Discussion: Immigration.?
954376
"Do you think that immigration should be limited or that any limits should be lifted - Why"\n\n"Do you think that it is different today than in the past and why?"\n\n"Do you think that illegal immigration should be punished and why?"\n\n"Who do you think should have to pay for the immigration process (background checks etc.)?"\n\n"What do you think should be the criteria, if any, for someone wanting to be a citizen (in the past there were job and or monetary requirements, should there be now and why)?"\n\n"Should our immigration laws be stricter or more lenient than other countries'?"\n\nHope this gets you started.  Good Luck!
656385
Once again, a number of you have allowed the media to do your thinking. This isn't about immigration...it was supposed to be about ILLEGAL immigration.  I don't understand how those of you who went through the task of becoming legal be so generous to just GIVE legal status to those who have not sacrificed (like you did) to have it.
637901
First of all, immigrant come here illegally because there is no EASY way to come here. If there was an easier way to come here without immpossible expectations many would do so.The laws are more like how lucky you are as opposed to how deserving you are.I like your viewpoint!
381335
ricardocobar, I think this issue is really being muddy up by both the media and the protest groups. By what you have stated you came to this country and began obtaining legal status for immigration. This Issue is not about you, and I wish the media would stop grouping together immigrants with people that come to this country and don't do it in any legal fashion. \nYes I feel that some of the immigration rules make it easier to make people chose to come here Illegally.
661819
Ask this in the immigration Q&A.
532586
My mother came here from Hungary and became a citizen the right way, with hard work, much paperwork and all the right moves. She learned the language, got a job and did what she had to do to fit in. She didn't ask anyone to make it easier or push the laws aside just because she was a foreigner. She didn't expect anyone to learn her language in order to communicate with her. She taught her kids to speak fluent english, not even teaching us more than a couple of Hungarian words, being very careful to make sure we knew who we were. She told us stories of what things were like for her over there, keeping alive the stories & recipes of her culture. She knew what she had to do in order to become a U.S. citizen and she did it. Anyone desiring to come to this country to live & work without going through the legal work, would be dishonoring everyone who came here legally, and that would include many of our ancestors. I think we need to catch as many as we can, and tell them what they need to do to do it the right way. If they want to do it that way, then they can come, just like everyone else has done over the years. I know it's hard, doing it the legal way, and maybe just impossible. I hear a lot of stuff about how hard it is to live in Mexico and how corrupt the government is. It's not any different in other countries around the world, yet I don't see people lining up to allow those people to come into our country illegally. What's up with that? Is it because Mexico is closer than those other countries? Or is it because those other countries are too far away to care about and not enough of them are sneaking in? I may sound uncaring, but the people crossing our borders illegally need to be sent back, even the ones who are living & working here under false pretenses. The law is the law, whether we like it or not. We need to do whatever it takes to protect our borders, as well as all other avenues of entry. The times...they are a-changing. Since many countries hate us, we have to start taking care of ourselves a little better, protecting our families and the land that we worked hard to build. <*)))><
961092
Promises Promises\n\nNeither will do what they say they will.  The immigration issue is sort of moot, because Bush already signed the immigration bill a couple weeks ago.  I have not heard anything on their part in how they are going to treat immigrants on the local level though.\n\nChris Bell is the agriculture guy, so he would be against the horse slaughters.
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.
313813
I must say I was surprised by those poll numbers.  For me, and I suspect for many others, the situation is this.  I have no problem with LEGAL immigrants.  I have little problem with others coming here to work.  The problem is those who come here illegally and stay permanently.  They drain our resources (health care for instance), overburden our schools, and make little or no attempt to learn English and/or assimilate into our country.  Definitely a problem with no easy solution.  Unfortunately our government turned a blind eye to the problem for far too long.  As a result, millions of illegals took advantage.  Now it's unrealistic to expect that they will all be sent back.  I'd like to see them invest their energy into improving their own country.\n\nFor those asking about where the 79% came from, go here http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1179117,00.html
1020235
No way Dude! The immigration issue is a firestorm right now! You cannot communicate well, you will be back on your way in no time!
363148
Problem #1: Population \n\nThe first problem I see with the current state of the immigration laws is the significant rise in population that has, and will, continue to occur over the next fifty years. According to the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR), an estimated 1.1 million immigrants, both legal and illegal, enter the United States every year. 700,000 of these are legal immigrants; 120,000 are refugees, and between 250,000 to 300,000 are undocumented or illegal “aliens” ( Baldwin, 1995). The United States population at the moment is roughly 288 million people. If this trend of aliens is not decreased, the population will reach 400 million by 2050. How many people can America hold? \n\nProblem #2: Benefits Illegal Aliens Recieve \n\nCurrently, under federal law, undocumented foreign citizens are eligible for emergency healthcare, free schooling from kindergarten through high school, and W.I.C. or Woman, Infants, and Children nutritional program ( Baldwin, 1995). This is important to note because there are currently between eight and ten million aliens currently living illegally in the United States. An estimated 2.5 million of these illegal aliens currently reside in the state of California alone, due to the agricultural jobs that are readily available for cheap labor (Kadetsky, 102). It should not be surprising then that the residents of California were outraged over the amount of money that they were being forced to spend, and the amount of resources that were being used to support aliens that are not “allowed” to be in the United States in the first place. \n\n \n\nProblem #3: Homeland Security\n\nIn the Fiscal year of 2002, which runs October 1 through September 30, the United States Coast Guard, which is the country’s primary maritime, or sea going, law enforcement agency, intercepted 4104 immigrants from various South American countries (USCG, Para 2). Since then, the numbers of immigrants intercepted by the Coast Guard, has continued to climb at an alarming rate; jumping to almost 11,000 in 2004, 9,500 in 2005, and currently with less than two months into the 2006 physical year, there have already been 1,000 migrants accounted for and processed through the Coast Guard (USCG, Para 1). Illegal immigration can potentially cost American tax payers billions of dollars a year. The United States Coast Guard, whose primary obligation is to prevent the loss of life at sea, can not stop this problem by its self, it is mearly the first line of defense. It is up to the rest of America to join the fight and help put an end to this awful practice.\n\n\nthanks cherokee rose i put my signature on  petition you rock
751926
Don't even get me started.  I have so many problems with the immigration problem in the US I am not even sure where to begin.  The bottom line is that we spend billions on social welfare programs for people that contribute nothing more to this country than provide cheap labor.  I don't think it is unreasonable to ask that these folks go thru the legal immigration progress, and then become a productive "tax paying" citizen.
680603
hmmm.....don't see many of the regulars answering this question/statement do you.\n\nanother aspect of this immigration topic we have yet to pick the scab off.\n\nI love it.\n\nOh but I have to add....they are all going to post quickly with "illegal".....though that had nothing to do with the question.....that is going to be your basic answer.\n\nLMAO\n\ngood post!
265879
Well, im american, and we have a lot of debate always going on about immigration policy here too. I know little of canadian immigration matters, however, if it helps, most{not all} immigrants to usa dont contribute much but cheap labor, however, there children usually assimilate very quickly, and that generation becomes contributing tax paying citizens. So, if your an optimist,  it can be looked at as an investment in the future.
367514
Let me see if I have this right...\n\nYou want to address the complicated moral, ethical, and legal issues of illegal immigration, but you don't even have the intellectual wherewithal to handle a simple, hum-drum, run-of-the-mill, garden-variety social crime?  WOW!...\n\nMy apologies,... but it did catch me somewhat off-guard...;)\n\np.s.  jmdavis333, My answer was a little harsh, I admit that, but at least it made a point.  Your answer, however, is just mean-spirited.  She's already fighting an uphill battle on her  'immigration' rants as it is so please, as a matter of fairness and civility, either make a point with your posts or don't post at all.
507206
New deportation policy....\n\nANYONE (especially you) WITH AN IQ LESS THAN 50
326059
This whole immigration thing is just the flavor of the month.If i move to Mexico, i would make the effort to learn the predominant language of the area. Right now i speak a little Spanish and a little Tagalog. It helps to break down barriers to communication.We do have laws in place dealing with this issue. Both sides of the border have just been working it for mutual benefit. We don't need new laws either enforce the ones that we do have or do away with them. Peace.