Support the drive for legal immigrant status.

The illegals that I know are hard working, honest, law abiding citizens. They are not abusive of the system and are just good people. I've worked with them for years and support their drive to be legal.

They've been wanting to gain legal status for years, but are afraid to go to the INS to apply for fear of being deported. Most have been here for more than 10 years, speak the language well, are well educated in our country's customs and politics. For that matter, most of my illegal friends are more aware of political matters than most citizens that I know.

For those that have learned the language, our customs, our political system and obey our laws, I press for their right to be granted legal status here.

We need a means by which they can apply for and gain legal status without fear of deportation. They own homes, have families and jobs here and can't take a chance of being deported.

If our government wants to build a wall to stop the current immigration or wants to deport those who have been here less than 2 or 3 years, then that is fine. But it would be wrong to deport those who have built honest lives here...just as wrong as it would be to deport any one of us citizens and make us prove our citizenship after a few months or years of waiting.

Before judging them, perhaps we should walk a mile in their shoes...

I agree that we should deport those who have a history of legal problems or who do not pay child support to their X-wives or who do not work to support themselves, but on the flip side, we need to support those who are honest hard workers.

Today it is far to difficult to gain legal status in this country.

Who will stand with me and say that we need to support honest immigrants who have built lives here?

There are many people who are seeking residency in the US via 100% legal channels and are going through a lot of hardship in doing so.

I've known people who had to go to their home countries and stay there for a while (years sometimes) before getting readmitted to the US.

Granting a citizenship to people who are here illegally will be (already is) a huge slap in the face of those who did their best to comply with the US law. I know that nobody cares about legal immigrants and their problems, maybe because they find it ridiculous to go marching with their respective homeland banners, to demand some US rights.

It's good to know that many illegals are nice people, so what. It's time for them to pack.

I support removing ALL illegals and dumping them over the boarder and guarding our border with armed troops to stop the mexican illegal invasion.

Just look at cities and towns where much illragls are. They are crime ridden holes.


[edit on 5/1/2006 by mrmonsoon]

I support the drive for legal immigrant status for those immigrants who entered the United States legally, as my wife did. She spent months doing paper work, paying various fees, and waiting to enter this country in the same way that my grandparents did - legally. She then spent years waiting to be granted citizenship, after learning English, the laws, history, and constitution of this country, and taking her citizenship test in English.

As for those who broke the law of this country and are illegal (i.e., criminals), they have no right to ask for citizenship or legal status.

Deport criminal immigrants! If they want to re-enter this country legally at a later time, I welcome them, wherever they are from.

Aelita,

You have good points, but we can't expect 11 million people, many of which have been here for more than 10 years, to just uproot, go back and try again. To do that would tear our society apart. That's part of what today's demonstration is all about, to demonstrate what it would be like for just one day let alone for a year or more.

It is a complcated issue.

That brings me to MrMonsoon's approach to the situation...that statement shows a tremendous amount of ignorance. Try posting some reasoning rather than just making one-line statements that I believe are discouraged at this site.

Originally posted by davenman

That brings me to MrMonsoon's approach to the situation...that statement shows a tremendous amount of ignorance. Try posting some reasoning rather than just making one-line statements that I believe are discouraged at this site.

Ignorance,
I realize they are CRIMINALS!-you don't!!!

I want criminals arrested and sent back home

LEGALL!!!!!!!!!!! imigration is just fine and THEY deserive all the rights of US citizens, because they are!!!!!!

Clearly the only way to stop the flood of illegals invading the US is with the military enforcing our boarders.

If illegals don't like it-TUFF COOKIES!!!!!

If mexicans in US don't like it, they should incourage LEGAL immagration!

If the mexican government doesn't like it, let THEM secure their boarder with the US!

Originally posted by davenman
The illegals that I know are hard working, honest, law abiding citizens.

Emphasis mine.

Isn't that a conflict in terms? If they are illegal, they aren't honest or a recognized citizen. Hardworking? Yes, it my experience they are.

Originally posted by davenman
Today it is far to difficult to gain legal status in this country.

I find it sad that the three legal immigrants that I had working for me new more about this country than my 16 year old son's high school friends do when it comes to U.S. history and laws. I like the fact that it is somewhat difficult to emmigrate here instead of handing people a ticket and saying "welcome aboard the good ship USS America." They can do it, it just takes some work.

JDub

Originally posted by davenman
You have good points, but we can't expect 11 million people, many of which have been here for more than 10 years, to just uproot, go back and try again.

We can't expect them to do that if nothing is done about enforcing the laws of this country. Like I said, this is a travesty of law. I've known young families who were forced to spend a lot of time apart to just comply with regulations. Now, to automatically grant citizenship to 11 million illegals, just because we throw up our hands and plead incompetence and inwillingness to take our own laws seriously, would be a sign of the country going down the drain.

To do that would tear our society apart.

Really? I think it will bring it together! Instead of being an amorphous, complacent, lazy society we should come to our senses and recognize the value of being a citizen that is not to be squandered. If it means doing yardwork ourselves, as opposed to hiring day labourers, I and my friends are already doing that. We are told that America is about diversity but look at what's happening -- it's on its way of becoming a province of Mexico. For real. The newcomers keep their allegiance to their old land. What they might tell you otherwise is bull.

That's part of what today's demonstration is all about, to demonstrate what it would be like for just one day let alone for a year or more.

I'll tell you what this will mean: loss for contractors, builders and others who were breaking the laws by hiring the ilelgals and thus contributing to the problem. They were able to do this for years and increase their profit margin (don't think that the price of the house you bought somehow had become lower since illegals worked on it -- you still paid the full ticket and the builder pocketed the advantage).


[edit on 1-5-2006 by Aelita]

Center for Immigration Studies

This study is one of the first to estimate the total impact of illegal immigration on the federal budget. ... Based on Census Bureau data, this study finds that, when all taxes paid (direct and indirect) and all costs are considered, illegal households created a net fiscal deficit at the federal level of more than $10 billion in 2002. We also estimate that, if there was an amnesty for illegal aliens, the net fiscal deficit would grow to nearly $29 billion.

I suggest we all look at the financial impact illegal immigration has on our society.

I also sympathize with the immigrants who worked long and hard to come here legally.

davenman, it seems to me that what you are suggesting is that since the illegal immigrants are already here, we need to change our law to make it so that what they're doing is no longer illegal.

Tell me, if I go and knowingly break the law because I want something, but I don't want to take the time to get it legally, will you support me to change the law so that what I've done is no longer illegal?

If I break into someone's house (yours, maybe) because I needed a place to sleep, and set up in your living room, will you support me in changing the law so that I can just stay there from now on?

I'm having a more and more difficult time understanding and sympathizing with your argument...