Illegal Immigrants and President Bush

Illegal Immigrants are a very touchy topic in my neck of the woods here in Chicago. Needless to say, there are a lot of them in an assortment of different ethnic backgrounds.

I come seeking information. I have read briefly that President Bush wants to pass a bill that would include illegal immigrants in the country as part of a work program of some sort. What is this all about?

I also read that the National Bishops of the Catholic church are trying to gain momentum for the government to keep all illegal immigrants in the country and let them stay here.

Being the Catholic that I am, I think the Bishops are crazy and ludicrous in thinking this is the way to go. I heard one of the leaders of the Bishops group talking last night and he said they have an idea on how to improve other countries economies to avoid immigrants coming over here. I can't wait to hear that one.

Anyways, what does everyone think about illegal immigrants and their future in this country?

 

I just got back from AZ, and there seriously are illegals running rampant in Tucson. Literally with backpacks on their back running through the desert.

I think they really do serve a role in the economy, they mow my grass. That's not meant ot be a racist statment either. They traditionally fill in on all the jobs that regular americans do not want to take. They pick crops in teh southwest, tobacco in the Southeast, bus tables, do allt eh stuff we're not willing to do. If we kick them out there's gonna be a big hike in prices for some of the stuff we buy.

That being said, they make a HUGE mess in the desert. They just drop litter and stuff they don't need on the side of the road. The other thing is that there are a lot of drug smugglers running marijuana into the country basically unabated.

So basically Bush is doing what every other administration has done. A lot of lip service to the problem, but really no real action

 

I have noticed a lot of immigrants here in Chicago that come to America, pick up a pay check and send it back to where they came from. I do not see these people embracing the culture or trying to learn the language at all, rather they are simply using the United States for its' economic gains. I know this is helping their families back home, but what I want to know is how these people get driver's licences? how they got here in the first place and some of them who come here with an agenda of using people and finding weak American citizens to prey on. Trust me, I have experienced this stuff first hand right in my own neighborhood. It is a sad truth.

What bothers me is I know for a fact many of these people do not pay taxes. In addition, I just read that when an illegal immigrant goes to the emergency room, he/she has to be treated and the government pays for this. That means, we the tax-payers of this country pay for this.

Yes, there are a lot of illegal immigrants that serve a major role in this country. However, there are some real scumbags I have met first hand who I would love to see booted out of here.

 

there are some real scumbag american citizens that i'd like to see booted out too

they sap the national economy, don't pay taxes, use medical care etc. It sound stupid, but it really is a situation with no real good solution. Plus if we kick all of them out, the MLS would go belly up in a month.

And i do agree that there is a major problem that hispanic immigrants are not at all molding in to our own society, but instead staying seperate and keeping their language. It took the Irish and Italians a few generations to completely become engrained into our society, so maybe they need another few years, but I'd be willing to bet it won't happen any time soon.

 

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The Fire could double their attendance numbers if they were to add a Polish player or two. They used to have a few when the team was formed and loads of Polish supporters came out. Now that they do not have any, the number of Polish supporters has all but disappeared.

 

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I believe most of the studies done show that illegals provide more to our economy than they take out. When you figure they pick most of the domestic vegetables and fruit for absolute rock bottom wages, that figures. Johnny is right that you'd have to pay a whole lot more for American citizens to do it, if they even would. I grew up beside an orchard and while I worked some crummy jobs as a kid I would not go there. It was bottom of the barrel. The money the migrants send back to Mexico and Central America is one of the biggest sources of income in this region. It helps to keep some of poorer regions politically stable and undercut rebel groups, which is in our interest.

That said there are areas in big cities, the meat packing towns of the Midwest and agricultural areas all over the country where they've become a majority or a very large percentage of the population. This is a problem when you have a large concentration of low-paid, poorly educated workers who don't know the language and aren't legal citizens.

It's not realistic that we are going to be able to close a 2000+ mile border mostly through the middle of nowhere when there is such a huge disparity in economic opportunity. Given this fact and the fact that there are both positive and negative impacts, it's something the country is going to live with. It's one of very few areas (maybe the only one) where I give Bush some credit - he seems to be trying to find a realistic solution.

I also read that the birth rate in Mexico has been dropping rapidly - a large portion of the Catholic clergy has walked away from the Vatican on this issue. Since most of the migrants are in their 20's the size of the pool will start decreasing in about 10 years. This will help their economy and provide some relief to the problem here. I don't know what it means for their soccer team.

 

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That sounds like my neighborhood in Chicago.

 

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I know that i'm not the most valid person to be making comments here but i have done some reading on the subject and have come to the following conclusion:

The way that the immigration system works in the U.S is very complex. After the attacks on 9/11 and the constant terrorist threat, the govornment has stepped up it's control over who comes in to the country. It's made the immigration rules so water tight that it is near on impossible to get in to the country. This has had alot of negative and positive effects. The positives being that they have much more control over those who have taken the legal route to come in to the US and they have much stronger ways of monitoring what immigrants are doing and they know alot more about them.

The negatives, of course, means that those who are desperate to leave their own country are willing to be in the US illegaly. This effectivly has the opposite effect on what the govornment is trying to achieve by tightening up the control over who comes in to the country.

In conclusion, if the govornment were willing to change their immigration laws, they would have an easier time on monitoring those in the US, the low end jobs could be filled by people that are vetted, and monitored and who are just there to make a living maybe?

 

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That sounds like my neighborhood in Chicago.[/quote]

Well there must be an upside. You probably have some good cheap restaurants.

 

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Alot of this stuff is so screwed up its hilarious.

We can provide healthcare to illegal immigrants for free, but not our own people.

People can work here for free and not pay taxes.

The whole idea is to keep our back safe so that terrorists dont come over here, but thats point has gone pearshaped.

I say deport them unless they learn to speak ENGLISH!!!

Second generation illegals are among the largest pool of potential criminals.

Everyone would change they're minds if a mosque was built in Mexico City.

 

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What's screwed up is that I married an American and it was still incredibly difficult to get a green card, nevermind citizenship!
Just a piece of advice out there for anyone who might be following in my footsteps with a cross-Atlantic relationship in the future.

 

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Its amazing though, it is 10 times more difficult to get a Visa in America than it is for an American to get one in England. I've done much research and thats the top line synopsis.

 

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Research huh......sounds dangerous.....any particular reason? I hope I get an invite, I love a nice wedding.

 

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Well, it's a touchy subject to be sure... and I am 100% against Bush kowtowing to Fox on this.
Even Columbus 'Ahia' is inundated with hispanics, most of which are sure to be illegal

BUT

I would much rather have US problems with Mexicans looking for work, than the EU's problems with Arabs looking for ... who knows what!