Is an amnisty rectionary because it gets cheap labor for the elite, or progressive because it helps illegals?
366588
It's a bad idea all the way around.  People spend money and time trying to enter legally.  Amnesty to illegals is a slap in their faces.
415662
Mexican illegals are almost in mayority poor people without education. People like these are always being taken advantage of by U.S. business owners getting the low paying jobs no american would accept, and by the Mexican goverment allowing them to travel in most cases risking their lives to the U.S. so that they earn some dollars and send them to their families. And sooner or later, directly or inderectly, mexican polititians get the money. Now that few dollars multiplied by millions of mexican workers becomes Mexico politiians´third largest income. \nThe illigal immigration is wrong, but it has been this way everywhere ever since there are borders; all rich countries have a poor neighbor, and they allways permit a number of "illegal immigrants" to cover all the unwanted jobs but when the immigrants become too many, then it becomes a problem. There is a price to pay if one wants a cheep labour force and the U.S. is paying it. White americans have not learned from the past, when they bought africans to be their cheap labour force once, and now they have had to learn to live with african americans, and that was the price. This time they permitted the Mexicans for cheap labour and now they they will have to learn to live with a large number of latin american immigrants. Now, remember that americans were illigal immigrants in the northern part of Mexico but with the help of a corrupt Mexican president payed a small sum, managed to keep all that territory that became California, Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas. How much has the U.S. really gained from those states that were once Mexico??? Did Mexico not lose??\nNow, that is the way it is, and borders are the way they are,  but at least some U.S. citizens should not be so cruel when they talk about "illegal immigrants". These are just poor desperate people trying to survive economicaly since they have no posibility in their "pueblitos". A "funny" thing is that the cruelest comments I´ve read seem to be from descendants of poor immigrants.
688483
By acting as if he is concerned for the rights of Mexican immigrants to the U.S., he is encouraging more illegal immigration, which is what he wants to do.  The Mexican government is an open, festering sore of corruption.  They cannot handle the economic problems of their people, so they encourage them to come to the U.S.  This alleviates unemployment problems in Mexico, and also stimulates the Mexican economy because many of these illegal Mexicans send dollars back to their families.  American businessmen also encourage these illegals to come because they can increase their profits tremendously by hiring them.  The American government, which has always looked out for the interests of the business elite, encourages this illegal immigration also by propagating lies, such as illegals take jobs Americans don't want, by proposing things like a guest worker program, which is just a way to legalize illegal immigration to ensure a steady supply of cheap labor for American corporations.  This steady supply of cheap labor not only robs jobs from Americans, it also has the effect of keeping wages down in other jobs, which suits the business elite just fine.  Fox knows what he's doing and so does Bush.  They are in fact buddies, doing a political dance, trying to play everybody for fools.  Each is looking out for the interests of the business elite in his country.  In fact, the presence of American corporations has increased in Mexico since Fox took over.  Does the average American benefit from that?  Of course not.  But it does make a few people very very wealthy.  The rest of us have to stand by and watch as our standard of living goes down, our jobs are outsourced to foreign countries and the few jobs that remain here are taken over by illegals.  What these illegals need to do is take all that energy and effort they spend coming over here and use it to stay in their country and overthrow their corrupt government.
535735
We have a better deal when they are illegal.  Many illegals pay SS but aren't able to ever redeem it.  It's free money.\n\nIt's in businesses best interest to keep them illegal so that they can overwork them and underpay them.  So, immigration "reform" is not pro-business.  And immigration reform will cause the price of all those things that they do to go up.  So, it's not in the interest of the average American to make them legal.\n\nSo, it is just a case of:\n1) Doing the Christian/"Bleeding heart liberal" thing\n2) Pandering to Mexico.\n\nOh, and the Dems will probably get more votes in conservative Southern states with the influx of poor Mexicans becoming citizens.  The only ones that really win are the Dems and the illegals.  Everyone else loses, including America and its laws.
590434
Corporations. They've been entrenched against unions for years. The "undocumented immigrants" sounds like a Nativist talking point but there is something else to consider. Raise that minimum wage and you'll HAVE american jobs created since the current minimum waeg is unlivable.
275500
Listen up people and listen good. Illegal immigrants are not "draining the system" or "taking advantage" of the system!\n\nThe US Economy benefits from immigrants illegal or not! Why because the business's that hires them knows that the papers they have are fake but, they hire them anyways. These places use fake social security numbers and then takes taxes out the the illegal immigrants pay. Taxes help out America. \n\nIn turn, the illegal immigrants buy goods and services in this country which of course helps out the GNP. Also, Illegal immigrants and legal immigrants CANNOT even qualify for public assistance because they are not citizens. Illegal immigrants don't want to apply or use public resources because they don't want to get caught and deported. \n\nThose of you idiots out there who believe other wise need to get your heads out of your ass. Stop watching Fox News or CNN as your sole source of information and stop being a minon of the right wing. Left wingers also have to step off their high horse that laws need to be enforced and also realize that their are problems with illegal immigrants too. Some of them are scum that run drugs and committ crime and these people need to be deported or locked up.\n\nImmigrants legal or not made America a great country and immigrants work the jobs that most Amercian born or immigrants who have been here awhile would refuse to do. \nDon't be an idiot and scape-goat all immigrants as evil that will consume America. Our own greed and the selfish rich ass holes that are in the White House are the ones fucking up this country not illegal immigrants.
332389
The undocumented workers get all the undocumented jobs.  There are plenty of other documented jobs around, that will pay far better.\n\nYou just need to be worth more as an employee.  Baling hay is manual labor, you have to compete with what others are willing to do for the same job.  I bet you're a Republican too, but ironically expect the government to protect your wages -- figures.  Sounds like you need to vote for Ms. Clinton in 2008.\n\nAnyway, gosh that's rough that you have to drive 50 miles to work.  No wonder no one will hire you if you whine so much.  Most people out here in California drive go farther than that -- in heavy traffic.  \n\nAs for Microsoft, since you're not quite smart enough to grasp basic economics, I'd stay away from high tech.  You have no idea what kind of people need to be hired to do that kind of job and why they might have to be hired from places like India.  Programming isn't like baling hay, cowboy.
278738
Read the bills, please don't lie about them.\n\nNeither the House or Senate bills criminalize aid agencies (including churches) or medical facilities for helping illegals.  They are not required to ask or report.\n\nEMPLOYERS that hire EMPLOYEES (whites too!) are requires to check Social Security Numbers against a National database before they can employ someone.  Fail to do so and big fine/go to jail.\n\nThe truth will suffice, my Liberal friends.\n\nThank you for your support.
1114465
NOTHING will change. \n\nThe reason it was even brought up was so it can look like Bush is doing something.\n\nNothing will change because us rich americans want someone who will mow our lawns for cheap and work in our restaraunts for cheap.    The majority of people in office benefit from illegals so it wont change.\n\nI get my car washed inside and out, completely polished for $5 right outside of NYC thanks to illegals.  Viva Mexico!
214968
I think the previous answer sums up so well why class-warfare works.  People want to believe it works.  Most of the wealthy in America aren't from "old money" anymore.  They made their money through hard work and determination.  And so many people who don't (or can't) do that want to blame everyone else.  So they look to blame those that are in a better state than they are.\n\nIt is the same with politicians who play the race card.
633559
I too am under the impression they do and I guess that is exactly the core issue of the illegal immigrant debate.  With all the millions of dollars our government spends on studies, you would think they would do a comprehensive study on this to settle the arguement once and for all.  Illegals do provide a source of cheap labor for businesses keeping the costs of services and products down but, as a result, often take away jobs from citizens/legal residents who would be paid more for the same work.  Employers who hire illegals are also competing unfairly, paying reduced wages, against those companies that do not- driving them out of business and raising unemployment for citizens/legal residents. I have also been under the assumption that  illegals are also paid "under the table" not being documented as actually working for a company so neither the employer or illegal employee pay taxes for social services/healthcare/etc. (although from debates on YahooAnswer I have been told this is incorrect but how do you pay taxes/social security if you don't have a social security number and/or other i.d?) thus driving up taxes and healthcare costs for the rest of us.
871678
Good point.  I know of many cases where people have worked the heck out of illegal aliens for days and when pay day comes they report them to the cops or immigration to avoid paying them.  The employer is usually someone that hires them for handyman work and it never involves major companies.  Bottom line is that the illegal alien usually get returned to their country.  Also this mostly occurs in border communities.
678298
The idea here is to make fewer possible connections for upward mobility economically. The Republican party is and always had been the "Cheap labor party". This is classism\nat its finest. The belief of the classist fascists is that they are entitled to be on top. The reasoning behind this varies, but its interesting to watch Christians hop the fence over to social darwinism to justify greed. "It is easier for a camel to fit through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven." Good advice.\nIf we listened, we wouldn't now have a civilization decaying out of corporate oligarchy and into fascism.\n\nThe fact is that everything the bush admin does is to benefit business. Those tax exemptions for the rich? Who ends up thus bearing the tax burden? Duh? The poor. The middle class. The WORKING class. The republican leaders care as much for us as we would care for slaughter animals.\nSecret rituals of the skull and bones secret society are\nabout facing the idea of being so on top of the world that consience is a fatal flaw for maintaining power. The ritual involves at least mock human child human sacrifice, but for all we know, they actually kill live children. Bush and Kerry BOTH belong to this organization. They care nothing for us. They have rituals designed to impart the "wisdom"\nof seeing us as chattel sheep, as the very bones that form\nthe martar which the dollar bills stone temple is built of.\nThat eye on top? Its the few enlightened Empirialists. The moral of their story? We are just a resource to be USED. Like any otehr resource, bought, sold, or bargained up. We are pawns in their games and their wars. They care nothing for us. This is pattern evident in most bush admin laws.\nThe "no child left behind" act is actually unmasked as the\n"pre-privatization" act. The no child left behind act is designed to make running "public education" too expensive and too unfunctional, in order to force us to end up paying\nfor it.
857734
Is it ethical to prevent the movement of poor people into a wealthier land?\n\nIs it ethical for illegal immigrants to endanger the American economy by draining the health, educational and health services of the US?\n\nIs it ethical for illegal immigrants to break the immigration laws of the U.S.?\n\nIs it ethical to spend so much money on a fence when so many Americans are homeless and hungry?\n\nIs it ethical for the American government to send illegal immigrants back to their country of origin?\n\nShould cheap labor be denied to foreigners?\n\nShould illegal immigrants be allowed to take jobs from poor Americans?\n\nIs the fence being built because Americans are prejudiced against Mexicans?
609673
Who do you think did all those jobs before illegals invaded our country?  Maybe those jobs didn't exist, or maybe farmers let their produce rot?  Your argument is illogical and self serving.  The fact of the matter is that employers want these illegals here because they can take advantage of them, and the government who looks out for the interests of the business elite, supports them in this.  They try to play Americans for fools by sending troops to the border and suggesting a guest worker program, which is just a way to ensure a permanent source of cheap labor for these greedy employers.  Illegals will work for wages that no American will work for, and as a result they take jobs from Americans and drive wages down for everybody else.  It's obvious you don't know what you are talking about when you bring up something like doing construction work for $7.50 an hour.  Construction work, just so you know, was a good job that paid a lot more than $7.50 an hour and that employed many Americans, until illegals started swarming our country and doing doing construction for shit wages.  A lot of Americans lost good paying jobs, and contruction companies increased their profits by grotesque proportions.  So don't fool yourself by thinking that illegals are essential.  The only reason they are allowed to come and stay is because they increase the profits of the business elite.  But this can only go on for so long.  At some point, Americans will get so sick of being screwed that these businessmen and their politician buddies who are selling out their counrtry for profits, will have no choice but to stop hiring illegals altogether, and these illegals will have no choice but to go home where they belong.
1135401
By some of the answers they skipped school can't read nor understand. Facts as you state the Richer pay a higher percentage, the poor pay none in fact they get a rebate not their money the richer give them for not earning enough the liberal way its the money us tax payers pay and I work for it they don't,  most. The ones that try I don't mind helping but not forever. You are not my dependent
362159
Aww how sweet alexthec! Go ahead, call me lazy. I think YOU are the lazy one, sitting on your little cushy American @$$ while immigrants pick your fruit and mow your lawn. Because it goes like this pendejo, one of your ancestors was a 'lazy' immigrant who committed crimes and raised taxes.