IMMIGRANTS! We are such hypocrites Let them stay The only ones that were here first were the native americans!
413342
I totally agree. What most people seem to forget is that this country is made up of immigrants. Now, maybe some have already been here longer. But they still had immigrant grandparents, great grandparents, and so on, somewhere down the line.It's just that they forgot now. Or they act like they did. I mean look at what they did to the Native \nAmericans. They just took over like if it was their land. They drove them to the Reservations. I am a proud U.S. Born Citizen, daughter of Mexican immigrants. And I like thousands of others, went out to show my support yesterday in Houston. Because we didn't cross the border, the border crossed us !!!! And for all you others against us >>Remeber the Mayflower ? Maybe one of your ancestors was on it. Do the research.. And if immigrants have to go back, then send them all back. Including those ...
480616
You are ABSOLUTELY right. Take in to consideration, in 1607, there was no "America", this was a new world, without a name, and without a law. The Europeans who came here did a million things wrong (treatment of Natives), but we have spent decades trying to correct that. If you are 1/3 or more Native American, you do not have to pay taxes. It's probably not enough, but you can't change the past. \n\nThank you, by the way. I was unsure when immigration laws were passed. Now I have more to feed my argument with. Let's not forget about Ellis Island. Before border control, that was all we had. Every person who came in this country for about two decades passed through there. They underwent inspection after inspection, and if they had a HINT of ilness, they were sent home, no questions asked. Think of the thousands (or more) who tried to come here the "legal" way (since that was the ONLY way), and were denied access. If we just let anybody come here, without rules or guidelines, it's like slapping the face of those who never made it. \n\nI think we need better border control, and speedier citizenship processes. We need to tell the people we want to deport "If you want to stay here, here's the paperwork. You can live HERE (name of city or building or street) and work THIS (name of specific job or jobs) until you finish your immigration papers. If you are not legal by (Set date) you will be deported. Then, we tighten border control and deport EVERYONE we see come here illegally. \n\nNow that immigration is inside the law, we need to address the issue and handle it properly. We need to quit arguing about the past, because it is behind us. Let's move on and fix our nation.
270591
When looking at this issue here in this forum I was beginning to think that all America had gone crazy by only really considering 2 categories.  Citizen or Illegal.  There is a third category and that is Alien Residents who are in the country legally.  There is a large difference and I am glad that you to have noticed it as well.  All of us started out as immigrants at one point of history or another.  Even the Native Americans are said to have come from somewhere else, however as they settled the land centuries before any one else they are the only ones who we can say did not immigrate to this country, or Hemisphere for that matter.  As we are in the middle of trying to hammer out legislation for immigrants while we are doing this we should look at the laws that have been on the books since the 1920s and think about updating them.  I would favor them making it against the Federal Law to be an Illegal, however I would not support housing them in Federal Prison for any time and costing us even more than what we are spending now, deportation should be enough for first offense.  I do not feel that those who have assisted Illegals in a humanitariun sense should not be guilty of any crime, however those that profit from bringing them to the country or taking advantage of them when they are here should be punished.  There need to be many things done to update our system and make it have some teeth.  We also must as a nation realize it is not just a Hispanic problem we have illegals from every country in the world and we need to be aware of it and aknowledge it being that way.
293741
More possibly a new American civil war. Or revolution. Heck, we, this "nation of immigrants", wiped out the original inhabitants of this country, and locked the rest of them onto reservations. I'll bet the true native Americans are getting a real chuckle over all this. We're worried about losing "our" country, but we seem to forget we stole it in the first place. So maybe now somebody else is getting ready to steal it from US! What goes around comes around. We've become a little too self-righteous for our britches anyway.
29058
If you call occupation of territory settled by people and taking their land while denying them their rights or even treating them as humans civilized I guess the US must be the most barbarious civilization there is. People have been condemning the Nazis for trying to wipe out the Jews, well the Americans have suceeded even more by almost wiping out an entire nation of cultured people who were long settled in the continent with their own culture, law and government. So yes technically American Indians or more precisely the various tribes are the first people here and thus should be sovereign and even ruling the white man not vice versa as it is. They have more right to be called Americans than the rat tag bunch of colonials that arrived here and started a wave of slaughter and massacres such as the force eviction of tribes along the trail of tears, force evacuation and settlement of reservations, gifts of smallpox infested blankets in an effort in biological warfare, broken treaties and senseless wars and killings. Think about that.
618581
Back to sqaure one, my oft repeated answer to such q's (apt, and anyway  it does get me two points) \n\nI wonder if the original native Americans (Red Injuns as you called em) had a say in the matter when the whites from across the ocean invaded their country and all but exterminated them.\n\nYou, dear person are also a descendant of immigrants yourself, I'm sure, as are most of the white and black American folks replying to you, unless you are of Native American descent (which I am sure you would not be proud to proclaim, if you were). Even the guys who came over on the Mayfair, they initiated the unjustness by being the harbingers of terror that culminated in the annihilation of native Americans\n\nI wonder when the Caucasian will ever get over the white 'massa' superiority complex?\n\n\nAmerica has been drawing people from all over the world, right from the days of it's discovery as a land with the fabled pot of gold at the end of a rainbow. Give it some more time, you'll end up with an exodus of people, as is happening among the immigrants from India which is gaining from the Brain Gain as opposed to the earlier brain drain.\n\nI remember when my cousin migrated to the US in the seventies, people had similar complaints about the Indians.\n\nTh reverse is happening now, a number of western countries have their top people insisting on an India stint, and the Indians, well they wanna come back to their roots.\n\nSo this is gonna happen with the 'greasers' as you seem to allude to the people of Mexican descent in your polite, but hard hitting questions in the immigration section of Yahoo Answers!
390101
As far as the immigration issue, I have no problem with anyone wanting to immigrate, but why all of the sneaking over? Does it just take so long to go through all of the red tape or something? Just curious. I didn't see any of the previous postings, but you are completely correct! Unless you are of American-Indian descent, TECHNICALLY none of the rest of our bloodlines originated in what is now the United States! It frustrates and saddens me to see that people are still so ignorant. Even more so when I see them passing these beliefs and attitudes down to their young children! I think there is no greater crime than that! Where did the innocence of youth go? Way to go though. Great topic!
416676
The are people who wants to be Americans like our forefathers who also came to America through May Flower or Slave Ships or Asian Immigrant who constructed the railway in America. All this groups of people came to America with no VISA OR PASSPORT presented to the tribal chiefs of the America Indians. The Also broke the law of the tribal Indians and their chiefs to build what is today United States of America. I don't see the reason to Criminalized their aspiration to become American Citizens and have a decent life and freedom which made them to move for the first instance, like our forefather did to make us legal and have a decent life today. Even in the days of our forefathers and now anyone who moved to America had a problem with his home country such as religious crisis or bad government policies or racial or tribal wars which is still today the same problem chasing this illegal immigrant out of their home country and making them to coming to America to seek FREEDOM. They also want their kids born here to claim the same right as we now do.
1009216
OH, Good Lord!! You all need to get a grip!! You keep talking about the PAST like it can be changed and like wars are or were EVER "fair". YES the Native Americans were treated unfairly, ok? YES we fought the British, ok? So what? That was history. WE BEAT Mexico!!  OKAY!! We never STOLE a d^ ^^n thing from Mexico!!  IT's HISTORY! PAST!Done! Kaput!! Stop living in the PAST! This is HERE, NOW, 21st CENTURY, 2006! OK? WE, the USA, NOW have laws AGAINST ILLEGAL ENTRY!  We HAVE fought to make this country what it is today, for our rights, for our freedoms, for our LAWS. Without those LAWS enforced we'd still be like the "Wild, wild, west", no lawmen for hundreds of miles and then occasionally a Marshall, or small town Sheriff. Men in my family fought many wars to make this country what it is today. Our Native Americans fought and died for this country. Our Native tongue was used as secret communications in WW II. We contributed to making this country what it is TODAY. If our men, all those who fought and those who died, had not done so, who would be clamoring to get in here? Not many. You say we are Nazi? WHAT? We fought the Nazi's!!  We Have rights, freedom, we can make our own choices, we vote, we don't commit genocide, we are not racist! We have laws that all are to abide by, LOVE it or LEAVE it, that's ONE of the CHOICES we ALL have!! Unless of course you're ILLEGAL, then you shouldn't HAVE a CHOICE because you are not a LEGAL CITIZEN.\n\nIllegal invaders don't have the guts, the pride, the values, the nobility or bravery to do what our forefathers and our young men today do. There may be some Illegal immigrants in Iraq, fighting right alongside our boys, and THEY are the exception. These criminals coming across our border sucking up welfare, increasing crime, closing hospitals, bringing in diseases, living off our hard earned dollar and getting freedoms and 'rights' they didn't earn is an outrage. They should go back home before the red-hot tempers turn to white-hot rage!!\n\nOur government turn a blind eye to their illegal entry, but they KNEW it was against the law!! They came anyway, they are responsible for their OWN actions!! Ignorance of the law is NO EXCUSE!!\n\nSweet Lou--You asked what I have done to ensure our freedoms are not abused. Well, I vote, I write and e-mail my senators and congressmen, I go to town meetings in my community, as much as most people do. The male members of my family have fought in all the wars in the USA from the Revolutionary War to Iraq. I don't need to explain a da** thing to YOU. It wouldn't matter if all I did was cast my vote at elections, I am an American and I don't feel like illegal people should come here and take what MY family and OTHERS have FOUGHT and DIED for!  And I will voice my opinion like anyone does. It's one of those rights my family and others FOUGHT and DIED for!\nWhat have YOU done to assure our freedoms are not abused. You shouldn't let that alligator mouth of yours overload that pea-brain.
433936
I cannot stand when these people come to our country (USA) and then try to force THEIR culture on US.  If they are so proud of their heritage and their culture and way of life, they can JUST STAY WHERE THEY CAME FROM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
902627
woohoo finally someone has the same thoughts on this as i do.... hello people every history book will tell you that the native Americans where here first and that the Europeans ran them out of all their homes... yes, Mexicans came and did the same to the Indians when they took over Arizona, new Mexico and California but seriously how much better is white people than brown people if they both stole this land from the true natives??\n\nedited-what I'm saying is yes the Indians where here first but i do not agree with new immigrants or Americans taking advantage of welfare.. i have three children and can't get any help to send them to preschool because my husband  makes a HAIR more than the limit. now my oldest son is behind in kindergarten. \nI'm not trying to contradict myself i just don't like to hear white people say they where here first. and i don't like the fact that because people don't work they get hand outs, and the middle class can't get any help at all...\n\nedited- i don't get what is this discussion about dirty jobs? i love the show but i don't understand what you are all talking about? email me..thanks in advance..
997660
Mewxicans,and sad to say,only cause they can tell them apart easier than they can europeans from americans.That sounds so racist,but it's true.I think all immigration officers suck.
629651
Personally, unless you're native American, you shouldn't be talking like you own the country... America is a country built on immigrants so it would be massively hypocritical to close the doors now.
640540
I was born in Mexico.  I immigrated because my mother was a US citizen but not because she was my mother because Regan(R) Passed an Amnesty Law in 86.  Immigrants have a lot to contend with they really don't want to be in the middle of this argument.  They stayed in obscurity until someone in Washington decided what is best for the American people.  Well American people don't want to wash there own cars, or cook in restaurants or wash dishes or toilets.  If I can get my teenage boys to get a job this summer I'll be more than grateful.  We have become a selfish society and the only reason we don't like immigrants it's because they don't fit in to our name brand society.  They dress in what they can afford and wear their hair in last years fashion.  OMG hopefully we don't catch something.  What EVER!  Get over it America stop being so snooty.  Remember the immigrants that crosses Elise Island?  No body wanted the Jewess back then then the Irish.  It's the Mexicans turn.  Stop allowing history to repeat it self!!!!!
621586
What about what the Native Americans did to the white man?!?!? Convincing those poor, hapless Euros to take over this seriously polluted land with all of these toxic pesticides and cow sh!t and those ugly cement housing developments everywhere?\nAnd THEN, when they didn't ALL die of diseases right off the bat and the early US government had to chase them all over hill and dale to murder rape, pillage and small pox 'em out of the rest of the place?  Really.  Why can't people just stand still for genocide once in awhile?  They're always trying so hard to defend their families and stuff.  Seems like it would be EXHAUSTING for the perpetrators.
724149
I AM ON YOUR SIDE. WHEN YOUR RIGHT ,YOU ARE RIGHT.\nwhat i find frustrating is they say we were all immigrants centurys ago. yes but they made a difference and became legal and smoke english. the ones here now are useless and just a burden to us all.
140673
Think of the formation of America. A bunch of rebelous folks from England decide that they don't want to be oppressed. They sail off to America, and they find someone else already lives there. So theses British-Immigrants decide to take the country for their own, by killing the Indians that got into their way! The country was born when the Pilgrims began cheating and killing the natives.