Why is our leadership choosing to reinterpret illegal immigration as something other then illegal?
485391
Undocumented immigration has never been "illegal" in the United States.  There is, and has never been, any criminal penalty for being in this country without proper documentation.  The only sanction is deportation.  The individual being deported has no criminal record because there is no crime.
378815
Oh I see you decided to speak English again. Good for you. \n\nTo answer your question: I think this illegal immigrant situation became a monster slowly. In other words, at first only a few hundred people were sneaking across the border daily. But over time, it has progressed, kind of inconspicuously, into a few thousand or more per day. It is one of those things that most people don't notice until one day we wake up and see that our world has totally changed and we didn't see it coming because it happened so slowly over time.\n\nBut once it was brought to our attention, we found that we needed to do something about it. No double morality here.\nIllegal is illegal,whether it be drugs, underage drinking, or a parking ticket. If it is illegal, then I am having a problem understanding what the big misunderstanding is.
1118991
America will not HAVE a future,if the ILLEGAL INVASION is not STOPPED!!! We ALREADY have laws against ILLEGAL immigration.they are just not being enforced!!! We have laws against companys hiring illegals,but law enforcement tends to "look the other way". What NEEDS to be done,is to have those laws ENFORCED!!! Every employer of illegals,should be FINED,JAILED,and have their businesses and assets SEIZED!!!
607018
because if they called them ILLEGAL immigrants they'd have to say that it was WRONG, because that is the very definition of illegal! it'd be stupid for them to say "hey! we're protesting because you don't treat BREAKERS OF THE LAW like we think you should!" it's called a scarecrow argument, they throw something else out there related enough to the real issue to distract you so you don't realize they're being stupid. like the protest today, a day without immigrants. well DUH we can't  go on like we do now without them we're all immigrants! so they win people over, but the REAL issue is people coming in to our country without getting proper documentation. they don't want you to think about that tho because it's obviously WRONG! so they solve this by taking out the negative implication: i.e. illegal. it's all just pretty dang stupid
535189
We definately are too leniant.  Other countries throw people in jail just for hiring illegal immigrants.  They really need to get over themselves, go back to Mexico, and fight for a change in their own government instead of trying to move in on us and change who we are.
253147
why would they do that,if you can just imagine for one moment>your people too were illegal immigrants,what if we had maned all of the borders to this country,you would not be sitting in that chair where you are now but,someplace Else and we would be asking ourselves these questions about you.
935154
We have our own immigration laws--they are not enforced. I wish they were tougher but fairer.\nTo avoid criticism, our government does nothing, says nothing, and are being nothing. And that is not good. They are poor Leaders. \nFunny how other Governments are able to to say "This is how it is" and keep their standing-but ours can not. Pitiful!
575110
Bush is trying to reestablish his approval ratings on behalf of his fellow Republicans who will be up for election this November.  The Republicans are concerned that they are losing their political base, so they will make overtures like this to at least act like they are serious about curtailing immigration (which is an important conservative position).  Truth is, they are not serious about immigration, and even placing the National Guard there won't stop it.\n\nIf they want to stop illegal immigration, then all they have to do is put of a few employers who knowingly employ illegal immigrants behind bars.  This would have the immediate effect of employers refusing to hire illegal immigrants, and effectively shut down the reason they come here.  But it is pretty clear they won't do that either because illegal immigrants make up too much of the work force, and a drastic shut down like that would be bad for business.\n\nWhy not guard the Canadian border?  Because there are far fewer immigrants that come over the Canadian border.
679214
illegal is illegal - sorry but that is the way it is.\n\nWe need a worker program and we need an immigration program rework, but we also need border security and laws to control, manage, and monitor immigrants coming into the US  If they here illegally, round em up and ship em out
839755
At one time it was unheard of, not anymore.  Illegals are being recruited and are promised citizenship for serving.
473159
The key word is "illegal" as in not legal, as in wrong, as in shouldn't do it, as in not right. America has many flaws but one of our strengths is the legal system. What I find incomprehensible is that you would want to base a society on illegal principles as in I will cross another countries border, take up residence and not abide by their laws. My question to you is which laws do you decide to follow and which laws do you ignore and how do you arrive at your decision ? Do you want a society like Mexico where you have to bribe public officials and the police? I have lived in my country 52 years and not once have I had to or wanted to bribe a public official or policeman. On the other hand it is routine to do so in Mexico. What is also routine is bad water, disease and poverty. Do I hate Mexicans? Absolutely not. I want as many of them over here as possible speaking Spanish among themselves but English in general society, just as my German and Irish ancestors had to.Most of all I want them to follow the same laws as my ancestors followed. I do not want a Mexican legal system or culture dominating my life and my country  . We fought a war over that once and I have no desire to fight another one.\n\nLet me repeat I do not hate Mexicans but I will love the Mexican without agreeing to have the poverty, disease and disregard for the law imposed on me. This is my country and it is yours too as long as you follow the law, pay your taxes and learn the language. You would expect no less of me if I wanted to be a citizen of Mexico and common courtesy decency and respect would demand it.\n\nThis is a serious matter and it does not seem wise to me to expect reconquista. It will not happen.\n\nI just read Recoba 01's post. You need to know that I am not intimidated by Mexicans and do not think you are going to take my job. The rules are clear . Get your education, work hard compete fairly and then if you "take" my job all power to you. Mexicans are certainly capable of competeing with the best. As a native born American I am willing to live and let live, treat everyone with respect but as a slogan on one of the early American Flags put it. "Don't tread on me"
118375
We need to control who enters our country. Illegal immigration results in a lack of control. Though some would like to help as many people out as possible there are limits to the help we can provide. We need to reasonable and sensible with our resources. Via illegal immigration, criminals or terrorists can access our country without our knowledge. In addition, we must insure that people who enter our country are inocculated and have not contracted any infectious diseases. We want to mantain our infrastucture of economics, medical and education needs. With a lack of knowledge of how many people are here and who they are, how can we plan and budget for our needs?\nThink of it like a rescue boat, only so many people can fit before we begin to sink. Plus who would you want in your boat, the murderer or a child?
1096344
NO!!\nAmnesty will only encourage future illegal immigration. THink.. If those people see that we give amnesty to illegals, then they too will think they can come here and get amnesty in the future as well. Your stealing a car example is dead on. Amnesty is no better then releasing all prisoners because they have been in there for a long time.
560684
No. It's the present!\n\nThat article was written poorly!  After reading it three times, I still haven't figured out if it's the American police or Mexican police!   Anyways, it doesn't matter regarding your question.  It sounds like one criminal group is fighting another for an illegal smuggling route.  What does the immigration law have to do with that? \n\nBreaking the law is just that!  We are finally trying to enforce some of our immigration laws. Our Southern border is our weakest link in our national security. It's about time we're doing something about it!
687179
I'm guessing it may be a combination of ignorance, arrogance and a sense of entitlement.  When pressed, many of the illegals and their supporters openly admit that they consider the Southwestern US to be "occupied" territory, taken from Mexico.  This is simply a symptom of that view.
572618
That sounds more like a statement than a question, but here's my response. We have only ourselves to blame for not defending the borders. The illegals are just trying to make a living doing honest work. They are the hardest working people I have ever seen. People like that deserve respect. President Bush has a practical solution in his guest worker program. As a country, we need to demonstrate that we belong to the human race. \n\nIf we want to keep illegal immigrants out, then we have to defend the borders. Not defending the borders is like putting up a Welcome sign. How can we blame desperately poor people for wanting to come here for a better life? We can't. They're hard-working people, not terrorists, for crying out loud.
494461
to keep us from talking about the WAR.... and also the problems you mention!!!!\n\nit's easier to scapegoat illegal immigrants for all the problems in this country then face the real issues eroding our nation because then we would have to truly examine our own lifestyles and belief systems....