Subject: Re: Why the border bill will fail
Who exactly is doing that prohibiting?

We are. We agreed that we wouldn't do it. We have entered into a binding international treaty that prohibits those actions. We said we wouldn't do it, and ratified that agreement in a treaty.

Yes, we have the power to breach that treaty, and take the consequences. Because of the way international law works, those consequences would not come through a formal enforcement action by a superior body. They would take the form of making it more difficult to achieve our goals and advance our interests through international agreements and cooperation on other matters. But they're no less real because of that. If you break your treaties, you pay a price - which is why most countries try very hard not to break their treaty obligations, and why they take the language of such treaties (and the decision whether to enter into them) very seriously.