

:

It's good to look over and just, Hey, can

we make any tweaks, any adjustments there?

330

:

Is there any rules, regulations, just a

little bit more redefine it or definement?

331

:

Um, same thing.

332

:

I think probably what'll stem from that

might be the marriage thing too, right?

333

:

Where it's just like, Hey, we

just need to make sure that you

334

:

have this to your point, right?

335

:

You gotta go through a lawyer.

336

:

Ugh.

337

:

Dave: Yeah.

338

:

Jerremy: Could you slash should

you need to do that, right?

339

:

If you got born here, like, let's

just make sure you go through

340

:

this lawyer process anyway.

341

:

I think having it go through the court

system and be an issue for debate

342

:

and issue for conversation, I think

is very, very valid and valuable.

343

:

Dave: Yeah.

344

:

Jerremy: Totally.

345

:

Yep.

346

:

Yeah, man, it's gonna

be a great topic, Dave.

347

:

I can't wait to get some incredible

guests and just have some beautiful

348

:

discussions and learn more and share

more and grow more and have more thoughts

349

:

and insights poured into our brain

as we continue to build this really,

350

:

really incredible, uh, presidential run.

351

:

Dave: It's gotta be great.

352

:

Jerremy: Yep.

353

:

Dave: Wrap us up.

354

:

We're, uh, that's it.

355

:

And

356

:

Jerremy: exactly.

357

:

End scene.

358

:

End scene.

359

:

Ladies and gentlemen, make sure you

continue listening to this podcast.

360

:

We're getting more and more people

to reach out, saying, Hey man,

361

:

you're doing a really good job.

362

:

This was exciting.

363

:

I, I didn't know that you had a

podcast like that continues to happen.

364

:

The more places I go and the more I

talk about this incredible opportunity,

365

:

um, Dave has been in politics for a

very, very long time, is extremely

366

:

seasoned, and we're using all the

tools and tactics to help speed up this

367

:

process of learning for both of us.

368

:

Make sure you give us a five

star review on any, uh, in

369

:

any and all of the locations.

370

:

We're on Instagram, we're on Twitter.

371

:

You can find us, check us out,

share us, be here, continue

372

:

us and continue supporting.

373

:

And thank you very much for allowing

us to help solve America's problems.

374

:

I.

All Episodes Previous Episode

Listen for free

Show artwork for Solving America's Problems

About the Podcast

Solving America's Problems
Solving America’s Problems isn’t just a podcast—it’s a journey. Co-host Jerremy Newsome, a successful entrepreneur and educator, is pursuing his lifelong dream of running for president. Along the way, he and co-host Dave Conley bring together experts, advocates, and everyday Americans to explore the real, actionable solutions our country needs.

With dynamic formats—one-on-one interviews, panel discussions, and more—we cut through the noise of divisive rhetoric to uncover practical ideas that unite instead of divide. If you’re ready to think differently, act boldly, and join a movement for meaningful change, subscribe now.