How are there so many people that are against immigration?

Question

The only ones that didn't immigrate to this continent at some point were the Native Americans. If we reject illegal immigrants then we should be consistent and reject all the white, black, hispanic, asian, and any other people that are not of natives back to their own country. Now that's fair.

I'm ready to go back to the U.K. Where are you going?

Answer 1

I am not against immigration, but I am against illegal immigration.

Answer 2

I don't think I've met anyone that is against immigration. People are generally against illegal immigration. The reasons for this are many. We have a system for immigration and there are literally millions of people oversees waiting to get in LEGALLY. Requests come from nearly every country on the planet, often from individuals that have suffered rape and torture under their own government. If we didn't have illegal immigration we would be able to accept more people from some very oppressive countries. We would be able to do it in a fair and reasonable matter, and we would also be able to make sure they had access to jobs, food, and housing. Illegal immigrants are cutting in line and taking things they have no right to, things that other people have politely asked for and are waiting to receive. And "Comprehensive Immigration Reform" is like "Comprehensive Car Theft Reform". You steal a car, run it through the ditch, and smash out the headlights. You get stopped by the cops, but rather than arresting you he tells you to pay for the headlights and you can keep the car that already belongs to someone else. Does that seem fair?
As far as the 'everyone is an immigrant' argument, I expect people to think a little harder than that. That makes as much sense as making everyone walk around naked because 'people didn't always wear clothes'.

Answer 3

"The only ones that didn't immigrate to this continent at some point were the Native Americans."

False.

An immigrant is someone who leaves his own country to go to another. Even if your parents were immigrants, /you are not/. A native-born American is not an immigrant. It doesn't matter if his parents came here illegally the day before he was born, or if his grandparents came here through Elis Island, or if his distant ancestor came here over the landbridge.

Let me make this perfecftly clear to you: Judging people by thier ancestry is no different than Racism. When you say to an American "you are an immigrant, because some anscestor of yours was an immigrant" you are judging that person by his ancsestry. You are taking up the same banner of intollerance that flew over the ante-bellum American South and the ovens of Austchwitz.


Very, very few Americans are against immigration. Illegall Immigration is what so many people are against. It's not about immigrants, it's about criminals.

Answer 4

ummm.....first of all, they are here illegally meaning they didnt come to america like everyone else that is here legally. My grandfather who is Italian came to america about 50 years ago and the process was pretty intense. I'm not sure what it's like now but before, you would have to have a sponsor, (someone that would house and feed you until you became an American citizen) then you would stay at Ellis Island for about 2 weeks to be checked for mental and phsyical health. When my family talks about illegal immigration they get frustrated because most of them came to this country the right way, and to see people just walk across the boarder and then demand their rights (which they dont have) makes them angry.
Secondly.....since they are here illegally they dont pay taxes, and yet we still give them and thier children medical attention and we allow them to go to schools.....that are all payed for by the taxes payers.
Now....in my opinion, the problem is going to get worse, the mexican community has grown, and now is bigger than its ever been. The politicians arn't going to do anything major because they want the vote of the mexican community. The proposed idea of fencing the boarder is just idiotic, and a waste of time and money. There needs to be a cooperative way for us to live together peacefully. The truth is that if something doesn't happen soon people will start to get vigilant (on both sides).

I hope this has opened your mind, and I for one am open to any resonable idea to solving this problem

Answer 5

I don't believe people are upset about immigration - they are upset about illegal immigration. The problem with illegal immigration is the impact that it has on others.

There are financial impacts (health care, insurance, car accidents, etc.) that are covered by society because illegal immigrants choose to break the law, but do not have to pay for those choices (in economics we call this an externality).

There are also resource issues such as healthcare, employment, etc. where there is a larger demand for resources then should be allowed, due to illegal activity. This increases prices or decreases the quality avaliable for use.

And finally there are safety impacts. If an illegal immigrant chooses to break the law, we have no repercution. They can flee to their country or can just continue to exist with no knowledge of their activity. We have no history on the person, no idea if this is a felon, a petifile, etc.

We are paying for their illegal activity and are not being compensated for it.

Answer 6

Hey fedup - how many immigrants to you think come here and rape, steal and murder? You say you're so fed up, but, are you REALLY? What has happened to YOU personally as a result of people immigrating to the US? FYI -- it is NOT a felony to enter the US without permission (unless you were deported and return illegally).

What you people do not understand is that people come here illegally because they can't come legally. It is extremely difficult to come here legally. If you've ever been to a third world country and gone to a US embassy, you'd see the masses of people that camp out to try and get visas.

People come here illegally because they are starving and they are in danger and it's not their fault. It isn't our fault either, and we can't possibly take responsibility for the rest of the world, but you could be a little more humane. Wouldn't YOU do whatever you possibly could to survive? You immigrant bashers have NO idea what you're talking about. You could only possibly speak this way because you are ignorant. If you knew what it was like to interview 14 year old boys who traveled to the US alone from Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador because they are the MEN of their households and have to work to support their mothers and siblings, you couldn't possibly think the way you do? How many spoiled American kids have any idea what that's like?

Answer 7

Actually, the Native Americans crossed a land bridge many moons ago to come to this country so I anticipate the animals didn"t get a big kick out of it. Most folks are not against "legal" immigration. We are just opposed to "illegal" immigration. That pretty much sums it up. The pertinent word here is "ILLEGAL." Why is it so difficult for folks like yourself to grasp that concept. Its against the LAW. Like being here illegally. I'm pretty sure Canada and Mexico don't allow open borders for obvious security reasons. And anywhere else in the world you try to pull that stuff, you get the pleasure of sleeping and dining in a jail cell just prior to serving some time and being unceremoniously tossed out of the country.

Answer 8

I'm not sure what you're talking about.. I think a lot of people are against ILLEGAL immigrants, and rightfully so. Just so you know, Native Americans were immigrants. They crossed the Bering Strait Land Bridge to get here from Siberia. There is also some evidence that Salutrians (French Europeans) were here before the "Indians." I see this question a lot... If we follow that logic people should kill themselves and let animals rule the land... they were here before humans, weren't they?

Answer 9

Against ILLEGAL Immigration...

DeMint Statement on Immigration Deal

May 17th, 2007 - Washington, D.C. - Today, U.S. Senator DeMint made the following statement:

“I hope we don't take a thousand page bill written in secret and try to ram it through the Senate in a few days. This is a very important issue for America and we need time to debate it.”

“But the little we do know about the bill is troubling. According to reports, the bill contains a new 'Z Visa' that allows those who entered our country illegally to stay here permanently without ever returning home. This rewards people who broke the law with permanent legal status, and puts them ahead of millions of law-abiding immigrants waiting to come to America. I don't care how you try to spin it, this is amnesty.”

MORE on Immigration:
** DeMint OpEd on RealClearPolitics.com - Responsible Immigration Reform

http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2007/05/responsible_immigration_reform.html


I AGREE WITH HIM!!

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Answer 10

Notice how at one point you said immigrants and at another point you said illegal immigrants. I have nothing against people immigrating here legally. The ones I have a problem with are the illegal immigrants who sneak over our border, take advantage of our system, and then protest about having rights. You can leave our ancestors out of this because they came here legally. So for you and everyone else that wants to compare illegal immigrants to past immigrants, you need to get educated and look at how much of your tax money goes to support these illegals and their kids. You do pay taxes right? If not, then you have no right to an opinion on this issue.

Answer 11

If we were for the type of immigration that is being discussed then we would make it legal. I think you have your question a little bit backwards. We love immigration and feel that it has been a boon to our country. We expect to continue to permit immigration. I'm not quite as happy with people who come to our country illegally as they have already shown that they are not willing to live by the same rules as the rest of the immigrants. I guess you are asking why we don't want to have a glut of people who are unwilling to live within our laws living within our country.

Gee I don't know...