Illegal Immigrants - friend or foe

dmyre · Mar 28, 2006

Texas has seen two consecutive days of student protests. I don't understand how people that are in our country illegally assume they have the same right to education, employment, etc. If they want to come to America, there are ways to do it legally.

By entering our country illegally, they are a threat to National Security and our economy. If they want to push the issue, then it should at least be addressed.

What are your thoughts?

Bart · Mar 28, 2006

Dave Zan · Mar 28, 2006

Believing and knowing can be 2 different things. Unfortunately it seems they
only believe, but they don't know the actual details.

DNGeeks · Mar 29, 2006

How is someone looking for a job that pays more than $0.50 per hour a national security threat? Yes I know all the arguements, but 99.9% of them are just looking for work and a better life.

While I agree that they are in the country illegally and should be deported, I can also understand why they are doing it.

If the law was changed to make it very unpleasant to be "caught" employing an illegal it might actually do something. A huge fine comes to mind.

I don't know how hard it is to get a work visa in the US, but I have heard it is hard to get citizenship. Why not make work visa's easier to get? From there you can ID the workers and tax them. Of course it's not always that easy but that's where my guess is as to how to start to fix the issue.

dmyre · Mar 29, 2006

DNGeeks said:
How is someone looking for a job that pays more than $0.50 per hour a national security threat?

Not all immigrants are here to join the working class.

http://amw.com/fugitives/brief.cfm?id=38171 (possible location; Mexico)
http://amw.com/fugitives/brief.cfm?id=34387 (possible location; Mexico)
http://amw.com/fugitives/brief.cfm?id=32818 (possible location; Mexico)

It may be time consuming becoming a US citizen, but isn't it worthwhile? Anything worth having, is worth working for...

Here's some comments from a local news station regarding this issue:
http://forums.ibsys.com/viewmessages.cfm?sitekey=dfw&Forum=515&Topic=13535

The funny part is that alot of the students didn't even know what they were protesting, they just saw an opportunity to run through the streets shouting "Viva Mexico". Their country is sooo great, they can't run away from it fast enough..... :-/

JMJ · Mar 29, 2006

There is a problem here and it's growing ever increasingly. For one if they can run across the boarder then why couldn't a terrorist do it just as easily. And then you have the job losses. Alot of people want you to think they are only doing jobs others wouldn't but I highly disagree. At this very moment you might not see alot of unemployed construction workers but give it another 6 months to a year. Spending a number of years in the restaurant business I can tell you there's alot more undocumented workers here than most people imagine and that was years ago.

In addition to that you have the free trade agreements which adds to the problem. Again there are those who want us to believe it doesn't hurt our economy if a US company moves their auto manufacturing plant down there and imports in. I can think of alot of people who would love to keep their jobs at the Saturn plant near me but instead its going to Mexico. So you have them coming here to take jobs and jobs leaving here to go there. They get paid under the table and send their money back to their families in Mexico so they can live better lives in Mexico.

Duckinla · Mar 30, 2006

So many illegals have become so imbedded in the country that it is unrealistic to consider deporting them all. Some I know personally.
I would give all illegals in the country now 6 months prove their intentions by signing up for a 20 year "Probationary Citizenship" status. Maybe with the following stipulations:

1)Any felony committed in that 20 years is automatic deportation.
2) No voting rights for the 20 year period.
3) Reduced social benefits (no welfare, no unemployment).
4) Pay a penalty of $1K per year for 20 years.
5) Pass a comprehensive citizenship test (English language) within 3 years.
6) File a tax return every year.

After 20 years you become a full legal citizen.

It beats the heck out of the alternative (deportation), it gives people a way to make restitution for having broken the law and gives the country assurance of the intentions of the immigrants. Sign up and become legal, Don't sign up, get deported. I would sign up for it if I were currently living "underground".