If you are an advocate for illegal immigrants from Mexico, do you believe they should have to get legalized?

Question

Or do you think all illegal immigrants should be able to live in the U.S. exempt of citizen responsibility?

Answer 1

No..I think that there are enough people in this country. There are unemployed Americans all over the states that need jobs..why should they be given jobs that every American should have the opportunity to apply for just because they are willing to work for a lesser wage. The bottom line is..Mexicans come here...work and earn money..then either send the mony they make to family in Mexico or go BACK to Mexico in the summer and spend the money they've made here in the states. They aren't even contributing to the economy. It's gotten to the point where the government is working harder at protecting people from other countries than their own LEGAL BORN citizens..and that is so wrong.

Answer 2

I believe something needs to be done soon. If the INS would have done their job in the first place, we wouldn't have such a big problem today,
I don't think everyone here should just be legal or that we should ignore that they came here legaly, but saying they should just go home isn't an option. When you have a family, whether you support them legally or illegally it doesn't matter. Many people say that when they come illegaly they don't respect this country, but when you have family and responsibility, that alone won't stop you. I think there is something to admire in that, risking it all to have a better life.
We need to quit letting people in and deal with the people already here. Bush speaks of guest worker visas, but that doesn't solve the problem we have now. They should have thought about it before, but then that would cost money and they're poor and couldn't afford it in the first place.
My parents came illegaly, but when the amnesty passed in '86 they became legal. They both had already lived here illegaly for more than a decade. Now they are law abiding citizens and share the burden just like everyone else.

One last thought, people that come here illegaly aren't illegal by choice.

Answer 3

i would love it if immigrant workers could gain legal status. i have to trust my not-very-trustworthy government to hammer out the details of that because it isn't a simple problem to solve. but if they could, that would be best for everyone. by the way, not just illegal immigrants from mexico, but from wherever people come.

those of you who think that illegal immigrants don't have any "civic responsibility" need to do a little more research. of course there are exceptions (as with everything), but by and large, people who come here illegally to work try very hard to be good citizens and do everything above board. our society makes it very difficult for them to do so, for example by trying to keep their children out of school, denying them a driver's license, and so on. they can and do get tax id#'s so they can pay taxes legally, and without the use of stolen ss#'s. the key to helping them be the good citizens that they want to be is providing easy access to legal information that will enable them to pay taxes legally and work toward legal status. even better would simply be a change in the law that makes it possible for them to have legal status.

uh, DAR, then perhaps we should eliminate poor people of all races and nationalities? that's not really the ethic that this country stands on. this country has always been about people coming here, starting at the bottom and working their way up. we have taxes to support that thing we call the american dream, and yes, it does mean the wealthy have to support the poor on their way up. but that is how we came to have such a great country and great communities where people support one another and benefit from each other's success.

Answer 4

First of all, "illegal" immigrants from Mexico to Texas, California and other US occupied Mexican soil are not more "illegal" then anyone who emigrate from one part of his country to the other.
The second thing is that, as far as I know, any curb on immigration to the US was a response to a danger of Communism, being taken over by dictatorial kingdoms and things like that. So what is the problem today with Latino immigrants?

Answer 5

Well if you think about it. They are already here. They want to work. They want to live a good life. They come from a place where a monthly wage is 20-25 dollars a month.

If you legalize them, they will... pay taxes, have identification, etc. Like the statue of liberty plauqe says.. " send me your poor, your sick, your weary..."

Also.. if they become legal.. they will have rights.. then big business cannot take advantage of them, hire them for shoddy wages and so... big business will not want them. Hence, no jobs, no illegal immigrants.

America is not just a country. Its a dream. Its an ideal. It draws people. People dream about coming here. Why not make then part of us?

Answer 6

I will say this. Most of the illegals that came here are good people and deserve a better life. But they showed no respect of regard for our laws and are breaking them. I believe they should be sent home first. If they can then show they are contributing to the good of their communities and are trying to be good citizens (own a home, business, have stable employment etc...) they should be given preference to come back..legally.

Answer 7

I don't think anyone in the US is advocating for more illegal immigrants. To do so would be to advocate anarchy because no society can survive when huge sections of its population are living in opposition with the government. Thomas Hobbes, who was one of the first political theorists, called living in opposition to the government the "State of War." In other words, the illegal individual is always at war with the government. Who would promote that?

Some people just want to allow more immigration and legalize those who are here. They might have many reasons for doing that.

Some reasons are pragmatic. It's simply impossible to think we can ever deport millions of people or that we can ever keep people from sneeking in. We can't keep millions of pounds of heroine and cocaine out of the country. Do you think we can keep immigrants out?

Other reasons are based more on human interests. The vast majority of economists agree that immigration is actually good for the economy. And there are undoubtedly human rights benefits from immigration. If, "all men are created equal, endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights...life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness," how can we want people to stay in countries where those rights are routinely denied? Every time we send a boatload of Cubans back to communism, we are saying they don't have the right to be free.

If you want to see the reasons for legalization, just compare the examples of legal vs illegal immigration. Tens of thousands of Cubans came to America on boats in the early '80s. Now, many of them live in Miami, have good jobs, pay taxes, etc. Millions of Europeans, who now consider themselves Americans, sailed across the Atlantic in the early 1900s looking for freedom. When Mario Cuomo was just a small child, his parents came here with nothing; his father became a ditchdigger, and he became the governor of New York. Conversely, illegal immigrants come for the same reasons, with the same qualities. But, they spend their lives hiding from the government, unable to participate in society.

Immigrants are going to come as long as America is the Land of Opportunity. What we must decide is whether we want them to live the lives of legal immigrants or illegal immigrants.

Answer 8

I have been to Mexico many times and loved it, the people are very warm and friendly. The conditions most of them live in are horrible. I am living in New Orleans and there are alot of mexicans here. They are working their asses off to get this city back. They get paid under the table and they get paid next to nothing to do it. They will do the jobs no one wants to do. They are sending money back home to their families to help them, they are not whooping it up on Bourbon street every night. I respect them, legal or not. They are not a burden on sociey, here they are trying to help society and make a little money to do it. I don't see a problem with allowing them to all have work Visas and continue to rebuild.

Answer 9

We have limits on immigration of poor people because their taxes don't begin to pay their cost in education, health care and other services. Illegal immigrants are budget busters who drive down education and health care quality and availability in places where they concentrate.

The American Dream is the dream of the good life Americans dream, and many don't achieve. The illegal immigrants need the Mexican Dream, etc. To the extent America is a dream, it is one we built for our own people and for those with whom we elect to share our hard earned subsidized services. That foreigners may fantasize of having our country and services for themselves, for the taking, is not our fault, and does not convey responsibility on us to pay their way.

What I would do about the good sort already here, if we fixed the problem is one thing. However, I think the problem needs to be stopped going forward, our laws need to be strictly and ACTIVELY enforced, and we need sane and limited immigration to protect our schools and services.

smack - not eliminate, just limit immigration of poor people, as do all other developed countries which subsidize services. You can't have both a welfare state and open immigration. There weren't subsidized services when most of our forefathers came, and those who came legally were invited and budgeted for. Since paying for their better life degrades my children's education and their chance for a better life, you better believe I am on my children's side. Our schools and services are FOR our people, and are not for foreigners here illegally.

If you want to fund all of their costs, personally, I withdraw my objection. However, you have no right to make the rest of us fund your philosophy.

Answer 10

I am not an advocate... but the advocates don't care about the damage the illegals cause as well as believe that the illegals should be above the law....