Comments on: Viva Immigration

By: Parra

Parra — Fri, 05 May 2006 07:46:31 +0000

I am a hispanic woman born in the U.S. and I love this country. I do not see myself as Mexican- American but as an American. My grandfather worked hard and waited a long time to go through the proper chanels to bring his family into this country legally. I am grateful to my grandfather because I am able to reap from his labors and live in this great country. My parents made sure that all of their 11 children learned the English language and adopted the American way of life. My father served in the military and fought in the Korean war and my uncle was given the purple heart because he was wounded in the Vietnam War.

Having said that, I wanted to express my beliefs that immigrants who enter this country illegally should not be rewarded for breaking the law by offering them citizenship. It is an insult to Mexican and other immigrants before them who obeyed the laws of this land when they entered this country.

I also believe we should tighten up on our borders. I live in El Paso, TX. which is a border city to Juarez, Mexico. El Paso is one of the poorest cities in the Nation. El Paso is filled with illegal immigrants. Taxes on homes are sky high because our county hospital is flooded with illegals who come here to have babies in the U.S. or come here for free medical care. Our schools are overwhelmed with more students than they can hold. When we bought our home in the Soccorro district my son had to be transported to a school 5 miles away for 1 school year when we were just blocks away from the school he should have been attending because they didn't have any room for him. Recently our taxes went up yet again. It is so frustrating.

Wages here are very low due to the fact that cheap labor is easily found. El Paso has a reputation for losing UTEP graduates to other cities because of low wages.

I can't help but resent illegal immigrants who come here demanding rights in this country when they shouldn't be here in the first place. They don't pay taxes on their wages because they are paid under the table and can travel back to Mexico to their homes and again don't pay the high taxes we have to pay here for our homes.

I especially resent it when illegals come here and demand that I speak Spanish to them because I am American-Mexican when they should be making an effort to speak English because they are in the U.S. I speak Spanish whenever I cross the border I don't expect anyone to speak to me in English.

Bilingual in this city does not mean speaking both English and Spanish, it means speaking Spanish. I am frustrated with the state of this city. It angers me to see illegals boldly waving the Mexican flag chanting Mexico and demanding rights in this country on this side of the border. I am angered by the illegal immigrants demanding changes in our government and country when perhaps they should be protesting their own government and the state of their own country.

Anyways, I will get off my soap box. Perhaps it is time for me to get out of El Paso.

By: Susan Harris

Susan Harris — Fri, 05 May 2006 03:11:48 +0000

please take time to sing this

http://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/286350487

By: Susan Harris

Susan Harris — Fri, 05 May 2006 03:10:57 +0000

please take time to sing this

http://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/286350487

By: Michael

Michael — Fri, 05 May 2006 00:34:48 +0000

Some well-considered thoughts and I appreciate reading them. I think this point is especially appropriate: “…if you are really concerned with the number of permanent Hispanic residents, then a guest worker program might actually reduce the number. The reason is that many Mexicans still love their country but want work.”

I think it’s important not to demonize immigrants, but I also think that we need to consider what is in the best interests of our country before we consider what is in the best interests of the immigrant. Shouldn’t our immigration policy look to bring in the best and brightest immigrants and not just those who are most determined to cross the border?

Here are some more thoughts along these lines:

http://theopinionator.com/Politics/quality_quantity.html

By: Steve

Steve — Thu, 04 May 2006 06:02:18 +0000

They are selling Mexicans on the net!

By: Steve

Steve — Thu, 04 May 2006 06:00:08 +0000

These guys are selling Mexicans!

Steve

By: Betsy

Betsy — Tue, 02 May 2006 14:26:37 +0000

Illegal immigration — My first response is that each of us comes from an immigrant family that came to these shores to seek a better life. I have a European ancestry. My ancestors which include Germans integrated into the culture over the years. I don’t speak German. I speak English. I am proud to be American. My point is: legal immigrants are welcome — always welcome on our shores. Illegal immigrants coming to “get a job”, and whose heart belongs back in their own mother-land do not deserve recognition, assistance, free education, free health-care, free welfare or free social security. For them its free — because they do not contribute to the United States tax system the same way citizens do. For us its an added tax burden. I have seen the effect of Brazilians who come over on a two year working visa. The parents work as many jobs as possible. They put their kids in the public schools. These children do not speak english. The parents don’t care about their education. They are too tired from working 2-3 jobs a day to help them with their homework. The drain on the school resources to help these kids learn english, learn their studies and prepare them for the state tests is immense. Its important that the schools earn as high a score as possible on the state tests. The non-english speaking children of parents that dont’ care, take away resources from U.S. children and jeopardize school funding. Furthermore, I was alarmed to hear yesterday a audio clip on NPR from a Spanish politician in Mexico stating that the United States was their territory, that they lost in a war and they need to claim it again. So the bottom line is: illegal immigrants are at WAR WITH US. They want “THEIR LAND” back and to have it “THEIR WAY”. They do NOT want to assimilate. They DO NOT want to be U.S. citizens. So the point is: send them home. When they decide that they want to live here legally — fine — come on back and begin the process of becoming a U.S. citizen like every other citizen of this country has done or is doing.

By: Cathy

Cathy — Tue, 02 May 2006 04:19:09 +0000

I am totally disgusted by these undocumented workers demands and their efforts to shove their problems and language down our collective throats. The INS has dropped the ball on immigration in the last 25 years and now the rest of us have to suffer. America’s slogan is “give us your poor, etc…” yeah – well it doesn’t say “give us your illegals”. Most of all American citizens have come here legally and through much plight and running from injustices and genocide in their native countries. Some had to wait interminable years in other countries just to step foot on American soil and now these illegals except us to lay down our laws and give them amnesty? It’s disgusting and I’m appalled by the notion that we HAVE TO BECAUSE NO ONE WANTS TO DO THEIR JOBS. Well, I was unemployed a year ago and would have gladly taken a job cleaning out toilets or bussing tables but I wasn’t offered those jobs. The problem is that American companies, especially down South and in the Southwest are employing these people. This must be stopped. The only way to do so is to severely fine or impose heavy taxes upon those companies who will employ immigrants who are undocumented. Medicaid has said that they are gearing up to stop giving OUR HEALTH CARE BENEFITS away to illgal aliens, which has been going on forever. These benefits we pay for through our hard earned work and we can’t get them but these illegals pack up their momicitas and their popi’s and take them to our clinics and get free service and they bring their entire fucking families with them! It so pisses me off.

My solution is simple. These people want to stay and work — pay your back income taxes and if you can’t do that – then you must be drafted into the Iraqi war and serve 4 years of a tour of duty. If you die there – you will be dying for your “new country” and your relatives will be able to stay in their new adopted country without reprisal. These people want everything for nothing.

Lastly, the right to protest is reserved for CITIZENS of AMERICA — NOT ILLEGAL ALIENS. We have rules and laws that these people keep stomping on and we let them do it! Enough is enough — No habla espanol or polish or serbian or russian – habla english solamente – assholes!

If this was happening in any other country, all illegal immigrants would be rounded up while marching in the streets in protest and carted back to where they belong — out of the US.

By: David

David — Mon, 01 May 2006 16:44:15 +0000

You state: "At the end of the day, the vast, vast majority of people crossing the border are looking for a job. That's it."

It is NOT OUR JOB to provide Mexican nationals with jobs. IF the good people of Mexico would fight the corruption there from the government all the way down to cops on the beat, they would have a better country and would not feel the need to leave. IF the good people of Mexico would stop pushing out kids every 10 months, when they can't afford to feed the children they already have, this would help as well.

As for the differences in the Canadian border and the Mexican border---we are not plagued with tens of thousands and hundreds of thousands of Canadians crossing the border.

As for walls in general, the Berlin Wall was to keep people IN--NOT OUT.

You stated: "shifting illegals into legal guest worker programs would likely increase tax revenues by bringing these folks into the system."

NO! Some illegals are already paying some taxes, but they still pull several times more out of the system than they put in given AFDC, housing subsidies, food stamps, the cost of schooling the hordes of illegal alien's children and etc.

As a white male who makes $65,000 annually (after paying $30,000 for a graduate degree), I could NOT legally immigrate to Canada, as per current Canadian law, but I am supposed to take it in the shorts and with a smile! What a load of crap!!

What part of 'illegal' don't you understand?

By: A Hispanic

A Hispanic — Sun, 30 Apr 2006 13:37:29 +0000

It is unfair to cross the border illegally and demand any rights. I had to come into the US by paying my dues. For every illegal there are 50 other Hispanics (other than Mexicans) that are willing to come into this country the legal way. Americans need not to be afraid of this so called boycott.
Get back in line you law breakers!