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I'm a first generation American naturalized citizen who came here LEGALLY through the proper channels with documentation before attempting to migrate here. My wife, who now lives in Houston with me, also came here using the proper channels. We waited patiently, paid our fees, and only came here once she was allowed to.
All of this talk about illegals having rights, criminals or not criminals, broke laws to enter this country. They need to go back and apply like the rest of us, in line. I don't care if they have children born here, they need to go back with their parents and come back LEGALLY.
I have no problems if law enforcement asks me for proper ID. I will gladly show them as would my wife. My wife doesn't understand why so many politicians are afraid of enforcing the laws already put forth. I believe compassion for those who are here illegally have some kind of family or link to those who are here illegally or stand to gain from it. Who wouldn't want to be here with proper documentation, so they can earn higher wages, and not worry by looking over their shoulders all the time??? Stand up America. We want our country back!
I'm a first generation American naturalized citizen who came here LEGALLY through the proper channels with documentation before attempting to migrate here. My wife, who now lives in Houston with me, also came here using the proper channels. We waited patiently, paid our fees, and only came here once she was allowed to.
All of this talk about illegals having rights, criminals or not criminals, broke laws to enter this country. They need to go back and apply like the rest of us, in line. I don't care if they have children born here, they need to go back with their parents and come back LEGALLY.
I have no problems if law enforcement asks me for proper ID. I will gladly show them as would my wife. My wife doesn't understand why so many politicians are afraid of enforcing the laws already put forth. I believe compassion for those who are here illegally have some kind of family or link to those who are here illegally or stand to gain from it. Who wouldn't want to be here with proper documentation, so they can earn higher wages, and not worry by looking over their shoulders all the time??? Stand up America. We want our country back!
Let me ask you this. Did you live in a shack that had no electricity and zero opportunity for work before you and your wife came here?
I'm sure that those that felt absolutely free to disregard the standing immigration laws would be rushing to comply with those nifty new firearms regulations.....along with the home-grown criminals who possess firearms.
I hear all of this hysteria about this "new" law, when all it is is a reiteration of the federal law, but allowing the state law enforcement agencies to participate in it's enforcement.
My wife is also an American of Mexican descent, and seems to have no problem with the enforcement of the existing immigration laws. I don't presume to speak for her, but from the conversations that we have had, the impression that I get is that the ideal solution from her perspective is to make it easier to immigrate legally and more difficult and less attractive to do so illegally.
My own perception is that the current immigration laws don't seem to be so restrictive that immigrants from countries that are separated from us by an ocean or two can't manage to comply with them.
According to the DHS, which runs the ICE, the breakdown in rounded terms of "Persons Obtaining Legal Resident Status By Region and Country of Last Residence" is:
~1.1 million total new legal residents in 2009
~115K - Europe
~395K - Asia
~123K - Africa
~101K - South America
~47K - Central America
~164K - Mexico
~22K - Canada
So, it's not like the regulations are so restrictive that no one is able to legally immigrate, or to obtain legal residence as an expat. I can't help but wonder if the attitude of many of the illegals is something like "Why bother? There's no real penalty for circumventing the process, and not much real benefit to be gained from going through the correct procedures."
Thank you for posting those numbers. I am an AZ native who has watched our "illegal problem" escalate throughout the years and it will never get better until the government gets a grip on it. Years ago they came on a guest worker permit and went back home later. Then they decided to stay and send for their families. Even that wasn't so bad but, personally, I blame the Coyotes who smuggle people into the state for a LOT of our problems.
Those poor people are likely fed a line of bull a mile long about how much better it would be for them here and 'for a price' they can be brought here. So they scrimp and save, pay the Coyotes...who may or may not get them here...and then find themselves being held in a drop house somewhere while their families are blackmailed for more money. They have no idea what waits for them here. Then Sheriff Joe does a sweep, after getting info about where they are, and they end up in jail. They get deported by ICE and many will try again to come back but likely without the 'aid' of the Coyotes.
The drug cartels have made things even worse. BUT if the people in the US didn't buy those drugs they wouldn't have any reason to bring them. I know that the Boarder Patrol busts way more of them than are reported in the news, and I think they do an excellant job catching the drug runners and the illegals, but they can only do so much. They can't line the border, shoulder to shoulder, to keep them out.
This has been a growing problem for years and it's not getting any better. If SB1070 causes such a hoorah that it finally gets the Feds attention then yay for us. Not that anything will be done anytime soon since the wheels turn slowly with the Feds. There has been so much misinformation spread, and some outright lies, that it boggles the mind. So many haven't even read the law and many of those that have misinterpret it. However, I can understand that since some of it was rather ambiguous to begin with. That has since been rectified and Gov. Brewer signed the amended bill yesterday.
Anyone who doesn't think that we have a really serious problem here, not only with illegals coming here on their own, but the criminals who make them pay to get here and then hold them for 'ransom' and the drug runners... Well, we do and it's time somebody did something and no matter how much some people hate this bill, it had to start somewhere. So, I hope people will be patient, wait and see how it works out and just stop spreading falsehoods. I can't count how many times I've seen people online swear up and down that now people have to have a passport and birth certificate just to visit or pass through the state. That's so ridiculous it would be laughable if it wasn't also sad that people actually think things like that. Another sad thing is that every time someone farts in the state it's going to make headlines, or at least the news, and people will jump on it like a duck on a June bug.
Anyway...it's gonna be a long slog to get through it but you know what? We Arizonans are tough and we'll survive. Even with so many people wanting to tar and feather us. The 'little guy' doesn't make the laws but sometimes we do support them. And sometimes we don't. But I think most of us realize this has been a long time coming and we just hope for the best.
Oh and P.S. (sorry I'm so longwinded but...) I have Hispanic cousins here, since my aunt married "one of those Mexicans" years ago, and even they are for this bill. They feel that illegals give them a bad name because you can't tell who's legal or not by 'looking'. My cousins branch of the family were here for generations before their 'white branch' ever came and they've been here for over 80 years now themselves. We are Arizonans and proud of it.
What does that have to do with the fact that he and his wife came as LEGAL immigrants and followed the proper laws? NOTHING.
I don't know why so many people think that we owe the rest of the world anything at all.
It has to do with all these Founding Fathers and their Constitution. Little did they know their document and a couple of other ideas of theirs, both executed as they envisioned and those misconstrued, would open and close cans of worms.
Let's be honest: the phrase "land of the free" is a stretchin' it.
What does that have to do with the fact that he and his wife came as LEGAL immigrants and followed the proper laws? NOTHING.
I don't know why so many people think that we owe the rest of the world anything at all.
It has a lot to do with it. His situation is entirely different. If you came to this country legally, you had the means to do so. Those who come illegally do not have the means to do so. They don't have the money, the resources or the connections.
And who said anybody owes anyone anything? I sure didn't.
From what i've seen on the news, many people will repeatedly try to come here even after being deported a few times. That Arizona law isn't really going to be that effective anyway. I wonder how the long term repercussions will affect Houston if it did pass here. Maybe getting passed up for the Superbowl, MLB All-Star, or any major sporting event. Maybe some singers, entertainers will not include Houston as part of their concert/comedy, etc. tours. Maybe alot of other things that i can't think of right now.
I think Perry doesn't have a problem with the Arizona law, but he is trying to distance himself since he is running for governor again.
It has a lot to do with it. His situation is entirely different. If you came to this country legally, you had the means to do so. Those who come illegally do not have the means to do so. They don't have the money, the resources or the connections.
I agree with the other mystified posters. By your logic, just because I can't afford to legally emigrate to Denmark, Monaco or Switzerland, which offer a much higher quality of life and much better social welfare programs than the US, I should just sneak in and take up residency because I'm poorer than they are and need what they have? How about if I've been unemployed for 3 years and I'm living in my car and really desperate...would that give me moral permission to break their silly laws, cut in line and push ahead of some German guy who's been waiting patiently for 5 years to get approved? Or does that trick only work if I'm born to the lowest level of a third world country, a kind of reverse discrimination? Does 'fair' treatment only apply to the needy, not the self sufficient? Surely everyone in the world knows that cutting ahead in a line is unfair.
Or perhaps, how about if my neighbor has much more space than I have (after all, he has a 5 bedroom house for just his wife and himself, and I only have a 2 bedroom and 4 kids,) should I just start moving into his extra rooms because I'm needier and he looks like he can spare it? Doesn't he get a say in the matter?
In short, is extreme poverty a universal 'get out of jail free' card which excuses someone from having to abide by the normal legalities? Does poverty also justify and excuse theft and squatting? Where do you draw the line, I just want to know.
Quote:
Originally Posted by crbcrbrgv
And who said anybody owes anyone anything? I sure didn't
That's exactly what you're proposing, unless you don't understand what you are saying
Excuse me, but you're selflessly giving away my resources as well as yours, resources I have paid heavy taxes for, for over 30 years. Nothing is free...from water and services to shelter and road maintenance. Who exactly are you proposing pay for all of the extra guests at the table? Why should we bother having borders at all, as so many in the world are poor and deserve to be here more than more affluent immigrants, or is it only the very poor within walking distance who get to break the rules?
Heck, why not tell all the needy of the world to come to the US, recession and high unemployment be damned, because we still have a somewhat higher standard of living, and a few more resources than some third world countries? Let's just put up a big sign on the country saying "Fire Sale, Going Out of Business...Everything Must Go" and let everyone come in who can manage to stow away on a boat or steal a plane ticket...screw the pretense of keeping anyone out (except the slightly more affluent immigrants, who really don't need it, and can afford to wait)
For what it's worth, last year Japan encouraged may of their legal immigrants to leave, because there weren't enough jobs for their native population. Don't even attempt to be an illegal in affluent Singapore or Dubai, my friend, you'll rapidly end up deported or in jail. They don't care if people in neighboring countries are starving and hungry. Before you emigrate to Brazil, you must prove that you have at least $2000 a month to pay for your expenses, so that don't become a drain on their resources (and Brazil is rich with a hefty cash surplus these days, as opposed to the debt strapped United States). Shouldn't Brazil now pick up some of the slack and start sharing their wealth with the needy around them in South America? Why is it always the job of the United States?
Oddly enough, even european countries do not have the same admirable history of generosity and donation of Americans. I think we are pretty generous as a country, the first to send money to earthquake and disaster victims, the first to open our homes to people left homeless or destitute through misfortune, even in the midst of a serious economic downturn. How much more are you demanding of people? There is a point at which they will start pushing back, and that point is just about now
Let me guess...giving away other people's stuff without clearing it with them, and then making them feel guilty for objecting...are you by chance a socialist?
Dang...lately they're cropping up like mushrooms after a strong rain in Maine
Last edited by CTtoTexas; 05-01-2010 at 09:06 PM..
Reason: spelling
Let me ask you this. Did you live in a shack that had no electricity and zero opportunity for work before you and your wife came here?
It has nothing to do with that. In fact, when my family first moved here, my family and I had to live in a house full of other relatives, literally 15+ people in the house. I came over as a child and both my father and mother worked labor jobs to feed and house a family of 9 including themselves. It wasn't easy but we made it and nobody went home hungry. None of the people living in the house were illegal.
It is a shame that people live in those kind of conditions in other countries but that's how some people in other less fortunate countries live in. We cannot help everyone and we (USA) cannot be the bearer and charity of the world. We cannot even feed and house our own people so how can we help others in less fortunate countries. If we did that, our country would go broke.
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