Is it fair to punish a person for being here illegally even though that person was brought as a child?

Question

If a little girl is brought illegally to this country and grows in to adulthood and all she knows is U.S. life and has all her family here, is it fair to punish her for what her parents did?

Answer 1

I was brought here illegaly when young. It is fair because those are your laws, it is not fair because both my parents and the government put me in this situation.

I blamed my parents already and I cut all ties to them. But the government allowed me to go from kindergarden through highschool. The government should've never allowed me to do so. There should be a law to cut all help to us illegals, make us go back home that way. No hospitals, no education at any level. Nothing. Do not build us up to knock us down.

I now live in Mexico City, attend college and work for microsoft. However, it is funny that I have to take spanish classes hahaha oh well when life hands you lemons, make lemonade.

Answer 2

Deporting a person is not a "punishment." Punishment would be jail time or a steep fine. She's from another country, she's here illegally and any way you cut it, she doesn't belong here. But on the other hand, it is the fault of the federal government for looking the other way when all those illegals came into our country. If we were to deport her, two more would take her place.

I don't think the problem is the people who are here illegally, the problem is more people are coming in every day of the week. If we don't want to see 20, 40, 60 million illegals here, then we must stop the inflow. But we can't stop the inflow because there is not one stiff spine in Washington who will take the rein and say "Enough is enough."

The job of a politician is not to look out for our country but to get reelected. And all politicians know that the Hispanic vote is too valuable to disregard. So what do they do? Cater to them and give them all kinds of goodies, including housing, schooling, food stamps, WIC, no income tax since most of them get paid in cash, and in many cases, immunity when they commit a crime like when they steal social security numbers from legal citizens. In the case of identity theft, the legal citizen is the one who has to deal with the results, not the illegal.

Answer 3

To answer your question, you'll be happy to know that the time an illegal alien was here as a child is not held against him/her. The only time that will count against a person like this is after he/she becomes an adult (18th birthday).

So, if he/she goes home after turning 18, but before 18 and 1/2, there will be no ban on returning legally to the United States (assuming he/she can get a visa). If he/she stays more than 6 months but less than a year past the 18th birthday then there will a 5 year ban. If he/she stays past the age of 19 there will be a 10 year ban.

Answer 4

Yes. When she grows to adulthood, she is responsible for her own behavior. If she continues to live the life of an illegal alien, then yes, she is breaking the law (and probably laws as an illegal isn't legally able to hold a job..etc.) and needs to be punished.

When she reaches adulthood, she has a choice to make. Am I going to do the right thing or am I going to continue to break the law -- except this time willingly? Her character will be reflected in her decision.

Answer 5

She is here illegally and more than likely as she was growing up she was drilled in what to do to stay in the country illegally. There is no way she didn't know she was an illegal, so ship here back. That is what the law says and she deserves no special treatment just because she was here for a certain amount of time.

Answer 6

This is similar to the question about why you have to go to school and Paris Hilton did not, yet Paris still makes 20 MILLION dollars a year! Your parents are not rich, so you have to do what you need to do to get a job and an education. So does this girl you are talking about. Her parents brought her here illegally and now she is going to pay the price for it, Your parents were not born into the Hilton fortune and therefore you must go to school, get a job and pay for things out of your own pocket. Life is NOT fair but it is full of consequences.

Answer 7

I don't understand what you mean "punish her for what her parents did" because if there is any punishment involved it was doled out by the parents themselves when they put their own child in that spot. The laws are what they are and the parents knew it when they broke every one of them. Moreso, should Americans be continually punished by paying higher taxes, watching our hospitals close, our jobs disappear, and our children's quality of education erode because millions of parents made an illegal and immoral choice? No, and that is the real travesty here.

Answer 8

These answers all hit home. Sometimes I worry that what the media wants us to think about illegal immagration is actually soaking in to people and making them believe it is ok, but then I read these types of questions and I see that the country has hope against the illegal invasion.

Answer 9

Yes it is fair.

Exactly what part of "illegal" didn't you understand? She too illegally entered the country in your scenario.

This isn't a theme park where the kids get in free. What are you thinking?




g-day!

Answer 10

ABSOLUTELY YES. As we become adults, we are ultimately responsible for the choices we have made in life. Some of our choices are good, some of them are bad.

Parents are ultimately responsible for teaching right and wrong. Parents who bring their children into a life of ILLEGAL behavior should be made to answer for their actions. Children who are ILLEGAL should be made to answer for their actions, despite the actions of their parents.

ILLEGAL still equals ILLEGAL wherever you cast the blame.