Why wasn't illegal immigration a big problem in the 80's or 90's?

Question

It seems that just here recently illegal immigration has become a crippiling invasion of the U.S.A. But it has been going on for decades without major reform, they have always came across at this rate, it has always been a burden on tax payers but what was it that happened to make it such a huge deal?

If you are upset about it why weren't you this vocal about it before? What happened recently to get everybody so fired up?

And if you say it was a big deal back in the 80's and 90's why hasn't anything been done about it for 20 years?


( terrorism is not an answer, no terrorists came from mexico. Most 9/11 terrorists came from Saudi Arabia and we see how we treat them )

Answer 1

We are nearing an election.
Immigration is this elections big poster child.
We've already done taxes, the trade deficit, and the war on terror.
We needed a new issue, and we're not really ready to make abortion or gay marriage our campaign message, but we sure can get a lot of support from folks who vote if we blame all our nations problems on immigrants and say that we have a solution to the immigration issue. As in "there would be more resources for Americans if the immigrants weren't sucking up all of the funding by sending their brats to school and going to the hospital without insurance when they are sick or injured, we're gonna build a bigger fence, and send 'em back!". WOOOOH! Look at everybody regurgitating that rhetoric now, baby! Voter turnout will be high! Those campaign dollars will be flying in! Jump on the bandwagon kids!

Answer 2

illegal immigration has been a problem for a long time. it has become the political issue of the day.
the reason you never heard much before was due to the fact that the economy was booming, & when it's booming everyone seems to get a piece of the pie & we don't worry a whole lot.
Now that our economy is the SHITTER, many people are examining what is causing the problem & what specifically went wrong.
The dumbasses are just now realizing what an impact on wages, taxes paid in, & what a burden on entitlements these illegals are! I don't think our politicians are smart enough to solve this problem!
Here's my cure-all solution-- BUILD A F U C K I N G WALL SIMILAR TO THE GREAT WALL OF CHINA WITH 1 EXCEPTION!! MOUNT MACHINE GUNS EVERY 100 YARDS & SHOOT THE BASTARDS ON SITE!!

Answer 3

I believe it is a combination of factors that have built up over the years which include
illegals taking jobs of Americans
Higher crime rates in cities such as L.A.
As you mentioned tax payers money is being wasted

There has been a spike in illegal immigration due to the horrible conditions in foreign countries.

The government always looks to solve the major issues at the time and love to procrastinate as much as they can. That is why we also have this energy crisis. GM has been making flex fuel cars which run on ethanol and regular gas for years now in places like Brazil but not here in the U.S.

Answer 4

It's been a big deal for a long time, and people were vocal about it. But no one was listening. It only became an issue when people in other states, far from the border, realized how dangerous the situation was in light of the attack of 9/11.

Answer 5

Maybe it wasn't such a big deal because a lot of the illegals were in the lower class 10-20 years ago, and now they're taking up the higher-income positions. Maybe it's scary or something.

Answer 6

US was sponsoring terrorism back then. Bin Laden was your best friend fihting communism in Afganistan and later, wit US help, replacing it with Islamic fondumentalism.
BTW, communism is far more civilized than Islam because:
1) commumism provided free education of high quality
2) you live in a crimeless society
3)men and women have equal rights
Of course, it's no good either, but look at Islam and compare for yourself.
If there was no 9/11, illegals would all have been legalized and living peaceully, paying taxes and making their living just like every US citizen. This artificial dividing in legal and illegal doesn't help US economy at all.
US govmt should legalize all and make them pay taxes, unless they are criminals.

Answer 7

It was a problem then, but the more people come the more people feel threatened, for whatever reason. It became such a problem that in 1986 most of the immigrants were given amnesty and granted residence.

Answer 8

Obama has an Aunt (Zeituni ) and an Uncle (Onyango) who're both right here illegally,Auntie replaced into ordered OUT of our usa in 2004,yet handed over that order and maintains to stay off the taxpayers of MA. Uncle replaced into also ordered out years in the past, yet stayed ,he replaced into arrested in Ma. very last August for lower than the impression of alcohol using ( also no drivers license) and at the same time as requested who he would prefer to call , he spoke back " perchance i visit call the White-domicile". this can clarify Obies thoughts-set in the route of unlawful extraterrestrial beings ( Obama needs us to call them "undocumented voters" ) is he severe ?

Answer 9

It's been the same since that time it's just a way to call attention away from all the other stuff (war in Iraq, highest gas prices in history, Republicans being brought up on charges & sent to jail) that are the real issues.

Answer 10

During the 80s the economy was going well, so we didn't need a scapegoat to blame our troubles on.

During the 90s, we had a Democratic administration that had different ideas about how to grow the economy (and did).