An Immigration Compromise?

Reader Comments
Back to blog

ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS, they are breaking the law by being here, what's the issue? Why wasn't border patrol & immigratioon out there rounding up these illegals by the truck load when they were protesting in the streets??? ILLEGAL! My ancestors came over from Europe & went through all of the LEGAL PROCESSES THAT ARE IN PLACE WHICH EVERY IMMIGRANT CAN DO to becaome a citizen. Why should they just be given citizenship? HOw does that make sense? My relatives had to work for everything to come here, to pay for the boat fare, to work hard to make A LEGAL living & pay taxes, why should these a magic wand be pulled out by the government & *poof* now these ILLEGALS can have citizenship? THAT'S INSANE!!! Why are we not enforcing the laws already on place? I'm sure that there are some that will argue that they do pay taxes, ok fine on one of my dead relatives Social Security number? Or maybe a friend of yours who has visited Mexico & had her identity stolen & her life/credit ruined by it? What a bunch of garbage. There is a LEGAL process to go through to become a citizen of this great nation, I don't care what your college GPA was, you do not get special treatment.

MsFreedomIsPrecious of MI 10:16PM June 27, 2009

Our representatives assemble to find legal paths to citizenship for illegal immigrants and ignore the rights of our citizens.
The ridiculous practices in the U.S. have helped to create the cascade of illegal immigrants using every possible service in our country.
The sanctuary city of Los Angeles provides subsidized housing, food stamps, health care and schooling... all FREE. Illegal immigrants drive down wages and drive up rents.
State taxpayers pay the bill but have no representation in this system. The state representatives just pass the buck to the Federal government who does little or nothing.The citizens ask for enforcement of our immigration laws and borders, not another temporary worker program.
Nobody gives us free food, healthcare or housing. Our cities are overcrowded and we watch our taxes rise to meet the needs of illegal immigrants and the free services they receive. Even though we pay the bill, citizens are left with the problem on every corner, in every school, hospital and jail.
The Amnesty granted illegal immigrants in 1986 was a disaster, why should we consider something like that again? We need real enforcement before any other reforms can proceed. E-Verify, illegal employer enforcement and biometric ID would be a good start..... but much more is needed. Let's stop the incentives that encourage illegal immigrants to come here in the first place!
Our outrage falls on deaf ears. We have no advocates or lobbies working on our behalf. The United States loses BILLIONS of tax dollars every year giving away free services to illegal immigrants. But our representatives would rather tax the citizens, rob the schools, close the hospitals and fill the jails instead of being politically incorrect and deporting illegal immigrants.

MadMommy of CA 3:59PM June 26, 2009

Generalizations are necessary for formulating policy. Bureaucracies don't have the time to ferret out every little detail about every single individual in order to come to some policy conclusion. So they generalize. It's not a good thing or a bad thing. It's simply the way policy must be implemented.
Let's assume you are telling the truth. I agree it's a sad story. But you are still in the U.S. illegally. You still have sucked up more resources to date (in public education, in special language training, in health care, etc.) than you have given back. Now if you were allowed to stay, then perhaps you would give more back to the country which has given you so much more than you could ever possibly have gotten back home. But most illegals won't. Their kids don't become engineers. They are more likely to become gang-bangers and single teen mothers.
You write, "It would be like me telling an African-American to go back to the African tribe from which his descendants came, or any other ethnicity for that matter."
No, it wouldn't. By law, they are American citizens and you are not. And that's all the difference in the world.

Pincher Martin of CA 3:30PM June 26, 2009

i know people cant draw conclusions from one person and i dont expect them to. The problem is when dealing with individuals your statistics dont apply. For example right now you doubt my story but if i said im working janitor then you would have no problem believing me, gross generalizations putting down a people are the foundation of racism.
I cant talk about the work im doing as its not yet patented but were developing a new way or monitoring patients vitals, and treating neonatal apnea. Im park of many organizations such as IEEE, Engineers without borders, honor societies for engineers like HKN, the point is i have a lot to offer and im just one person but there are other like me. in my college alone there is i would guess 300 students like me. The funny thing is that nothing came easy for us so we end up being really hard working and at the top of our class. i know many students that are illegal from different majors and they basically set the curve in every class their in. They would be happy to use those skills in the US, if given the chance.
Like i said i was brought to the US as a child how can you say that it was my choice. i grew up here my whole life but was not born here so im denied many rights. You say go back to Mexico as if i lived there and understand the culture. It would be like me telling an African-American to go back to the African tribe from which his descendants came, or any other ethnicity for that matter. My friends, family are all here the only life i know is here. like i said before its not like i havent tried applying for citizenship ive been wating 15 years though my grampa, moms sister, and dads work. asking some one to leave their loved ones is ignorant and unethical.
i dont think amnesty is a good idea from and economic point of view, and we cant just have people go back where they came from as its unethical and in my opinion economiclly stupid as they can help the economy. we need a comprehensive plan, and we need it now!

Fernando of CA 2:26PM June 26, 2009

Even if I were to believe your story -- which I don't -- there is such a large discrepancy between it and the typical life story of the average illegal immigrant that it's completely useless drawing any policy conclusions from your personal history.
Most illegal immigrants are poorly educated. And their children remain poorly educated. In fact, one of the most surprising conclusions in the research on Mexican-Americans (who are, after all, by far the largest contingent of illegal aliens) is that their education lags native Americans even into the third and fourth generation of U.S. residency. You can read "Generations of Exclusion" for evidence of this.
If you are really as talented as you claim to be, it shouldn't be difficult for you to return to your country, get in line, and obey U.S. immigration laws in applying for a visa. You make the choice to live in the shadows when you break the law. That's no one's fault but your own.

Pincher Martin of CA 4:19AM June 26, 2009

To MaryJ of CA,
As a member of "La Raza", I really take offense to your comments. The perception that you have of illegal immigrants is totally off. While there may be people who may not speak English when they first arrive here it's been my experience that people try to assimilate and improve themselves. My family does honest work and pays for taxes we take nothing from the government other that my high school education. But again we always payed taxes from day one of working here.
I think Illegal immigrants have a lot to offer. I'll use myself as an example I'm am about to graduate from college next semester as an Electrical Engineer. I have ranked second in the in my college. I do research for a biomedical engineering company designing more efficient equipment and new equipment that will save lives. When i graduate this fall i will maybe get a job working for McDonalds because I'm not a legal citizen and i know they might hire me there. I've lost my car twice due to not having a license and its been very tough having no financial aid through college.
When people say living in the shadows its true, its so frustrating working hard knowing that in the end nothing will pay off and the system is against you. I've lived here my whole life and see myself as an American going back to my country makes no sense as i would actually have to assimilate in to Mexican culture. I see myself as an American and i feel like i have so much to contribute. For those of you thinking why doesn't he just apply for citizenship i did on three occasions through different people but the system is broken and it will take years more apart from the 15 years ive been wating, if i ever get citizenship. I know im ranting but its just really frustrating to have, since young, be placed in a broken system that is against you and where people see you as scum and nothing but a leech taking advantage of Americans.

Fernando of CA 2:44AM June 26, 2009

Allowing more immigration would "arguably" provide an economic stimulus because a slightly higher proportion of immigrants are business owners than native-born Americans?
Wonderful logic. I guess by that measure the states with the highest rates of business formation by immigrants must be economic powerhouses in the U.S. Let's see ... California, New York ... Oops. I guess that doesn't work.
And I'm sure Dr. Fairlie of Santa Cruz included illegal immigrants in his study when estimating the rate of Mexican business formation. I say that with tongue in cheek because Mexican immigrants are notorious for their low levels of entrepreneurship. You see, when you don't speak English or even have a high school education, it's kind of puts a crimp in any plans you have for starting a business in a modern state.
The state of California currently has an unemployment rate over 11% and heading north. And the highest rates of unemployment in the state are in immigrant-dense agricultural communities which really don't have a need for more workers. It's not a coincidence that the lowest rates of unemployment are in places around the country without much in the way of immigrants.
The Red Card Solution is just the latest in the business-as-usual approach to immigration. It doesn't honestly calculate the costs of immigration. It just supplies a list of bullet points for useful idiots to parrot.

Pincher Martin of CA 1:30AM June 26, 2009

we have already seen over one million unlawfully present self deport themselves in a slow economy, so the argument that people wont return home and sign up for this program just does not cut...and if there is sponsorship component where employers can ask for them by name they are even more likely to leave. Over time in conjunction with the enforcement of immigration laws and border security we will ocnvert a large chunk of the unlawful population into a legal work force and do it in a manner that does not encourage more illegal migration or violate the rule of law. Thats certainly better than what we have now, or a mass amnesty which will just make things worse and encourage more unlawfull migration

James Jay Carafano of DC 10:52PM June 25, 2009

Thanks MaryJ of CA
I just called the phone number you listed and stated my support for "amnesty"!
----------------------------------------------------------------
You must be either an immigration lawyer, a raza racist, or someone who employs illegals as cheap labor. As for the person who called me an "idiot", love the reasoned, measured and mature debate you bring to the table. Must be a member of La Raza - they're known for being extremely thin-skinned.

MaryJ of CA 5:59PM June 25, 2009

This is really "immigration reform", but a guest worker program. Didnt we say no to this in 2006 and 2007?
As bad as it was then, when unemployment was low and the economy was good, now that unemployment has doubled, and stil rising, its just insane.

Mike of FL 4:27PM June 25, 2009