Why do people try to lump "immigration" in with "illegal immigration".?

Question

I am willing to bet that fewer than 1% of Americans are opposed to "immigration." After all, we are all immigrants in one way or another. However, people keep trying to say that people who are opposed to "illegal immigration" are opposed to "immigration." Why?

Answer 1

The Pros are the ones who say that, to hide the fact that the Anti's are only against illegal aliens.

Answer 2

You have a good point.

Here is my problem, and where a lot of people are "missing the boat", so to speak.

Just because something is a law, it does NOT follow from that it is a just, fair or well-thought out law! NOBODY, least of all immigrants should be abusing welfare, having babies to make money, writing Graffiti, killing people because they drove drunk, or dealing drugs. You do this, you get a one-way ticket back. I think we all agree.

A lot of people, especially here at Yahoo answers think this is what ALL "illegal immigrants" do. No, actually most of them clean our houses, wash our dishes, cook our meals, garden our yards, probably even build "the wall"!!!!!!!

OK, so there are "good" and "bad" immigrants. But isn't that the same as legal and illegal????

NO, no, no, no, a resounding no! "Legal" immigrants just win a "lottery" type drawing, that is all. The "background checking" works so well that a 9-11 Hijacker was awarded a Visa after 9-11!

It is the SYSTEM that will not allow GOOD PEOPLE to be here in this country that needs to be changed. It is NOT an issue of "illegal immigration".

Answer 3

They are being "politically correct" and I hate it! There is no such thing as an "illegal immigrant" becasue immigrants are not illegal. They are here working to become citizens and are obeying the law. They are working to build up our country. They pay taxes.

ILLEGAL aliens are criminals because they are breaking the law. They are destroying our country! They are sponging off the tax payer and DON'T PAY TAXES - they can't pay taxes because they don't have a SS#.

What part of ILLEGAL is so hard to understand?

EDIT: Hey "Josh M" - You said "I don't think that most people are opposed to both legal and illegal immigration." Dude, you are SOOOOOOO WRONG. If you read the posts just from this question or if you listen to the news you have to know that is a lie! I heard the figure of 85% are against ILLEGAL aliens. That's a huge number.

Answer 4

Not very many are opposed to immigration,but better than 80% of the country is opposed to any form of rewarding illegal immigration.

I also reject the term "well we're all immigrants" My family goes back at LEAST 7 generations in this country. Better than 150 years ago, my ancestors may have been immigrants. But the extent of my "immigration" is from NY to PA. I, as most Americans, are just that, AMERICANS.

Why would any true American consider themselves an immigrant from a foreign land?

Answer 5

Good question. People forget that we are all immigrants in the US...including the "Native Americans" who migrated to the continent across a land bridge from Asia during the Ice Age.

As to your bet that fewer than 1% of us are opposed to immigration; I think that figure is way too low. Despite the fact of our universal immigrant heritage, there has historically been a hefty part of our population who opposes letting anyone else into the country. Some times they are politically powerful enough to choke off immigration for a time and some times they are just ugly from the sidelines. The movie "The Gangs of New York" dealt with this issue as it manifested before and during the Civil War. At that time, the "Nativists" wanted to keep out the Irish. Now the latter day nativists want to keep out the latinos and the muslims. Sad.

Answer 6

Thats what the pros do because they have no argument. They try to twist and turn everything to make the uneducated think they have a point. But the trained eye can see through the bs. Just like that lame point about our ancestors were immigrants. I guess they don't know that immigrants were welcomed, and there were no immigration laws, nor border laws. Also, those immigrants built this country into what it is today. Now, however, there are border laws, and correct procedures to become a citizen, and they want to avoid the obvious as much as possible.

Answer 7

If I can get your opinions on illegal immigration to appear to apply to legal immigration as well I can label you as a racist bigot that hates everything Mexican... I am getting absolutely fed up with the illegals trying to usurp the rights of legal immigrants. Those immigrants who come here legally should be the most pissed off about this. I know my Mother is.

Answer 8

"I am willing to bet that fewer than 1% of Americans are opposed to immigration."


I'll take that bet, Junior - how much you wanna put on the table?

Answer 9

I don't have a problem with immigration, if it is done legally! I live in Arizona, and I find it irritating when I see job listings state "bilingual required"! Why should I have to learn another language in order to get a job in my own country, if I have all the other qualifications for the job? I believe that, if they want to live in the US, they should go through everything that our ancestors did when they came here...learn to speak English, get legal citizenship, pay taxes, etc.

Answer 10

The problem with illegal immigration is that there is no selection process. This means that murderers, rapists, etc can slip into the country which would not be able to legally do so, and with good reason.

Answer 11

At this point, I don't think there's much difference between immigration and illegal immigration. However, if you read carefully, you will see that most posts differentiate between legal and illegal immigration and the part of immigration that the posts are in opposition of is in respect to the children born to illegal immigrants who are now considered citizens of the USA despite their lack of loyalty to the USA. The illegal immigrants by their actions are blurring the distinction between illegal and legal by their failure to be honest and sincere and to become legal residents and law-abiding citizens and by their use of their children to to get benefits and money they don't deserve. Also, when people endanger their children's lives by crossing the border illegally and then having anchor babies to try to tie them to the country, they are less than human in my book. When you have children, it should be because you love them and you want them, not so they can try to give your illegal acts legal status. I don't think you'll find too many of us who are opposed to LEGAL Immigrants who abide by the Laws and who don't favor bringing in law-breakers. Sons and daughters of illegal immigrants state they will vote the will of their illegal alien parents. That means they have no loyalty to the USA whatsoever, despite the fact that they were born here. So, you see, this is how the definition gets blurred. Take Saul Arellano, for example. He is so brainwashed that he has stated he will continue his mother's subversive activities and his mother, Elvira Arellano, is a criminal, subversive head of United Latino Family who promotes having babies on US soil so they can "anchor" the illegal immigrant invader parents to the USA. Our government need to wake up and understand that these children born to illegal immigrant parents are not loyal to the USA at all. They have been brought up in a lawless atmosphere and they have been used and abused by their parents and their coyotes. They are expected to mobilize against the United States and take it back for MeCHA, Aztlan and Mexico.

REMBER the SAYING "CHILDREN LEARN WHAT THEY LIVE"? Well, illegal immigrants are living "against the law-outside the law and their children are growing up lawless and without morals.