I don't like this.
I sense yet another emotionally manipulative argument that conveniently, and frequently, obscures and ignores the one critical fact of this whole debate - that these individuals are here illegally.
My question is this: America is great, and we all agree on that... so for those who are so highly motivated to arrive here as to pay huge sums of money to "coyotes", navigate treacherous terrain (be it Rio Grande desert or Pacific ocean in cargo containers), and then live sub-strata (look it up) lives always fearful of the next knock on the door... Why can't you apply for legal immigration?
The process is not supposed to be easy? But certainly, it's easier than getting here and staying here illegally?
As for the manipulation...
"These are human beings, too" - obviously, we're not worrying about the illegal cat population.
"These are your neighbors." - Neighbors who are breaking the law are bad neighbors.
"We do the work that others won't do." - Since employers can pay you wages that are sub-standard, sure... you end up doing the work. Not having to report you saves employers quite a bit of money... no FICA, no Medicare, no Health care, no paperwork. Very nice.
"We do the work that whites won't do." - Racist. (Well, isn't it?)
"You're picking on Hispanics, you racist people." - No. We're picking on illegals. Not all illegals are Hispanic, nor are all Hispanics illegal. Just like no Americans are illegal and no illegals are Americans.
"We're here and we're not leaving." - Only until granted amnesty or until the government summons the will to send you back.
"But you're separating us from our families." No, you set that in motion by creating a situation where that would be a possibility.
"How dare you want to deny us schools, health care, and jobs?" - Those are part of the benefits of being an American citizen. Check with the other 180+ countries around the world for their policies on this matter.
"This nation was founded on immigrants." - Yes, legal immigrants. Ellis Island is a National Landmark. The ditch under the fence in Arizona, and the shipping port in San Diego are not.
"The original white settlers were illegal immigrants to the Native Americans who were here first." - Sigh. Ok, we can get into a long discussion here, but the short version is that through wars, treaties (yes, I know, I know), assimilation (again, I know), and relocation (shout it from the roof-tops), one group absorbed the land from the other groups (of which there were many). Thus, it's not so much a question of immigration as conquering. I.E., the Romans did not immigrate to the ancient Greeks, they... conquered it.
It's saddening to see that this is such a topic for debate. Fix the problems, control our borders. Note, CONTROL does not equal CLOSE. Control. Know who is coming in and out of the country. Those who are visiting - keep track of. Those who immigrate legally, welcome with open arms. Those who sneak in, track down, and send home.
6 comments:
Bravo Reid. If the first lesson you teach your children is to break the rules....what does that bode for the future.
It all seems so simple to me - enforce the laws!
I've been watching the newscasts like everybody else. Maybe I'm just not getting it but all these people are illegal, which means "law-breakers", right? Why do they think they're entitled to all the rights of legal immigrants and citizens of this country?Some of these rights-healthcare and schooling, etc are paid by tax dollars, which, as far as I know, they've never contributed to. Some of them argue that they've been here for years (is there a statute of limitations on illegality?)and have children who were born here so they should not be separated from them. They should have thought of that before. If you sneak across the borders of other countries and are found to be illegal, you face deportation or jail. Do you think they care how long you've gotten away with it?
Sure, I feel bad that life in their country is rough enough to want to get away and make a good life for your family but do it the right way so you're not having to look over your shoulder in fear of being caught (though I guess there hasn't been any type of enforcement to fear!)
Sorry, everybody! That was a really long post-I got carried away. I'll try to keep them smaller in the future!
You're all right. I will point out that it's not actually taht easy to immigrate legally. Each country sort of has a quota, and there's an overall cap. Or at least there used to be; god knows how we do it these days. So the game is get in line, hope that someone doesn't pay their way to the front, and that you can take enough time off to keep your paperwork current in that big city a few hundred miles from where you live or whatever.
Yes, I know it's not that easy and I do sympathize but if that's what you have to do.... I lived in Turkey on and off)for a few years (legally) and married a Turk. It wasn't an easy feat, even for us, trying to get him a visa even though he was married to an American. I actually had to go back home without him. It took a year to get him here with all the filing of paperwork. I'm sure there was a sneaky way around it but we chose the legal route. Yes, it took, time out of work, money for lawyers, trips back and forth to Ankara but he was legal and we didn't have to worry about a knock on the door.
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