How do illegals actually affect your life personally?

Question

I am not talking about the social aspects, costs, benefits etc. Personally, I have never competed for a job with an illegal, not for employment nor school nor health care. How about you?

Bronwen, I live in Los Angeles. I know there are a lot of illegals here - but I can't tell just by looking at people wether they are illegal or not.

I had to prove my status to get my job as did everybody else so I doubt illegal people are working at my employer's.

Answer 1

I have to pay non-insured motorists insurance just because those who don't pay for insurance are covered. Talk about *** backward. For 15 years I lived in Central Phoenix Arizona and I saw many crashes where at least one person always ran away. I think that America has room for everyone, but just as long as they do it legally like paying for insurance and taxes. It also wouldn't hurt if they kept up their front yard. For heavens sake, many of them are in the lawn business.

Answer 2

There are a lot of immigrants in the area where I live. I work and 'rub shoulders' with people from all over the world on a daily basis. Most of them are friendly or at least civil, speak english well enough to be understood, and are pleasant enough to be around. I don't consider most of those personal interactions to be a negative in my life in any way. However, there are also some who do not speak english, who expect /me/ to speak spanish (I assume because I look like I might speak it), and who seem to spend a lot of thier time just loitering.

I suspect the first grouping are legal and the second illegal, but I can't say that I 'know' that, as I'm not in the habbit of demanding 'papers' of people I interact with casually.

I also don't have any children in school. From what I've heard from friends who teach, aparently, that makes a big difference, but, as it's not first-hand experience, I won't go into details.

I do get an awful lot of literature in the mail in spanish & english - and no small amount in spanish, only. I find the latter a little offensive, because of the implicit assumption that I can't speak the language of my native land. Again, I suspect, but do not conclusively assert, that some of that is the result of illegal immigration.

Finally, the one serious negative that was most likely the result of illegal immigration is identity theft. My wife and I have both had our identities stolen. That did damage my credit rating some and mess up her college transcripts, and took years to fully resolve. Again, we were told that the perpetrators were most likely illegals.


But, that's just personal experience. The issue, itself, goes beyond direct, personal impact, to impact on our society an nation.

Answer 3

They have driven the cost of healthcare sky high, which disables me from affording health insurance or healthcare for myself or my son. Not to mention that because they work under the table the national poverty level is far lower statistically than it should be. And what that means is when I was pregnant and became so sick and came so close to losing my son and was put on bedrest, I couldn't get the government assistance that I had been paying into since 15 years old. And I am still paying for that, while they are still getting it for free.

Furthermore, where I live there are very few corporations. You have to travel at least 30 minutes to the nearest and then have a completed college degree to be accepted. So when I was sick and my son's father wanted to take on a second job cutting grass or doing landscaping he couldn't find one because the positions were already taken by illegal immigrants.

That's how it affects me personally.

Answer 4

My great grandparents came from Italy

They learned the english language, repected our country and obeyed our laws.

Living in the southwest I find a lot of immigrants that cannot speak english. Especially in the service industry, they are not respectful and feel we owe them something.

Of course that does not go for everyone, I don't want to throw a blanket statement, I'm just saying I come across that alot.

Generally if someone cannot speak english at all they recently came here or it isn't a priority to them.

Here is a great quote from a United States President.


"In the first place we should insist that if the immigrant who comes here in good faith becomes an American and assimilates himself to us, he shall be treated on an exact equality with everyone else, for it is an outrage to discriminate against any such man because of creed, or birthplace, or origin. But this is predicated upon the man's becoming in very fact an American, and nothing but an American...There can be no divided allegiance here. Any man who says he is an American, but something else also, isn't an American at all. We have room for but one flag, the American flag, and this excludes the red flag, which symbolizes all wars against liberty and civilization, just as much as it excludes any foreign flag of a nation to which we are hostile...We have room for but one language here, and that is the English language...and we have room for but one sole loyalty and that is a loyalty to the American people."

- Theodore Roosevelt

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Answer 5

Do you have kids in public school?

How long has your family lived here, do you know what programs have been cut? And which are being funded (like esl?)

My kids are in LAUSD, and illegal immigration affects their education terribly. Remember that 100% of California's growth is from immigration, and check into how far the backlog is in building schools for the excess in our overcrowded year round scheduled schools, and check your neighborhood school for how many teachers are on 'emergency certificates.'

And then there is the safety issue. Why do public schools now have uniforms? They never used to when my grandparents, my parents or I went through the school system here. (It's to discourage gang colors.)

Our children's education is their future. And by high school, I will have to put them in private school, whether I can afford to or not. It impacts everyone, personally.

Answer 6

I work in construction. I am in a union. Illegals work for 1/3 the rate that I make. They work for cash under the table. They work overtime for straight pay. For the past 2 years, I have not worked the required 1000 hours needed for medical benefits. In my town (Riverside,NJ) we are being sued by the Latino clergy, because we passed an anti-illegal law. Illegals rent a house for 10-20 guys and split the rent. Rents have risen drastically in my town, because landlords know they can charge more for illegals. They are willing to pay the higher rent, because they are splitting it 10-20 ways.

Answer 7

There are so many Latino immigrants (many of which are illegal) that it has become a requirement of many companies that managers speak Spanish. The last company I worked for had a work force in the plant that spoke only Spanish and an office staff that spoke only English. There were only 7 of 125 employees that were bilingual.

Answer 8

You are trying to brush aside the aspects why Americans do not want illegals here... the costs and benefits directly affect me and all Americans- or is the politically correct term now US Citizen

Answer 9

The day just might come... and I hope it does not.... that you will have to rush a family member to the emergency room,.. where tha thospital will be on stand by because the illegals are there with such life threatening illnesses as an ingrown toenail or a baby with diaper rash.

Answer 10

My husband is an illegal immigrant, he's hard working, loves me and our children, makes me laugh. I didn't judge him by the color of his skin or the country of his origin and I still do not. My husband pays taxes, spends his money here, speaks english and obey's the laws so it's frustrating that all this immigration stuff. Every year we apply for his TPS and work authorization, costs us $250 and going up - he's approved every year; we tried to get permanent residency for him, spent a year and $2500 and immigration thought he was living somewhere else so they kept taking our money only to learn we couldn't go forward with it - they don't give you your money back either.

My husband has a drivers license, pays his insurance, he's not involved in any hispanic gangs, he's just like any one else here except he's illegal. So my life is affected personally every day and I wouldn't have it any other way. He's got a kind heart and I love him, no matter where he came from or how he got here.

We've been married for 6 1/2 years and have two beautiful children.