“For the first century of the country's existence, anyone could land here and walk right off the boat with no papers of any kind, just as Gumpertz did. Coming here "illegally" did not even exist as a concept.”https://twitter.com/inthepastlane/status/962628226022625280 …
“clearing and working the land for 5-10 years, all the while paying taxes” sounds like what largely Latino farm workers in central California do except they don’t get free land or real estate.