Why does USA give greencard and citizenship to illegal aliens?
141480
Most likely it is for tax reasons.  Once you become a citizen you are obligated to pay taxes.  So it makes sense to give "them" greencards and citizenship.\n\nWhy after a certain period of time?  Probably because of a statute of limitations on the crime of crossing the border without legal paperwork. (being here for 3 year isn't a crime - crossing the border illegally is)\n\nI am not 100% sure, but this is what I think based on what I hear on the news and my stint working as a recruiter.
528587
No, an alien holds a card to stay and work for a limited time and is not a resident either, only holds temporary residency. An illegal cannot have employment authorization because he came in undocumented and as such, is not entitled to green cards or residency. You can't do things backwards and expect to jump ahead of those in line. Be considerate of others and the U.S. will be very considerate to you.
419449
Yes you can  As long as you are in this country legally  Many aliens come to the US on an H1B VISA and they have to get social security cards.
769145
You seem to be under the misapprehension that illegal immigrants get all that stuff legally.  In most cases, they are breaking the law to do so.  So, as an American citizen, you have just as much right as illegal immigrants to commit welfare and insurance fraud, and just as much right to take up room in prison when you do so.
633358
Hell yes there are! I live in Texas and there are aliens everywhere and most of them don't have green cards! It cracks me up that they think they have the right to be here. And, they expect us to fork out our tax dollars to take care of them.
313681
THEY (legal and non legal immigrants) threw out the race card first.  Notice they are all for breaking the law?  They want a free ticket in to this country, expect to be handed jobs and  health benefits (free, I might add) automatically, and so far our government has obliged them.  It doesn't look like our goverment is really against illegal immigration.  It's a lie and a sad thing.  I am totally against illegal immigration.  If you want to come here that's great I'm not against that, just do it legally.
85356
A green card will give you the status of permanent resident in the US. Which means you can permanently stay in the US.\nOther kinds of visa are temporary and after they expire you either have to leave the country or re-apply for a new visa.\n\nYou DO NOT have to carry it with you all the time. Only if you travel abroad. You will need to present it when you re-enter the US.\n\nA green card is valid for 10 years and will need to be renewed..pretty much like a passport. The renewal is just a matter of sending a single form..you don't have to go through the whole process again.\n\nHaving a green card is a mandatory step if you want to become a US citizen.\n\n\nRestrictions:\nYou are still an immigrant (actually a resident alien). So\nyou are subject to deportation if you mess up with the law.\n\nYou cannot and should not vote.
352691
The answer is yes they are giving auto citizenship until otherwise they disown or renos it.\nSorry wrong one, 14th amendment\n\nThe several bills and resolutions now before Congress that would deny citizenship to children born in the United States to certain classes of alien parents raise various issues of law and policy. My testimony today will address two points of constitutional law. First, because the rule of citizenship acquired by birth within the United States is the law of the Constitution, it cannot be changed through legislation, but only by amending the Constitution. A bill such as H.R. 1363, 104th Cong. (1995), the "Citizenship Reform Act of 1995," that purports to deny citizenship by birth to persons born within the jurisdiction of this country is unconstitutional on its face. Second, the proposed constitutional amendments on this topic conflict with basic constitutional principles. To adopt such an amendment would not be technically unlawful, but it would flatly contradict our constitutional history and our constitutional traditions. Affirming the citizenship of African-Americans that Dred Scott had denied, in 1862 President Lincoln's Attorney General wrote an opinion for the Secretary of the Treasury asserting "[a]s far as I know . . . you and I have no better title to the citizenship which we enjoy than the 'accident of birth' -- the fact that we happened to be born in the United States." (5) Today, in 1995, we cannot and should not try to solve the difficult problems illegal immigration poses by denying citizenship to persons whose claim to be recognized as Americans rests on the same constitutional footing as that of any natural-born citizen. Members of both of your Subcommittees have worked vigorously, with the Department of Justice on an evenhanded bipartisan basis, on legislation and oversight to address these problems.\n\nI.\n\n\n       H.R. 1363, the "Citizenship Reform Act of 1995," exemplifies the various legislative proposals before the committees. The stated purpose of the bill is "to deny automatic citizenship at birth to children born in the United States to parents who are not citizens or permanent resident aliens." Section 3(a) of the bill amends section 301(a) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, which grants U.S. citizenship "at birth" to all persons "born in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof." Specifically, section 3(a) proposes to define the phrase "subject to the jurisdiction thereof" to include only children born to U.S. citizens or permanent resident aliens.\n\nthe Supreme Court held that a child born in San Francisco of Chinese parents (who, under the Chinese Exclusion laws then in effect, could never themselves become U.S. citizens) became at the time of his birth in the United States a citizen of the United States, by virtue of the Fourteenth Amendment.\n\n       The Court, in a detailed review of the Anglo-American common law of citizenship and the legislative history of the Fourteenth Amendment, established several propositions. First, because the Constitution does not define United States citizenship, it must be interpreted in light of the common law. Under the common law of England, which was adopted by the United States, every child born within the territory of alien parents was a natural-born subject, with the exception of children born of foreign ambassadors, of alien enemies during hostile occupation, and of aliens on a foreign vessel.
26111
because we give benefits (free college tuition) to illegals and if you cross the border and have a kid, they are US citizens and get welfare.
21955
there is no lottery !!\n\nA United States Permanent Resident Card, also known popularly as Green Card, is an identification card for a permanent resident of the United States of America who does not have U.S. citizenship. It is proof that the holder has permission to permanently reside and take employment in the U.S. Its "former" official title was Alien Registration Receipt Card, and it is now officially called a Permanent Resident Card, also referred to as form I-551.\n\nThe name "green card" comes from the fact that the cards were originally green. Their color has changed over the years, but the term "green card" has remained in use. As of 2005, the card is mostly white and the only prominent green feature is the lettering on the back of the card. A card includes the holder's name and photograph, and other information, and has been updated over the years with numerous anti-counterfeiting devices. The latest hologram on the back of the card contains representations of all American presidents, flags of each state, image of the card holder and other personal information found on the front of the card.\n\nThe card must be in the possession of the U.S. permanent resident at all times. This means the U.S. permanent resident must have a currently valid card on their person at all times, to show to an USCIS officer, if requested. One interesting aspect of American law is that permanent residents are required to carry identification cards, but citizens are not.\n\nGreen cards were formerly issued by the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS). That agency's functions have been shifted to the new U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) formerly the Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration Services (BCIS) in the Department of Homeland Security.
152269
Yes, a green card means permanent residency, and the person has the same right to work or own a business or corporation as a citizen does.
860240
Yes, a few years back because of the Patriot Act and terrorist incidents, they require all persons to provide ID, if you are not a citizen (a green card holder) then you also have to show them your green card.
837207
First they need to apply for a green card, which is basically permanent residency. Then you should be able to get a SSN.  But that doesn't mean you're a citizen...yet...i don't think.\n\nxo
275021
Legal, PERMANENT RESIDENTS(Green card holders) may enlist in the military.  the residency requirement for citizenship is waived or greatly reduced.  They can apply for citizenship I believe after one year, instead of the normal 5. All other requirements must be met.  It is not automatic, but it is greatly expeditited.\n\nNon citizens are restricted from jobs that require any kind of clearance, nor are they allowed to be Officers.   Once they get their citizenship, however, assuming they qualify in all other areas, they may Commission or get get a Clearance.
663335
Because America has quotas saying how many people from a country can become a citizen per year, and more people from countries such as Cuba and Mexico want citizenship then America has allows. Atleast, thats what I've always been told.
690293
The question was asked incorrectly.  What American citizens have against undocumented illegals is that we work and pay taxes, they don't.  We are already supporting our countries' homeless and welfare people and now we have to take care of the illegals also?  They want the same benefits that others get then all we ask is that they follow the same rules and laws that we as Americans follow.  Become a US Citizen, pay taxes, work, what is so hard about that.  Go back to the 40s, the people from Ellis Island were documented, worked and helped to make this country what it is today.
987604
I think it is partly because of 9/11 (increased security), and it is also partly because of the problematic illegal immigration.  Unfortunately, the illegals ruin it for the people who are trying to get into our country the RIGHT way. \n\nIt makes me sick that illegal immigrants that came into our country, KNOWING that it was illegal and wrong, are getting rewarded with citizenship for their actions.   (Well, at least they will finally pay taxes for what they use...public education, roads, libraries, etc...)\n\nI would much rather prefer people like you that want to do it the right way. The whole new immigration control idea is forgetting one thing...the LAW.  They are basically rewarding people for breaking the law.