Why are Americans hostile toward illegal immigrants?

Question

After all Martin Luther King jr. did for civil rights for all American citizens.
He wanted everyone, not just blacks to have acess to equal rights.

I won't choice this answer.
I will let the voters decide.
So give a thumns up or thumbs down
So that the best answer gets more points

The reason I ask this mquestionis because people think that they CAN use DR. KING as a rationalization for their crimes aganits the United States.

Answer 1

YOU SAID IT CORRECTLY
HE FOUGHT FOR RIGHTS OF ALL
AMERICAN CITIZENS ( NOT ILLEAGALS)

Do you really think all the illegal Mexican immigrants come here to pick lettuce?
Here are some facts you should know:
40% of all workers in L.A. County (L.A. County has 10 million people) are working for cash and not paying taxes. This was because they are predominantly illegal immigrants, working without a green card.
95% of warrants for murder in Los Angeles are for illegal aliens.
75% of people on the most wanted list in Los Angeles are illegal aliens.
Over 2/3’s of all births in Los Angeles County are to illegal alien Mexicans on Medi-Cal whose births were paid for by taxpayers.
Nearly 25% of all inmates in California detention centers are Mexican nationals here illegally.
Over 300,000 illegal aliens in Los Angeles County are living in garages.
The FBI reports half of all gang members in Los Angeles are most likely illegal aliens from south of the border.
Nearly 60% of all occupants of HUD properties are illegal.
21 radio stations in L.A. are Spanish speaking.
In L.A.County 5.1 million people speak English. 3.9 million speak Spanish (10.2 million people in L.A.County).
(All 10 from the Los Angeles Times)
Less than 2% of illegal aliens are picking our crops but 29% are on welfare.
http://www.cis.org/
Over 70% of the United States annual population growth (and over 90% of California, Florida, and New York) results from immigration.
The cost of illegal immigration to the American taxpayer in 1997 was a NET (after subtracting taxes immigrants pay) $70 BILLION a year, [Professor Donald Huddle, Rice University].
The lifetime fiscal impact (taxes paid minus services used) for the average adult Mexican immigrant is a NEGATIVE .
29% of inmates in federal prisons are illegal aliens

Tomatoes and Cheap Labor



This should make everyone think, be you Democrat, Republican or Independent

From a California school teacher - - -"As you listen to the news about the student protests over illegal immigration, there are some things that you should be aware of:

I am in charge of the English-as-a-second-language department at a large southern California high school which is designated a Title 1 school, meaning that its students average lower socioeconomic and income levels.

Most of the schools you are hearing about, South Gate High, Bell Gardens , Huntington Park , etc., where these students are protesting, are also Title 1 schools.

Title 1 schools are on the free breakfast and free lunch program. When I say free breakfast, I'm not talking a glass of milk and roll -- but a full breakfast and cereal bar with fruits and juices that would make a Marriott proud. The waste of this food is monumental, with trays and trays of it being dumped in the trash uneaten. (OUR TAX DOLLARS AT WORK)

I estimate that well over 50% of these students are obese or at least moderately overweight. About 75% or more DO have cell phones. The school also provides day care centers for the unwed teenage pregnant girls (some as young as 13) so they can attend class without the inconvenience of having to arrange for babysitters or having family watch their kids. (OUR TAX DOLLARS AT WORK)

I was ordered to spend $700,000 on my department or risk losing funding for the upcoming year even though there was little need for anything; my budget was already substantial. I ended up buying new computers for the computer learning center, half of which, one month later, have been carved with graffiti by the appreciative students who obviously feel humbled and grateful to have a free education in America . (OUR TAX DOLLARS AT WORK)

I have had to intervene several times for young and substitute teachers whose classes consist of many illegal immigrant students here in the country less then 3 months who raised so much hell with the female teachers, calling them "Putas" whores and throwing things that the teachers were in tears.

Free medical, free education, free food, day care etc., etc., etc. Is it any wonder they feel entitled to not only be in this country but to demand rights, privileges and entitlements?

To those who want to point out how much these illegal immigrants contribute to our society because they LIKE their gardener and housekeeper and they like to pay less for tomatoes: spend some time in the real world of illegal immigration and see the TRUE costs.

Higher insurance, medical facilities closing, higher medical costs, more crime, lower standards of education in our schools, overcrowding, new diseases etc., etc, etc. For me, I'll pay more for tomatoes.

We need to wake up. The guest worker program will be a disaster because we won't have the guts to enforce it.
Does anyone in their right mind really think they will voluntarily leave and return?

There are many hardworking Hispanic/American citizens that contribute to our country and many that I consider my true friends. We should encourage and accept those Hispanics who have done it the right and legal way.

It does, however, have everything to do with culture: A third-world culture that does not value education, that accepts children getting pregnant and dropping out of school by 15 and that refuses to assimilate, and an American culture that has become so weak and worried about "politically correct" that we don't have the will to do anything about it.

If this makes your blood boil, as it did mine, forward this to everyone you know.

CHEAP LABOR?
Isn't that what the whole immigration issue is about?

Business doesn't want to pay a decent wage.

Consumers don't want expensive produce.

Government will tell you Americans don't want the jobs.

But the bottom line is cheap labor. The phrase "cheap labor" is a myth, a farce, and a lie. there is no such thing as "cheap labor."

Take, for example, an illegal alien with a wife and five children. He takes a job for $5.00 or $6.00/hour. At that wage, with six dependents, he pays no income tax, yet at the end of the year, if he files an Income Tax Return, he gets an "earned income credit" of up to $3,200 free.

He qualifies for Section 8 housing and subsidized rent.

He qualifies for food stamps.

He qualifies for free (no deductible, no co-pay) health care.

His children get free breakfasts and lunches at school.

He requires bilingual teachers and books.

He qualifies for relief from high energy bills.

If they are or become, aged, blind or disabled, they qualify for SSI. Once qualified for SSI they can qualify for Medicare. All of this is at (our) taxpayer's expense.

He doesn't worry about car insurance, life insurance, or homeowners insurance.

Taxpayers provide Spanish language signs, bulletins and printed material.

He and his family receive the equivalent of $20.00 to $30.00/hour in benefits.

Working Americans are lucky to have $5.00 or $6.00/hour left after paying their bills and his.

The American taxpayers also pay for increased crime, graffiti and trash clean-up.

Cheap labor? YEAH RIGHT! Wake up people. THESE ARE THE QUESTIONS WE SHOULD BE ADDRESSING TO THE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES FOR EITHER PARTY. 'AND WHEN THEY LIE TO US AND DON'T DO AS THEY SAY, WE SHOULD REPLACE THEM AT ONCE!'

THIS HAS GOT TO BE PASSED ALONG TO AS MANY AS POSSIBLE OR WE WILL ALL GO DOWN THE DRAIN BECAUSE A FEW DON'T CARE.

Answer 2

People who hate illegals simply do not understand. They are not bad, most are good people deep down. I believe if an immigrant is helping the US economy and paying taxes just like everybody else then why not make them legal. The issue is the people who live in your country do not pay taxes and cause problems. These are the few that need to be handled properly. For me personally I used not care about illegal immigrants much. But I have met a person who is tritely special to me and is impacted every day by immigration issues. This person has open my eyes and made me think completely different about immigration. This is the reason why I care from the bottom of my heart about it. After all America is the land of opportunity, regardless to immigration status, or anything else. Immigration is no different then the stuff gay people face. I say it is time to break the barriers and do the right thing.

Answer 3

Have you not seen for yourself the breakdowns on what illegal aliens are costing you? Their education alone is a backbreaker, do you have children? Do you have health care that you have to pay for? Can your family afford to have glasses and dentistry done? Do you expect the government to pay for these things for you? Martin Luther King was about civil rights for Americans, I doubt seriously if he'd want to foot the bill for everyone from every nation that snuck into our country. Ther are limits to what even Americans will allow themselves to be burdened with and most of us want our children and grandchildren to have a shot at having a good life, too. Ones that we paid for for them. Every American citizen should be able to have rights that are equal, but I have to say that I'm not ready to become a charitable organization for the world. Not when I see hungry, dirty, uneducated children that are citizens in this country that can't get help because their parents make 50 cents too much a year to get aid and then the illegals are given those things for free. So sue me for not having warn fuzzy thoughts about the people that are bleeding this country dry.

Answer 4

I think basically people feel illegals have spit on our laws.Which in essence they have.However I can also understand some people's reasoning for their desperation to try and make a better life for themselves.Our immigration process is very slow and unfortunately costly for the very ones,the poor, to try and deal with when they are desperate.Illegal immigration NEEDS to STOP.We NEED a new immigration policy that deals with today's issues not 21 years ago.Times have changed drastically since then.With the terrorist threats etc. we HAVE TO get a better system in place if for that reason alone.We can't allow people to just enter our country with no types of monitoring that's just asking for trouble.BOTH borders need better monitoring.Our port and airports do too.There is no way possible to deport as many illegal immigrants as we have.For one thing there are people who ASSUME a person is illegal due to race.How many will get turned in costing us money to check each and every report to find out the person was LEGAL?Do you see what I mean?SOMETHING HAS TO BE DONE.It's better than nothing which is what's happening.

Answer 5

As far as I can recall, Martin Luther King never once stated that he was for people coming to this country illegally.

As I recall he was an advocate for equal rights for all American CITIZENS.

What part of the word "Illegal" do some of you people fail to understand?

Answer 6

The cost of illegal immigration to the American taxpayer in 1997 was a NET (after subtracting taxes immigrants pay) $70 BILLION a year, [Professor Donald Huddle, Rice University].

Answer 7

This isn't rocket science. If you're rude to someone, chances are they will be rude back. I don't agree with illegal immigration but I am not hostile toward anyone unless they give me a reason to be. I know Spanish, I know what the majority have to say about Americans. If they want everyone to hold them in the highest regards, they better start giving people a reason to.

Answer 8

Martin Luther King wants everyone who is a CITIZEN to have equal rights in this Country. Everyone has a chance to become a legal immigrant. They also have a chance to become a citizen. It involvels following the rules regarding paperwork, jobs, proper entry, keeping visas current, schooling yourself in English, working to pay your own ways. Americans are not asking for you to stop being the culture you came from, but to assimilate into ours as far as possible since YOU want to be here.

We are tired of the illegals demanding RIGHTS to which they are NOT entitled, they are not citizens, they do not have the same rights that our forefathers fought to give us. Yes, many of us were born here, however many were not and they would not in a minute behave like many of todays immigrants.
Those who belittle this country by burning our flag, staging riots, stealing, dealing drugs, profiteering in people trafficing.

Demanding that WE pay for their Food, Housing, Medical, Schooling, Legal Fees and Clothing simply because They chose to break our Laws and enter this country without proper papers is not a duty that we as Americans have to submit to.

Answer 9

but, illegal immigrants DO have access to equal rights, the same as any other criminal.

if a police officer witnesses a man murder someone, even if the murder is caught on live TV and broadcast around the world. even if the murderer admits to the murder. the murderer still has to have a trial, if he pleads innocent. every criminal, including illegal immigrants have the right to refuse to speak to the police without an attorney present. if they cant afford one, America will even pay for the attorney.

what rights to you feel they do not have access to?

the right to live here illegally? i will check my copy of the Constitution, and Martin Luther King Jr speeches, but i dont think that is a civil right.

Answer 10

If you were in line to see a movie, had waited 20 minutes and finally reached the ticket window only to have a family of 5 cut right in front of you, then, when you complained to managment they told you "well, they are already here&could you pay for their tickets also?" Would you be hostile? The first thing they do on American soil is criminal- send them home.

Answer 11

Because we are taught to be. In the aftermath of 9/11 we are told that everything is a threat to us. Since we are moving to a service economy, low paying jobs are more important to the average citizen as well. It is becoming more and more obvious that big business is using unskilled illegal immigrants to circumvent minimum wage laws, as well as to keep from having to pay federal, state, and local taxes. This has always been true in the agricultural industry, where profits are traditionally very low and consumers actually benefit from lower prices for produce. It has moved into businesses like warehousing, meatpacking plants, assembly line labor and construction however, and the benefit has moved from the consumer to the multi-national corporation which sends most of it's revenue to offshore accounts and home offices.

Illegal immigrants are also becoming more desperate since the Federal government has tightened the borders (although not so tight that the businesses still can't get their cheap labor) so that more of them are dying. Coyotes are also holding these individuals for ransom when they think they can squeeze a few dollars from the families, so it is becoming riskier and less cost effective to make the trip unless you can protect yourself. IF you can protect yourself, you become more of a danger to the families that live on the border itself. Farmers are being driven out of business due to increased security requirements and loss of revenue due to border concerns and outright theft of property by desperate border jumpers.

Keeping in mind that the majority of these people just want an opportunity to feed their families and go home again, it's a travesty that our government hasn't worked out a legal way to do this, but sincerely, there is no profit in it. As soon as this system goes legal, the unions and human rights groups get involved and suck all of the profit right out of it! If you doubt this for one moment, just take a look at what it will cost to become a citizen after July! If a person can't do what they have always done more or less legally, they won't necessarily stop doing it unless they are stopped by force. IT definitely costs more to stop these people by force, than what it is worth. None of the large corporations want that to happen anyway, so unless we get another Cesar Chavez (more applicable in this discussion) or Martin Luther King to champion for these poor victim's cause (and they are victims, just as we are becoming victims since fewer and fewer people can get one job that provides a living wage every year) the hostility and violence are going to continue to escalate. There is no easy solution and most of our resources that would normally be used to remedy this situation are currently being dumped into the black hole of terrorism.

I hope this helps to answer your question however. Americans are hostile towards illegal immigrants (and the second generation legal immigrants are some of the most hostile of all. After all, they paid their dues and did it legally, why should this group be allowed privileges that they never received?) because they are taking the jobs that nobody used to want, but that we are all being forced into because the production is moving to the third world countries. Corporations are actually moving out of Mexico and into China and India which makes the employment situation in our neighboring countries even more impossible than it was before. Mexicans are becoming increasingly hostile towards Americans because they can't even make the little bit that they used to make before and it seems that everything we do becomes a scam to trick them out of the little bit that they make. Their Country actually encourages them to come over since they can't provide jobs for them, and the corporations encourage them to come over because it is a great deal for them to be able to circumvent our own laws with cheap, foreign, under the counter labor. There must be a reason that Border Patrol Agents are allegedly going to Wal-Marts in the middle of the night to deport their work force!