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Sunday, February 17

The immigrants they scorn




Feb. 13, 2008 12:00 AM

While some presidential candidates try to score political points by playing into apprehension about immigration, the immigrants they vilify are busy sustaining the American economy.Immigrants play a crucial role in our nation's academic, medical and high-tech sectors.
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You may read the whole article at
http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/opinions/articles/0213pastor13.html
Should illegal immigrants be given an amnesty or should they be deported?

Link: http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/opinions/articles/0213pastor13.html

153 comments:

Chicest Set said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Chicest Set said...

Immigrants should be given some amnesty in the situation at hand. Besides our country was built on the backs on immigrants. let alone founded by immigrants, we should not look back on them now. Immigrants should be protected by congress, not banished by. I am not saying we should have wide open doors to all who want to make America a home, but I do believe we should take the necessary precautions to letting in those who want to work come and help build our economy. With that said, the government should also perform adequate background checks on these people to ensure the rest of the countries safety from terror or terrorist.

boolah said...

I believe immigrants should be given amnesty and be allowed to stay in our country, and help support the economy. Like said above, this country was made by immigrants. If someone is willing to take up jobs that other Americans would otherwise not, be able to live a better quality of life here than they would where they came from, and be law abiding citizens, why not let them be citizens and take part in benefits the American people have? As long as they are their background is clear, and pose no known threat to our country, I see no harm.

Unknown said...

To better understand where the writer of this article is coming from, it's good to know they are "a Democrat, represent[ing] Arizona's 4th District in the U.S. House of Representatives."

With that in mind, it would probably be best to approach this from a non-partisan point of view.

Yes, it is wise to let people from other countries into our own for purposes of more diversity. It would help the economy if done right.

But, just as with anything else good in life, dreams can't be stolen. They have to be rightfully earned. That is why protecting our borders is the right thing to do. It is common for those who come to our country for educational or work purposes to move right back to their homeland after their "done" with us. Or, perhaps even more commonly seen are those who work here illegally and send the money back home. Although that may seem like a noble thing to do for home and family, surely that has a negative impact on our economy.

So it is sensible to have an equal balance of protection and acceptance. When we get caught up in catchy slogans and one-sided mentalities, we loose sight of the more important parts of the issues we face.

MelissaSpeaks said...

Wow. I am so delighted that this topic came up, because it is quite the controversy toward my family and the many other Mexican-American families that we know. I BELIEVE 100% THAT IMMIGRANTS SHOULD BE GIVEN AMNESTY. Immigrants have provided America with their necessities to survive; growing crops (most of the time, I see immigrants out there in the fields), constructing buildings (houses, grocery stores…) and providing us with hard labor work that we are too spoiled to maintain such as housekeeping, custodial, and even lawn care. These are the kinds of jobs that immigrants would grasp onto in a second because we as Americans would rather not get our "hands dirty." It only shows us how spoiled our society really is and how lucky we are to have immigrants who are willing to get paid minimum wage for a maximum amount of work. If we deported all of the immigrants, then I guarantee houses would get built a lot slower, our crops would soon start to deteriorate, and not only that, but our houses wouldn't clean up themselves! (That goes for people who have housekeepers). I don’t know of many people that are going to college to become a janitor, or a farmer, or a maid. I'm not saying that immigrants can provide us with ONLY these jobs and that's only what they are good for, I would be a hypocrite if I stated that. What I am saying is that immigrants should get valued for what they do in our society. The government doesn't take into consideration that all of the buildings that they are holding these “meetings” and “press conferences” are, have a pretty good possibility immigrants helped with the construction of them. They see the negative side of the matter, and I think that’s what the problem is. Being Mexican-American, I see both sides, but this time, I can’t agree more with providing our immigrants with amnesty, because they are the backbone of this country.

vulcan925 said...

Many of the laborious jobs in the U.S., such as janitors, construction workers, road workers, and what have you are performed by immigrants. They do the work that we lazy Americans don't want to do. They don't complain because they feel that by doing what they are doing they can get ahead or at least have their children succeed. In that aspect it would seem almost immoral to send them back, for such an innocent act as trying to get ahead. However in the post 9/11 world it is difficult to look at everyone's background, and pick out the bad seeds. There is also the issue of overcrowding as well. Our resources would be stretched very thin. So, I am really divided over the issue and don't know whether to support amnesty or not. I can say one thing however, I fully support those who want to get ahead.

Athena Smith said...

Alright, one of you already emailed me about my deleting my two comments. The reason is that I thought I should publish them at the end of this discussion, not in the beginning. So in a few days, I will repost them.
Scout's Honor! Do trust me on that one!

DaisyDown23 said...

I agree with what Shaunda said about our country being formed by immigrants. These people wanted to come over here to make a better life for themselves and their family. We're called the Land of Opportunity. That term doesnt apply to the people who were born and raised here with all the advantages an American citizen has. It applies to those who want to come here and work to provide a better life for their families. These hardworking individuals get the scut work of labor jobs no one else wants to do and they do it for so little. But they do it. If we deport them we would lose A LOT of honest hard workers and more importantly young people who could have grown up in a great country and made a better life for themselves. I think everyone should have a fair opportunity to make it in this country.

jmcdonald10 said...

I think that immigrants should be given some amnesty. Without immigrants a lot of dirty jobs would not be done because Americans are so used to letting them to the job that we would not want to get our hands dirty. I think that they help us a lot with the economy. But, I do think that they should all be legal, although it is a long process I think that it is better for them. I also agree with most comments posted above, all immigrants need to have a background check and precautions need to be taken in order to secure America’s safety and made sure that bad people are not coming into our land.

KathleenB said...

To be a United States Citizen should be something to be proud of, what have we done wrong to make it such a burden? If I was moving into another country I would want to be apart of it not outside looking in. I am not really educated enough about our Citizenship Program to say if is too harsh or not. I would want to know everything about another place before I move.

No, I do not believe anyone should be deported, yet make it a more obtainable goal to become a Citizen. I have heard it is very expensive to become a Citizen, that surprised me since many immigrants are receiving free health care, that, in my impression is like the Government saying you pay me $$$ and I will give you Insurance. Sound familiar?

I do feel because the way times are, we do need to know who is here in the States. 9/11 made many realize how vulnerable we are to face another attack. So now when you see 5 men sharing a house together you get very worried. That's sad.

As for immigrants sending their money home, yes that is very noble and it is to better a life, What is America about? Americans helping each other.

I am afraid the reason there is a big debate is because of having to pay Federal Taxes, that is a part of Citizenship. I hate Taxes too, but face it we need them to assist the economy. To help with Education and yes, Insurance.

There must be away everyone can get along....

heather said...

Ohh lord this topic is obviously one of great controversy, especially right now. I strongly believe these immigrants should be deported. The only extreme problem we have with immigration is with those that are Mexican, not saying they shouldn’t be aloud in the US because of course they should, anyone should. However, they need to earn it just as anyone else in this world has to do, including Americans who want to live in a different country. Its illegal to just “jump the border” and live somewhere without being a citizen and working without paying taxes. Yes they provide much of the hard labor that most Americans are not willing to do and most of us look past the fact that they’ll do our dirty work for low wages. I think it is because we just don’t respect them for the simple fact that they haven’t made any effort to become legal citizens. If a person living in say a country in Europe or a country in Asia, they would without a doubt have to become a US citizen in order to live here, receive an education here, and work here. If these Mexican immigrants were to abide by that same policy and received a US education and were able to get a job that had specific qualifications they wouldn’t normally meet, I highly doubt they would be contributing to those hard labor, low paying jobs. If the reason they want to live here in the US is for an opportunity for a better life then you would think a person would put effort towards that goal. They wont find that better life by living here illegally and working low end jobs.

heather said...

Also i must point out that a majority of those above me that believe immigrants should be given amnesty is mainly because "the immigrants do the dirty jobs". I think thats a tad bit on the selfish and stuck up side for that to be their main reason as to why they should be able to stay. It may have been better to point out that America is supposedly based on the "Land of the Free" and everyone should be given equal opportunity. Possibly even that it would be wrong to deport, think of the families and the younger generations that are in school just having to up and leave. just a thought...

phillyfan said...

I believe that any immigrant, no matter where their from, should have to go through the proper chain of command to move from one country to other just like any other person. I myself went through immigration to move to American so technically im an immigrant. I had to go through tonns of paper work and lots of injections and immunizations and such to be able to move here. It took time and cost a bit of money but it all was well worth it. It is easy to close the borders to outsiders but overall we as Americans are all immigrants and we can not now judge others and say no because of where you come from, but certainly they should follow the rules just like all of us. Laws are laws for a reason, and no one person is above it, so why are these illegal aliens aloud to come and believe that they have the right to stay just because they managered to get here. No i do not think because they got here they should be aloud to stay. Americans would have tonns more jobs avalible for them but because these illegals just take cash under the table to do some dirty job its not fair. They landscape...so do other Americans. Just because we think that some jobs are not fun and dont make as much money as others we think that we should just turn a blind eye to the illegal workers because we do not want these jobs. They do work cheaper because they have to, not because they want too. I myself believe that you have to have some paper work to say your aloud here and if you dont get out. You want to be here bad enough then do the right thing and file the right paper work.

Athena Smith said...

A very good site of historical references on immigration to the US is here

Athena Smith said...

Here Chertoff gives his views on that video and he is quite blunt.

And a couple of interesting articles:
Towns Rethink Laws Against Illegal Immigrants

The Immigration Debate: Controversy Heats Up, Hispanics Feel a Chill

khester2 said...

In my opinion immigrants that have come to America illegally should be sent back to their own countries and if they truly do wish to come to America then they can come back the correct way. I do not think it is fair to those that spend many years to meet all of the requirements to come to America when there are millions of people just simply crossing the boarder. I have shared a neighborhood with many illegal immigrant families and I will tell you that a good majority of them do not have the same respect for America as those that put all of their time and effort into coming here. They weren’t here for a better education or to better themselves. They started gangs and fought with everyone they came in contact with more often then when they were peaceful. I am not saying that all illegal immigrants are this way nor am I saying that we don’t have this problem among Americans; however, I have seen this more among the illegal immigrants than in any other group of people. Also if any of these people commit a murder or steal something the police cannot catch them using finger printing or anything else because they are not documented in the United States and the authorities have no way of tracking them. I do realize that many foreign-born people have contributed a great deal to our society and they should have the right to be here if they have come in the correct way. So I do believe that illegal immigration should be stopped but we should allow everyone an equal right to come to America legally

Jeremy Marshall said...

I don't think immigrants should be granted any amnesty at all. If the what to live in the United States then they should come here legally, and try and gain citizenship. No matter what country they are from they still need to come here legally. We should be more careful when it comes to this situation, why do they deserve any rights in our country at all if they are not citizens? How many of them pay taxes like the real citizens do? They derserve no rights until they are citizens of the U.S., i dont care what you say about them performing low end jobs, if they werent here some one would do them, there will always be someone willing to do them. If they want rights, then they need to join our country legally.

sweetklo020 said...

I don't mind letting immigrants come to our country; however I do have strong beliefs for some circumstances. I believe that if immigrants are allowed to come to America they should come the right way. They should fill out all the paperwork and go through the long process. If they really want to be here they should have no problems with doing so. All the immigrants that are crossing the border should be sent home. America has so many immigrants and continues to grow. I am back and forth on this subject. I think those people need to follow the requirements and I also believe that strong background checks should take place. We should not let any more criminals in this country. America already has too many problems with that right now.

mdowd said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
mdowd said...

My sister in law immigrated to this country from Ireland after marrying my brother. Their wedding was in Ireland, and the United States did not recognize her as a citizen until she had gone through a lengthly legal process. As much as I feel like the process was a hassle for her, I don't think it was wrong for her to have to go through it.
As for illegal immigrants, I do not believe that they should be granted amnesty. There are channels available for immigrating into this country that many many people have travelled through, and for someone who ignored the laws of a country they so desperately claim to want to be a part of, I see no place. If someone wants to enter this country and become a citizen, I believe they should have to go through the same process that countless people before them have gone through.
I think the true reason for considering this is stated in the article. "Paired with enhanced border enforcement, it would bring sanity to our immigration policy by channeling immigrants into the formal economy, where their wages are taxed, their rights are enforced and their compliance with program mandates can be monitored."

Mousie101 said...

I believe that immigrants should be given amnesty. Just like everyone has been saying, without immigrants, we, Americans, would not be able to perform the jobs we want. Instead we would be doing the dirty work of construction and janitor work of schools and businesses, or even work as maids in hotels. These are all low-paying jobs. Most Americans try to be the best they can be, and basically work off of the lower class. Society needs these immigrants. If kicked out, we would lose all we have worked hard for. Like Shaunda said, our country was built from immigrants. If it was not for my European immigrant family members, I would not be here typing this while fighting for other immigrants rights to stay in the states.

juz10 said...

There is no legitimate reason why the majority of immigrants should not be granted amnesty. This is supposed to be the land of opportunity; is that not what people are always saying. Yet whenever someone comes here looking for their opportunity, for their little piece of happiness they are chastised and turned away. All of these hate filled Eurocentric racist seem to forget, and need to be reminded that all of our ancestors were at one time or another immigrants. It is not fair to turn people away as long as you and yours are provided for. If they are willing to work there is no reason why anyone from anywhere should be turned away from our so called land of opportunity.

dwtc said...

My opinion on immigrants sometimes varies. It is a touchy situation no matter what the approach. I think that immigrants should be allowed to stay in the country with some basic rules and regulations that are not yet set into place. I believe that immigrants should be of some education and only certain amounts of immigrants should be allowed into the country. I believe a complete 100% open door policy to immigrants is outrageous. Our country is a country of Americans and with no regulation on immigrants it is only a short amount of time before immigrants outnumber Americans. Then what? What will become of us then with such a mixed up combination? Don't get me wrong, I do in fact think that immigration can be a good thing. It just need moderation; and a lot of it.

TMyers1087 said...

I believe immigrants should be given some amnesty. This topic is a major issue in our country today and will be for years to come. I agree with what Shaunda said about not having wide open doors for just anyone and everyone to live here. There should be precautions to who is allowed to migrate to our country and necessary background checks should also be done to protect us. It is obvious that the immigrants are the ones who provide the hard labor and do the jobs that most citizens simply will not do. I think that everyone should have a chance to live in the land of opportunity and to try to make something better of themself.

Dawid said...

I honestly feel that immigrants should be left alone to an extent and given some amnesty . Because if we allow immigrants to come to the U.S., for the vast majority thats comes,they come to the U.S. seeking better job opportunities, family, and living standards. like any citizen they migrate and blend in beautifully and help build the economy in large numbers through alot of establishments. And at the same time there are immigrants that came and fell into the life of crime and the gang, mob, and drug world and those individuals need to be deported. In which yes the government should also perform background checks on these people to ensure the rest of the countries safety is handled in an orderly and proper manner. Plus to add to that if we decided to deport all the immigrants, then we are saying deport our grand parents mothers,fathers,sisters,brothers, aunts,counsins, our family because somewhere along the line we all have fmily members that came to where they are located from coming from a particular country. So basically whoever came here and are not harming no one or anything leave them be.

Lucretia said...

I don’t really care about immigration. It happens. They should reinforce the law and make the illegal aliens become citizens if they are already here; if not, send them packing. The rest should wait their turn and go through the process of becoming a US citizen. The only reason they should be deported is if they are criminals, because we have plenty of those here already. Other than that, I don’t see much more that can be done about it. Immigration will always be. So sure, grant them amnesty, because they are already here. Deporting them is only going to start the problem over again.

“The greatest crisis, will someone come for me?
I ‘red white and blew it’
Unleashed revenge, my body is detained
How could anybody do this?
Betrayal, I peel away the days
Medals are useless; Uncle Sam’s forgotten me
I’m not important no one will ever come
I’ll never be found, god get me out of this hell…”

ofelia vazquez said...

I strongly belive immigrants should be given amnesty and not just because they do the "dirty work " in America. These people are human beings looking for a better place to succeed for their family. They are hard working people who contribute to a major part of our economy and can't have American rights because they came from another part of the world where they are not fortunate like we are.Put yourself in these peoples shoes if you lived in a country where you didnt have jobs and you could not provide food for your family ,I think anybody would come to united states legal or illigal if it meant a better life for you family.These people want to work and get an education and I also agree that we also do have to take necessary percautions so we don't let terrorist in our country.

michelleL said...

I think the immigrants that qualify should be granted amnesty! So many people in the United stated are immigrants and ARE ILLIGALLY HERE! So to be realistic, we should not ignore this fact and do what needs to be done. I think it will also be a great way to keep track of who is living in our country. There are so many immigrants so we need to distinguish between the productive and the threatening. I think this is long over due. Since immigrants make up such a significant part of our population, I don’t understand why something like this has not yet been done. It is no surprise, this is a great country and so many want to come and make a better life her for him/her self. So why should we even attempt to deport so many people who contribute to our country?? I think that would be dumb.

Anonymous said...

I have mixed feelings on this topic. While I believe that without some of the immigrants in this country that do all of the manual labor that so many Americans hate the country would be in serious economic trouble. I also believe that there are a lot of illegal immigrants in America for the wrong reasons. I think that natural and legal immigration is fine, that includes background checks, and all that stuff should be allowed. However, I think that when we let people in without that it is wrong, because that's how a lot of the wrong things get into American society.

Ashley Marie said...

There is no doubt in my mind that immigrants should be given amnesty and live in America legally. If people want to migrate to America and enjoy the many perks to living in this country they should do so legally. I did not think this article was trying to say that we should stop immigration into America all together or that we should kick out all of the immigrants that already live here. I think the article was saying that we should make our immigration laws more strict and make sure there are as few illigal immigrants as possible. As the article says there are millions of immigrants that help the economy by either working with specialized careers or the jobs no one else wants to take. I feel immigrants and immigration helps this country after all that is what the country was founded upon, however I feel if we do not make sure everyone is here legally will help our environment and assist with crowding. I know how immigration and the process by which people go to become legal immigrants and even legal citizens and it is not fun, my mother was an immigrant from Canada in the 1970's and had to get her green card and work visas and everything like that until in the 1990's she went through the process of becoming a legal citizen. Also, my boyfriend is a legal Canadian citizen and he and his family have lived in America for over 12 years however, they do not plan on becoming citizens they also, all work and help our economy, and have green cards were they have to stand in line for hours at a time just to live here, legally.

Collegeboi said...

I do believe that immigrants should be given an amnesty. Lots of people aren't aware that the people they are trying to get rid of are the main people who are keeping this country above water. Although some immigrants may cross the border illegally, some businesses decide to keep them because of the hard work they put in. Why not make some sort of system that can allow them to work freely and have a place in society? It is our responsibility to accomidate them because, lets just face it...they single-handedly make our lives as americans better.

Anonymous said...

I agree. Immigrants do play a vital role in the US economy. They are willing to work jobs that other people may see as demeaning or don’t pay enough for them to work. I’m not saying that that is the only reason they should be here but one must take that in account. Although some immigrants are willing to work those jobs, it shows that even if one must start from the bottom, they will do whatever they must to become successful. Plus, Americans today are not the originators of this country. They themselves were also immigrants. So to keep immigrants away, Americans might as well leave the country also!

the fear said...

Illegal immigrants should be given amnesty, but only in some situations. For instance the point was made that many of the illegal immigrants have been living in the U.S. for 20 plus years helping to fuel our own economy. If these men and women have been doing the jobs that many people mock and refuse to do than we should reward their actions by forgiving their illegal citizenship, and also allow them to remain here and continue to try and better their lives. On the other hand if they fail a security test or have a long history of crime I feel they should be deported. Also if someone is caught at the border or if caught quickly after they cross country lines they should be returned. Lastly the point raised that about 20 percent of doctors are foreign bore and 40 percent of nurses really made me feel the U.S. should pardon those immigrants who have a well established life in the good ol’ US of A.

hrad said...

I don’t believe illegal immigrants should be given amnesty. Immigrants choosing to come to the Unites States should do so legally. The process for citizenship is long and difficult but it’s the right way to become a legal U.S citizen. I do not think it is fair for illegal immigrants to be granted amnesty because they come into the United States wanting to live an American life and the only way they really would is if they become a citizen legally. I also feel that amnesty is just letting immigrants get away with the illegal act of entering America.

Anonymous said...

I think it is great that we let immigrants come to this country, but I believe that some of them (the illegal immigrants), bite the hand that feeds. It seems (by what I've seen) that it is the illegal immigrants that are causing the trouble. The immigrants that come here legally, respect our ways. They don't try to cheat their ways in. Illegal immigrants, on the other hand, use us as a crutch. Don't get me wrong, I know some of the conditions immigrants flee from are horrible, but why some of them can wait, and others come here illegally, is beyond me. So I think that if you come here illegally, you should not be granted amnesty.

As the saying goes: "Good things come to those who wait."

AlyssaBeene said...

I realize that our country is founded by immigrants and that alot of doctors and scientists are immigrants of this generation. However, why should it be allowed to have them stay while being illegal above anyone else? Should a doctor or an engineer have more of a right than an immigrant comming to pick tomatoes? I believe firmly in having every immigrant follow the United States laws to come to this country. If you are going to become such a valuable member of society obviously there will not be a problem in allowing you entrance and why not do it the legal way? As an upstanding person in the community you will want to be able to vote and to have a say in the way business is run, you cannot do that as an illegal immigrant.

DivineArtistStevie said...

You know...this is another one of those subjects that I hate. I hate having to take a stand on the subject...because I think that immigrants should come in "THE RIGHT WAY", and the ones that have done it the wrong way should be deported. I am perfectly content with immigrants coming into this country and doing whatever...I just think that they should go about it the right way! It's stupid that they didn't do it right the first time. I guess it'd be fine if the immigrants, that are already here, get a renewed/new work visa, BUT...I do think that anyone that comes here illegally after we fix this issue a bit...SHOULD BE DEPORTED! I think that is fair for me to say. If we make everyone, that is here illegally, a citzen [or whatever]...then I believe that it is fair for me to say---anyone that does it the wrong way after we change the way it is now, should be deported. I don't know...but I'm done talking now. I always feel weird talking about something that I really don't know too much about. I think that what I said was ok though. I'm sorry if offend anyone.

Megan said...

Immigrants should be allowed in our country but it should have it's limits. There are jobs in American that not everyone wants to do and many immigrants take care of those jobs for us. Then again we don't want to allow everyone to come in. We need to be careful to allow only those who are willing to work and stimulate our economy not just those who will harm it. We need to find a balance. There are some immigrants who could greatly help our country. You cannot help where you are born, it's not as though you can choose as a child. Some students wish to come to our country for an education, why should they be denied. Yes, we should allow immigrants into our country but we need to be careful with who we allow to join us.

shallowhal said...

Immigrants should be allowed to work in our country especially now that our country is growing so fast. If there are people who want to do the jobs that most people in our country don’t want to do then why not, just as long as we are able to make these people legal citizens by doing the necessary precautions like criminal background checks. Also like the article said where is the U.S. Department of Labor going to find the other 75% of workers we will need in the next 20 years.

TTZ3806 said...

Immigrants should definitely be given amnesty. However, a criminal background check is needed.I agree with many of the other comments that have been left about this article. Immigrants are taking jobs to help the economy that Americans just don't want. I find it to be a pretty simple concept. As long as those Immigrants are following laws and keeping out of trouble, I figure, why not? If there were no immigrants, I strongly believe our economy would just go down hill. I know I would never want to take on the jobs that the immigrants work so hard to get. These immigrants are great contributers to the this country, and it needs to stay that way.

Chris said...

I believe that Immigrants should be able to be allowed in the U.S. if they want a career and work. I’m Cuban-American but I was born in the United States, My parents were born in Cuba. Even though I was born in the U.S, I have asked my parents this question since this topic came up. My parents said the same as I did. All immigrants should go though a background check if possible and why do they want to be in the U.S. Also, another reason that immigrants should be allowed in the U.S. is that immigrants perform job that other refuse to do.

RikRajos said...

I agree with immigrants being able to stay in the States with the proper Visa. But I also tink that they should be required to learn English, attend school, and learn the American way of life. So many Immigrants don't know English therefor hindering their ability to "fit in" to society. I understand wanting the "American Dream" being that I am living it myself, but a lot of immigrants aren't doing anything more here then they were where they came from. It's essential that immigrants learn the English language to be productive in American society, therefor in conclusion, immigrants should be able to stay in America with the correct visa as long as they adhere to the laws, learn the language, and attend school.

araya said...

I think it would be good to let immigrants into our country and let the ones that are already here become legal. I think it is very important to do extended background checks on them for security reasons. America is a melting pot of all sorts of different ethnicities and cultures; we have been for many years. New York City was formed mostly by immigrants. I think it is important that they maintain a working relationship while gaining an education and abiding all of the laws of America. I think it would cut down on some of the violence that occurs daily at our borders. It is also important that we continue to protect our boarders and maybe it would not hurt Americans to learn a little about the cultures we live next door too. I hear alot of my friends complain about they can not understand some of the things different cultures do and say, but we live with that everyday, so why dont they take the time to expand their minds and learn something new?

gator_girl26 said...

I do not honestly have a strong opinion on the topic of immigration. After reading the article and some people’s comments, I do have to say I do not have a problem with people wanting to come to our country from their own, but I do believe they should have to do it the proper and legal way. I understand it is a long process for them to go through but it helps keep our country safe. The draw for immigrants is a better education, a better life, more job opportunities, and family but I believe we should know who is coming into our country and why as a security measure.

countrygirl said...

I really do not have an opinion on this subject. I mean as long as they help our country and are not a hinder to us, I do not see why they should not be allowed to stay in our country. I mean they do take the jobs that most Americans will not work. I do not have a problem with the immigrants that come here, get a job, and want to make a better life for themselves and their families. I mean everyone deserves the chance to make a better life for themsleves.

countrygirl said...

The majority of this country came here as immigrants. I mean unless you are a Native Indian, then chances are that a family member immigranted here from somewhere else.

Celina said...

I think immigrants should be amnesty to a certain extent. I don't think that we should be investing much of our money giving immigrants an option other than deportation however some situations will warrant it. I feel like 90% of immigrants are here illegally and have no reason to be therefore should be deported. Americans work extremely hard for everything we have, however we have illegal immigrants here running thier own businesses or taking our jobs and getting paid tax free. While I can appreciate that most immigrants will do more work, longer and with more diligence I just disagree that those oppourtunities would be taken away from an american for someone who is illegal.
I am not completely against immigration I understand that people come to America for a better life but I feel like they should be subject to our rules and our regulations and should only be allowed her if and when there is a specific situation that warrants it. Maybe one day our government will be a bit more strict on this so that our country will be a safe place for us. However until we crack down on these rules I think we will continue to see the rates of crime, poverty and uneducated people sky rocket.

JC_Lims said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
JC_Lims said...

Illegal immigrants should not be deported because they give more benefit to this country. Immigrants play a crucial role in all aspects like economic, education, health, society and even politic at this time. Immigrants would be a tool to make this country in a better future according the article, so it is not a decency to bring them back to their home country in my opinion. As a matter of the fact, I am a part of immigrant in the United State. I would say that immigrant eager to move in here because they want to achieve better life. For me, I decided to study in here instead of my home country because I want to get a better future. I am an international student,a legal immigrant, and do not have a permission to work in this country. Fist I thought it is not fair because I am totally willing to get some experiences in work place like other friends of mine in here, but there is nothing that I can do for it. I am only can work in campus and I have tried to look for it, but there is no opportunity at this time because school make a priority for financial aid students. I am just still hopping that I can get experience by working beside studying as a full time student. My point would be illegal immigrants should not be deported because they do have right to survive by working in here, and as far as I concerned they do not give negative feedbacks to this society why the government do not give them an amnesty or legal paper work for them who really have clean background such as no criminal records and agree to take responsible for paying taxes.

J_Rambo said...

There should be a way to give them amnesty, yet make them pay for the amount of time they spent living here illegally. I think taxing them for close to what they made while here would seem reasonable. And if they're sending U.S. money back home, there should be some kind of small tariff; because, of course that's not good for OUR economy to let them just send out millions of U.S. dollars. (being paid "under the table" and all) All in all, i believe they should find a way to check them, make sure they aren't here because they had to run from the police in their own country or something screwed up like selling drugs. Then let them repay for their "hiding times" and get back on the road to making money and/or getting an education. After all that we can start to worry about immigration restrictions again. FUN!

Pamber said...

I feel immigration is needed in order to run America but immigration needs sticker guidelines. For example in Australia to become a citizen or even be excepted to live there one must have a four year degree and posses a job skill or a career needed within there country,(or be married in). I’m not stating we should be this strict but perhaps set simple guideline such as all immigrants entering the United States should be put through a language class in order to learn enough English to communicate in everyday situations. We also need to perform background checks, criminal history reports and simple dig into their lives a bit more to see who we’re allowing to cross our boarders and what they have to offer our country to better it.

APhilibert said...

I truly believe that immigration is great, for exactly the reasons mentioned in the article. If we go back to the structural functional approach, I could say that the immigrants have their special place to help society function. They do the work that nobody else wants to do. Not only do they do the work, they do it for a very low price. They keep the rich people rich. Illegal immigrants, however, are a completely different story. We have rules in place for a reason. To grant amnesty to an illegal immigrant is telling them that in America, it’s okay to break the law and bend the rules. This is not the right message to be sending.

Live Your Life said...

I feel that immigrants should enter our country legally. I fell that if the enter our country illegally then they should be sent back home. We have to protect ourself from over crowding and population. Imagine if we opened up our borders, everyone would flood into America and we would have anymore natural land. our country would build and build and build. I personally enjoy walking in the wilderness and laying down in the middle of an open field to meditate and with too much construction to hold the population increase those natural beauties will be gone.

Athena Smith said...

yesterday, a federal appeals panel said that Immigrants suffer bad lawyers

I copy:

Victimized by the failures of lawyers on both sides are the immigrants, "a vulnerable population who come to this country searching for a better life and often arrive unfamiliar with our language and culture, in economic deprivation and in fear," the court wrote.

"In immigration matters, so much is at stake — the right to remain in this country, to reunite a family or to work," the court said.

Essentially saying in legal jargon that it was fed up, the appeals court ordered the case of a Jamaican immigrant, Garfield Livern St. Valentine Aris, reopened.

Jackedupballerina said...

I belive that immigrants should be allowed to stay in this country. For the reasons listed before like helping the economy for example. The only reason people leave their countries is in hopes of finding something better for them and there families. It is unfair to call a person a criminal becuase they just want to come up in the world. I do think that if the american government/ people decide to deport the immigrants, They should help them some how rise up against their horrible governments that makes them want to leave their country to begin with.

Athena Smith said...

I was also reading the following Man Accused of Posing as UN Worker, Defrauding NYC Immigrants

I copy
-- A man accused of swindling immigrants while posing as a United Nations employee and an immigration agent is being held on $100,000 bail.

Queens District Attorney Richard A. Brown charged Thursday that Pedro Guzman conned three victims out of $30,000 by pretending he could help them get a relative out of jail, get a liquor license and get a green card.

JamesCowan said...

I believe that illegal immigrants who have worked in this country for five years or more deserve to stay; otherwise, they should be deported. I feel this way because as americans we have a right to pursue happiness, and to force immigrants to obey immigration laws.

"These are often low-paying, physically demanding jobs that are not wanted by our citizens, but are essential to the economic growth that provides better jobs and living standards for all Americans." -this is a quote from the article

I think we are dependant upon immigrants for low-paying manual labor because such labor is unfairly low-paying. Our government should require that every employee should be given a fair share of the profits.

I think that if American learns to share wealth as it should be shared, then we wont have to rely on exploiting foreigners.

roxanita said...

I belive that if America has the nickname for the land of the free, we should act upon it with cautions (we can't live safe with our doors unlocked anymore).

Immigrants should be given amnesty because they are hard workers and reley on that little bit of money doing the dirty jobs we would not do. Not only that, with out their help America would not be as powerful as it is today.

I don't belive in deployment, but i wish there was a system that would give more immigrants somewhat of a simple passport that would not take as long as getting their green card, just prior to it, so they could be somehow documented until they are liable to get their green card so there would be less undocumented immigrants and for them to start their new lives with out the fear of getting deployed.

roxanita said...

I belive that if America has the nickname for the land of the free, we should act upon it with cautions (we can't live safe with our doors unlocked anymore).

Immigrants should be given amnesty because they are hard workers and reley on that little bit of money doing the dirty jobs we would not do. Not only that, with out their help America would not be as powerful as it is today.

I don't belive in deployment, but i wish there was a system that would give more immigrants somewhat of a simple passport that would not take as long as getting their green card, just prior to it, so they could be somehow documented until they are liable to get their green card so there would be less undocumented immigrants and for them to start their new lives with out the fear of getting deployed.

foXyE77 said...

My view goes both ways.I do believe that we should give amnesty to some of the immigrants that come here especially since our country was pretty much made by immigrants from all over . However i do agree that if they do want to be here they shouldnt mind going threw a process of filling out papers and going threw a background check and other things.We should know that we are letting in the right people into this country because it is true that immigrants do hold some very important jobs in this country from farming and agriculture to janitor work at our schools which all these jobs still need more employees.

gjones17 said...

I believe immigrants should definitely be given amnesty and be allowed to support our country's economy. Like the article said, it is a blessing that so many people want to live in this country, it is not a problem. So many of the jobs that are held in the U.S. are done by immigrants because they are just looking for a better way of living then what they had before. Most of the low paying, physical jobs that American citizens do not want to do can easily be employed by immigrants. As long as the immigrants do not have any criminal record, or they cause no threat to others (by taking over an American citizens job), then there is no reason why immigrants should not be given some amnesty.

BucFan1984 said...

Having been born in the US and lived in another country for most of my childhood, I believe that those who have been in the country working hard to make a living should be allowed to stay. If they are deported it will leave a void in necessary fields that they are currently employed in legally or illegally. It would be better if they were all made legal so that any major issues that they have could be addressed so they would go unheard. Now of course there is a huge security risk involved but that is where at least if they can go through background checks there would be a history about them so after a certain number of offenses they should be deported. If they have priors that is a huge red flag and should be addressed and that way there is a way of getting good handle on the issue and letting any “black marks” on society go.

thechase16 said...

I feel they should be granted an amnesty. If our economy already depends on millions of immigrants; why have them deported. There are many well needed businesses that would fail if there were not enough low-skilled workers to work them. I have a friend that runs a couple of farms and he says without the labor and low wage of immigrants, he would not be able to run the actual business. I am speaking from my experience though. I really know very little when it comes to the pros and cons of illegal immigration.

MyHead88 said...

hzI believe immigrants who work and make a living in this country should be given amnesty. This country has to many economical problems, as well social issues grater than an issue with immigration. In steed of spending millions in deportations, spend that money on health care, and school programs for children in this country who are in poor neighborhoods. Most immigrants come looking for work and that is what we need, and if the question arises that they are going to take or jobs…hey if they do it better than you, than what can you do. So many families that live here now where built through immigration.

twin2 said...

I'm confused. Is giving legal status the same as obtaining citizenship? If it is, then I don't think it should just be given to those individuals just because they have worked in the United States for a period of time. I believe that these people need to go through the process and checks that all others before them have done. How is it that these individuals are in our country, obtaining educations and high end jobs without being citizens. I don't understand how it all works. There just not enough information in this article. I do believe that we need to crack down on the illegal migrant works. With the constent threats to our homeland, how can we continue to have these people here with no background checks, no health information, no way of tracking them. I find this very disturbing. I realize that if not for these workers, many of the meanial jobs would not be done. Higher wages would need to be paid to get replacements in to do their jobs. Thereby increasing our cost of living. It really seems like a no win situation. I can understand why Congress is having such a hard time with this issue.

Athena Smith said...

Twin2
It is a rather complicated issue. First of all we do not mean citizenship when we say "give them a legal status."
We mean immigration visas that allow them to stay for a definite period of time, work, and renew that visa when it expires. After five years of legal stay they may apply for citizenship.

Many problems are associated with illegal immigration. Many illegal immigrants had children while in the US, and these children are US citizens. Can you then expel the parent?

A vast number of businesses uses illegal immigrants. You may find the Depend on Undocumented Workers or Scapegoat them? We Can't Have it Both Ways interesting to read. Mitt Romney has been caught in the trap of his own rhetoric.

If you see the numbers involved as they are presented in the article, you might get a more comprehensive picture.

Athena Smith said...

And as I was reading this morning's papers, I came across an article in the Herald Tibune, titled US to announce government approval of first 'virtual fence' along Mexican border
So I read "A 28-mile (45-kilometer) "virtual fence" that will use radars and surveillance cameras along the Mexican border to try to catch people entering the country illegally has gotten final government approval."

Athena Smith said...

And one more comment that I had actually posted it in the beginning but decided it would be better to post it towards the end. I noticed that the vast majority of the comments support directly or indirectly the immigrants.
However, I am afraid the picture would have been very different in Europe where we witness an unprecedented rise of the far right that has established itself on clear anti-immigration stands.
Recently various far right parties announced a renewed effort to form a united right-wing bloc in the EU parliament. Their purpose is to fight immigration in the name of "patriotism" and "freedom."

Needless to say, every country should have controls on immigration. But the far right blurs the line between controlled immigration and outright xenophobia.

I believe that if members of any far right group in Europe were to read your comments, they would be a bit shocked...:)

M.Gonzalez said...

Well it has been quite obvious to me that this countries economy would not be able to succeed unless we continue to have all of the immigrants that doo all of the jobs, that most Americans are not willing to do. In regards to the “amnesty”, I don’t believe it is the right way to go about it. We should not just forgive all the immigrants who came in illegally when there are others who are trying to get in the country legally. This would in my opinion promote an ever bigger wave of illegal border crossings. In my opinion they need to tighten the borders in Canada AND Mexico, and increase the INS staff to support amount of illegal immigrant processing. Then, we should grant all immigrants Temporary Protection while their papers are processed and everyone is ID’d correctly, and weed out the criminals for one and set goals for person to be naturalized. Also, they have to understand they will not be given dual citizenship, and will have to pay taxes along with everyone else, and fees to reach their citizenship which will add more money to the government.

M.Gonzalez said...

Well it has been quite obvious to me that this countries economy would not be able to succeed unless we continue to have all of the immigrants that doo all of the jobs, that most Americans are not willing to do. In regards to the “amnesty”, I don’t believe it is the right way to go about it. We should not just forgive all the immigrants who came in illegally when there are others who are trying to get in the country legally. This would in my opinion promote an ever bigger wave of illegal border crossings. In my opinion they need to tighten the borders in Canada AND Mexico, and increase the INS staff to support amount of illegal immigrant processing. Then, we should grant all immigrants Temporary Protection while their papers are processed and everyone is ID’d correctly, and weed out the criminals for one and set goals for person to be naturalized. Also, they have to understand they will not be given dual citizenship, and will have to pay taxes along with everyone else, and fees to reach their citizenship which will add more money to the government.

sunflower said...

I agree that immigrants should be given an amnesty. Many illegal immigrants are hard working people with no criminal records. They do jobs that are low paying, physically demanded and necessary for our economic growth. For those people, it is better to allow them apply for legal status and give them some rights such as getting insurance; otherwise, they may cause social problems. I think that we should widely open our doors to high-educated people who can help keep our country’s science and technology in highest level which can lead the world. At the same time, we need make efforts to avoid more illegal immigrants come to our country because it is difficult to get their background checked, and they may threat our safety.

Rashera88 said...

I believe immigrants should be given amnesty because our country has the upper hand in technology and in education. Immigrants for years have been trying to find a better life style for their families and themselves. Our country has been their savior! They have found better education,jobs, and better pay. They are hard workers and are determine individuals. Some of them have become a part of our family so why shut the doors to the rest? Let's keep those doors open not only to bring them new opportunities but to bring us new culturals and ideas that could help in the future.

awal said...

I completely agree with the article. I think that the United States should encourage immigration. I mean, that is the way our country started isn't it? The Untied States is a 'melting pot,' who are we to discriminate who should be allowed in and who should not? I also do agree with the writer of this article in that the immigrants do take the jobs that Americans don't want to do, whether it be because of the low pay or hard labor. The only down-side that I see to this situation would be another country's laborers taking over all of the jobs because willing to work for less money.

colt40 said...

I think that the immigrants that have proven them selves productive should be given amnesty. Everyone should be given a chance the this country but on the other hand immigrants who are illegal and come to this country just to get away from their country and end up getting in gangs and causing trouble they should definitely get deported. This is the land of opportunity and people should be given a chance and we need people to come here and help the economy but we also have too many problems in this country to have criminal immigrants allowed to live here and cause more.

fporzio said...

I believe that the illegal immigrants that are already in our country should be allowed to become legal citizens; however, I also believe that our country needs tighter border control. I strongly believe in immigration, and I love the fact that this country is so diverse, but I think that it needs to be done legally. I also believe that it is unfair that they are grossly underpaid for the work that they do, which is largely due to the fact that they are here illegally. I think that in the long run, it would benefit both the immigrant population and this country if they were enabled to become citizens of this country, but our country does need to take steps to ensure border control so that immigration is done legally.

lidget33 said...

I believe illegal immigrants should be given amnesty. My friend is married to an illegal immigrant, her husband has lived here for seven years and they have two kids. If he got sent back and it took more then a few months to get his citizenship she would not be able to support her two kids. I think they have pretty much assimilated into our society. If we give them amnesty now and still went ahead with making our borders more secure then it will be a win, win situation. I have seen this movie called "A Day Without a Mexican" and I recommend it to anyone who feels we should deport them all. If we did deport all Mexican immigrants the people of California would be protesting to get them back. I think that people should go through the right steps to become a citizen, but if they have already started a new life here, cut them a break and let them start paying taxes.

sunshine said...

I think an amnesty should be done or some type of program that allows the person to come work here legally and then be able to go back home. Kind of like a temporary visa or an agriculture type of visa. If the person has no criminal record and is well behaved while on the permit, then should be granted a renewal every year that follows. I think that a lot of the people that come here to work only plan to stay temporarily. It's only after they reach there destiny that is realised the trip is so hard and dangerous. At that point is when they decide not to leave. A lot of the proper ways to come in the U.S. legally is very expensive and long process. The common person has no money to eat much less to go through this process. People come here as there last alternative and final option. The journey here is not easy or fun and lets face it living in a prison like place can not be much fun either. Always having to watch there backs like criminals even if they have not done anything wrong, there only wrong doing would be to provide food for there children. Working like slaves from sun rise to sun down for a mislay $30 dollars. Being away from there loving families and not sure if they will ever see them again. If things were that simple there wouldn't be a problem. Things would just get done the right way. For the record a lot of this people work and get taxes taken out of there check, but they can not file for that nice fat tax return so who benefits from all that unclaimed money? Our economy would fall apart with out most of this workers.

WhiteChoc said...

I agree that the immigrants which are in the United States should be given the opportunity to stay with the appropriate background checks and legal documents. I strongly feel if they are going to be in the United States benefiting from our programs they should pay taxes to help fund those programs. It is amazing the programs and services that are available for illegal immigrants in which U.S. citizens in need are not eligible for. They contribute to the low paying jobs in the workforce which we all benefit from. However, I feel that they need to contribute by paying taxes. I believe this is a matter which should the government should have addressed a long time ago. I have several friends who had to go to lengthly and costly processes to stay in the United States from Ireland, London and Canada. It is only fair that this applies to all immigrants.

Riley said...

I feel that all illegal immigrants should be deported. I don’t say this because I don’t want them to have a better life but rather do what is supposed to be the legal thing to do. I grew up in south Florida and I lived down there when Elian Gonzalez was snatched from his relatives house a few days after he and his mother crossed the ocean from Cuba. The “Law” went in and basically kidnapped him and shipped him back to Cuba to be with his father, thanks to Janet Reno. I feel that if a little boy who travels so far to be in America, loses his mother to the sea, and goes through such a traumatic event is sent back to Cuba then he is made an example out of by our immigration services. If the standard is upheld with a little boy then it should also apply to every other individual who is in the United States of America without the correct documentation. Therefore, trying not to be an insensitive person, but it should be the same for everyone not just little boys. There is also the law where if immigrants cross illegally onto the shores by themselves without any American help they are allowed to stay. Does anyone know anything more about this? If so please expand on the issue.

Athena Smith said...

Riley
The story with the little Cuban boy did not evolve along these lines. The boy was sent back to Cuba because his father asked for custody and he had every right to. The argument back then was, that if we did not allow him to reunite with his father, then we were violating one of the most sacred bonds that our socity cherishes. That between a boy and his parent. If the father did not want him, the boy would have stayed, as there were many "Miami relatives" eager to adopt him.

Now, as for illegal immigrants, the law is the same regardless of who helps you to get into the country. If someone is caught woking here illegally, he will have to appear before a judge who may order his deportation. The law is hard to enforce at times because many illegal immigrants have family here and may start the process of legalizing their status.

The new Comprehensive Immigration Reform has included many changes. I copy one part of it. "The Department of Labor (DOL) and DHS are prepared to unveil a rule that would modernize the H-2A agricultural seasonal worker program to better provide farmers with an orderly and timely flow of legal workers, while protecting the rights of laborers. No sector of the American economy requires a legal flow of foreign workers more than agriculture, which is experiencing labor shortages."

You may read the whole Immigration Reform

Athena Smith said...

The link above is
http://www.whitehouse.gov/infocus/immigration/

Athena Smith said...

Here is a very good article in today's NYT about the immigrant soldiers we have used in our military and the hurdles they face in gaining citizenship.

googleit@yahoo said...

I don’t think that immigrants should have amnesty. I feel they should go through the process of gaining citizenship. I don’t think the illegal immigrants that sneak in should be given the chance to stay, that wouldn’t be fair for the ones that wait their turn and earn it. Like people have said before, a lot of Mexicans will work for cash and then send the money back to their family in Mexico. This hurts our economy especially if taxes aren’t being paid. Just because illegal immigrants have amnesty doesn’t mean they will start paying taxes. I understand that we may need them to do jobs but that’s why we have worker visas. I also understand our country was built on immigrants but they also had to go through a certain process before being granted citizenship. I think granting amnesty for illegal immigrants will send the wrong message and entice more harm to our economy.

Tara Johnson said...

I am okay with Immigration due to the fact that many of the difficult jobs in the United States are done by immigrants. They do the hard work that we sluggish Americans don't really want to do and, we don’t care to do. They never complain because they feel that by doing what they are doing they are achieving something that can one day look good upon. That’s why we’re called the Land of Opportunity. Sending them back, for such a guiltless act as trying to make a life for them selves and their family would just not be morally right but, I believe checking into the backgrounds of such immigrants needs to be done. I also think of the families and the youth that are in school trying to get an education and, having to pick up and be kicked out that just wouldn’t be right. I do believe that these immigrants should absolutely be granted their amnesty

kel1ove said...

I believe Immigrants should be given amnesty. I agree it makes some immigrants look bad if they're into the wrong kind of stuff, but they are NOT the only ones getting into trouble..many American's are just as bad..maybe worse. Of course they should be given freedom to come here, and maybe the so called "system" should be improved because if it did not take so LONG to process, not as many immigrants would have issues with the law or what not. It is a total cliche when people look down on Immigrants as "bad" or "the ones who do dirty work".. many become very successful. People all over the world look up to America because of all it has to offer.. who could blame them for wanting to leave there country to get a better life, education, foundation..

Shirley said...

Immigrants(a settler from another country), amnesty(an act that absolves or discounts past settlers), absolve(to pardon, to forgive). Deport(to force someone to leave the country). Scorn (to think someone is worthless). The approach I took is a little different, however, this is a big topic of discussion in todays American economy. The United States Government is proposing a plan to use satellite cameras in efforts to keep immigrants out of this country. This is a proposal that will cost Americans billions of dollars. First, I must ask, why keep people out who fight to leave their country. Are they coming here to seek freedom? Are they coming here to contribute to the land? Afterall, this country is comprised of all native Americans. Right? Whoever said that one could not walk on the land that God produced for us. Why do we as United States citizens have the right to keep anyone out of a "free" country. Most immigrants come to this land to seek freedom of hierarchy, the right to educate and study, an effort to cultivate land. Do we not? This is said to be a promising land and the efforts put forth are true. Afterall, my ancestors help to buid this country during the industrilization period and so did many of yours. They were not native born, they struggled to get here as I was made aware in my youth. They studied, went to war, cultivated the land, and lived through the depression of 1932. Fought for a country that wasn't theirs.
I must say, I feel the United States is placing a personnal attack against a few countries which includes South America and Middle-Eastern people. Afterall, we do not mind the immigrants whom are currently producing a harvest for us. We do not mind the Doctor from India that is caring for us, do we? Yet, there is a process in to secure residency in the U.S. without being native born. Skilled or unskilled, likewise, educated or uneducated, if you fight to come here and successfully pass examination by report, you should be allowed to live here. For this is claimed to be "The land of the Free."

Girl_in_the_Front said...

You know this question has been asked so many times, and I think it will continue to be asked for a long while... but anyway... Since I'm at it...

Fact 1 - is that for the U.S government it would be nigh impossible to round up 12-20 million people and deport them.

Fact 2 - In addition to the crazy costs of rounding up and deporting all illegal immigrants in the continental U.S (if friggin' possible...), the damage that it would cause to the economy would be disastrous. The word 'Recession' would be sugarcoating it....

Fact 3- Many illegals have children that are American Citizens by birth, so deportation would separate many families.
Also, the children who were brought here by illegal immigrants ARE NOT lawbreakers. They HAD NO CHOICE. These kids have grown up as Americans and ARE NOT criminals who should be deported. Yet, right now they're in a sort of legal limbo since there is NO WAY for them to get a path to citizenship since their migratory status is given to them only thru their parents. The DREAM Act tried to correct that, and give them an opportunity to get legal status, but it unfortunately was shot down in congress.

FACT 4 - To the government it isn't in their best interest to want to get rid of illegal immigrants. Why you ask? Well, illegal immigrant work, right? Even with fake papers, the government takes taxes off their paychecks. Yet, these immigrants can't claim any of that money in benefits like S.S later on. So the Gov is basically making an easy buck.

Fact 5 - Corporations and businesses DON'T want to lose the precious cheap labor that brings them SO many profits. So their interest groups will make sure to make that clear in D.C.

Okay now, these are just the tip of the iceberg, of why we need to fix the broken immigration system, give a pathway to legality to the millions of immigrants here, in order to know who is in the U.S, and secure the border AND the interior.

Also, people need to realize that a lot of illegal immigrants are here illegally because they HAD no choice. They HAD to escape poverty, persecution, etc OR came here either as children following their parents, who just wanted a better future for their children.

In addition, JUST BECAUSE they're illegal doesn't make them sub-human or something, they have civil rights. A lot of people in the U.S who are legal citizens commit worse crimes on a daily basis. These so called 'illegal' immigrants for the MOST part are hard-working people with families.
Fixing the immigration system to make things more logical, securing the border, and giving a path to legality to those that are already here and pass background checks would not encourage more illegal immigration. It might encourage more LEGAL immigration, because alot of immigrants are here illegally in the first place because it's so DARN hard/ expensive/time consuming to get here legally.

Athena Smith said...

Girl in the front
Since you mentioned the cost, it is estimated to be $41 billion a year, a sum that exceeds the annual budget of the Department of Homeland Security. The cost was calculated in a study called called "Deporting the Undocumented: A Cost Assessment," (written by the Center for American Progress) and it estimated costs of arresting, detaining, prosecuting and removing illegal immigrants. The cost for a five year period would be in the range of $206 billion to $230 billion.

Not cheap, right?

Sam Shukla said...

Immigrants are a vital part of the United States economy. They provide vital services for the community at a low cost to U. S. employers. Their wages are so low, that even if taxes were collected from their earnings that I don’t believe it would make a substantial difference in the overall amount of tax money collected by the government, therefore I don’t see any thing wrong with them being paid “under the table”. Immigrants should be given amnesty in the U.S. because as the article stated they take jobs that most United States citizens do not want to do because the are too physically demanding or because the pay is too low. I think that without the help of these immigrants many fields of work that require physical labor (construction, agriculture, etc…) would suffer greatly. If there were no immigrants then there would be no one to build our schools and hospitals, and there would be no body to bring us fresh vegetables and fruits, as well as other services that I am forgetting to mention right now. I strongly support giving immigrants amnesty in this country.

jadams05 said...

I believe they should be given some amnesty. solely because immigrants help with alot of the construction and agriculture that is really intensive labor, but they do it. But they should also have to be checked out before they come to the united states. They should have background checks for every immigrants that came over. Only to be precautious. I believe the immigrants play a important role in our economy.

figlio della lupa said...

Immigration is quite a controversial issue, specially in the western world. I grew up traveling and moving from place to place. From the time I was about 5 to until now when I am 20 years old, I have moved to around 5 countries due to my father's career as a manager of a company.
At this point it would be impossible to get rid of the immigrants in this country. Politicians can talk and talk to instigate it but it can't be done. First, the US is competing fiercely against the Asian and European markets, it can't afford to get rid of such a massive piece of the economy.
Being an immigrant myself, I understand the frustration of many Americans. In my country of origin, we face similar troubles. However, complete expulsion of millions of people would only be a disaster. The best way is to arrange a clear immigration policy that is beneficial to both the immigrants and the citizens of the United States.
Amnesty seems like it could be a good start.

tlawrence said...

I think that immigrants should be given some amnesty. I mean the great country that we live in today was founded and built up to what it is today by immigrants. Alot of immigrants are the found in our heavy labor and dirty jobs that alot of americans won't do. Alot of our economy's success are because of these people. I am all for immigrants getting a fair shot at anything in America, because my parents were immigrants and things weren't to easy for them so i have some kind of understanding from immigrants point of view. But I don't believe that just anyone should be able to walts in here. If their going to work here some precautions should be made , like crimianl background checks because immigrants may do alot of good for the economy, but at the same time they committ alot of the crimes here in the U.S.

RoxyChic0529 said...

I think immigrants should be given amnesty, mainly for the reason that whether or not we realize it, our country seems to greatly depend on immigrants. like the article stated, most of the immigrants come here to do the jobs that americans dont want to do and a lot of times we dont realize how important those jobs are. most immigrants are very hardworking and help make it possible for we as americans to enjoy many of our luxuries. i do however, think that these immigrants should have to undergo background checks or something to ensure proper saftey for those in our country.

DLandon said...

Where I do not agree with another student’s comment that immigrants have made it possible for America to survive, I do think immigrants should be given amnesty. Americans are spoiled, however we are not so spoiled that we would allow our economy to falter without immigrants. With that said, one of my friends emigrated here from India. He came to America to go to college. He is now a pharmacist. His children spoke their native tongue until they began kindergarten, when the “family” taught them English. I think that he and his family should be a welcomed part of our society, not because he holds a professional job, or because he is one of the nicest, most family-orientated, people I know, but because him and his family have made the effort to learn our language. They get up and go to work every morning. They pay their taxes. After five years, they became American citizens and I think that is how it should be. I think that as long as the immigrants have legal papers and have had background checks, they should be allowed amnesty, provided they make an honest effort to learn English. We did not earn the right to live in a better country; it was handed to us by our forefathers on a silver platter. Freedom from oppression should not be a birthright. And as for the people working here and sending money back to their families, if they are legal and they have worked for their money, who are we to say what they can do with their money? We spend $100 on an I-Pod; they send $100 to their family. When America’s economy begins to fall around us, because an immigrant is spending his hard earned money wisely, then complain.

Qt said...

I think that the kind of immigrants that are being talked about in this article should be given amnesty because they are very hard workers and probably deserve it. On the other hand, there are many immigrants in the United States that are here illegally, don’t work, and get help from the U.S. like food stamps and welfare. Something else that bothers me a lot is that so many immigrants come to OUR country, where we are so generous as to helping them, and they don’t even learn OUR language. If I was to move somewhere else where they spoke Spanish, I would definitely learn the language.

Petit Monde said...

Speaking as a foreign-born, I in fact, oppose to giving official pardon to illegal immigrants. I am aware of the struggle that is eminent in less fortunate countries and therefore, understand the concept of the American dream. Years ago, we have relatives in California who had promised my dad a job at a donut shop that they own. My father was then sponsored to depart to the U.S. shortly after I was born. When I was around 5 years old, my dad came home and took my mom and my two siblings with him to the United States. They said that I was too young to go, so I was left under the care of my grandparents. To support the family, both my parents held several jobs ranging from being a waitress, someone who cleans restrooms, a baker, a clerk and eventually a manager. I guess that they really had to work very hard to save money to be able to get me, because it was not until I was at the age of 17 when I finally reunited with my father, mother, sister and now two brothers.

I deeply relate to those who aspire to partake on the opportunity America has to offer, but there is a right way to do it. I believe that it would be unjust to those who followed the proper procedures to see illegal immigrants who got caught receive amnesty. Legal migrants also have their own share of sacrificing in order to get where they are at. I know that deportation may seem harsh, but it would be the reasonable course of action. It would be beneficial in the long run to be a lawful immigrant as they would be less subjected to cheap labor and unfair conditions. Workers who come here must also be given the responsibility of abiding the law and paying taxes. There are also other windows of privileges intact should they decide to become citizens such as the opportunity to own a home, get good education, and something others may take granted – experience freedom. In conclusion, it may be unkind to send home undocumented workers, but that should set an example of the consequences when laws are not followed and perhaps help in alleviating the issue.

Athena Smith said...

Dlondon
You said "We did not earn the right to live in a better country; it was handed to us by our forefathers on a silver platter. Freedom from oppression should not be a birthright."

That is certainly food for thought!

1004 said...

I believe immigrants should be given amnesty. My parents are immigrants and I would not want them to get deported. America is a free country and immigrants should have that freedom also. An immigrant or a group of immigrants could have came to America because they wanted the freedom that they could not have in their own country. Immigrants should be given the right and the freedom to try to improve their life. Whether it is educaton wise or job wise. Like many others have said, this country has been founded by immigrants and people should accept that and appreciate that fact. I think deporting immigrants is too harsh.

tabi said...

Immigrants should be given amnesty,but the key word here is legal, i feel that immigrants who travel or move to the U.S should be legal to work for our country. Who are we to tell a forigner that he/she cant live in the country that was founded free, that anyone can choose to live the "american dream". we shouldnt stop a immigrants dream of accomplishing somthing in their life especially when we need them in our economy, they do the jobs that average americans would even think of doing, because there low pay, and just plain hard labor. so why not help both sides and let them work here, just as long as they are legal and have good backrounds.

"Hey Man" said...

The immigrants that this article is talking about are not the immigrants that would be affected. The immigrants that will be affected are the ones that are here illegally, not the ones who are doctors and such. And as far as the illegal immigrants being hard working, well that isn’t the case. One of the more popular claims by illegal immigration proponents is that those who enter the U.S. by breaking the law are invariably "hard-working" and "law-abiding" once they get here. That argument, however, has one major flaw. According to Justice Department statistics and the analysis of immigration experts, the "law-abiding" claim often isn't true.
As Investors Business Daily reported in March 2006:
"The U.S. Justice Department estimated that 270,000 illegal immigrants served jail time nationally in 2003. Of those, 108,000 were in California. Some estimates show illegal immigrants now make up half of California's prison population, creating a massive criminal subculture that strains state budgets and creates a nightmare for local police forces."
I strongly believe that the immigrants that are here illegally need to be deported promptly! And further immigration, if legal, should be strictly monitored. The borders should be heavily guarded to prevent the U.S. from being infected even more.

Lanlande said...

I believe illegal immigrants should be given some amnesty. We are all immigrants, yet we not illegal immigrants. However, we should not deport them, but we should let them know if they are willing to stay in our country they have to be legal and obey the law as if anybody else would. And if they do not agree with the rules that pass that's when deportation should take place. I do understanding there are some illegal immigrants in the country that are willing to stay in the country to do the dirty job our citizen will not do. And those jobs are jobs that help our economy to grow. for example agriculture, farm, construcion. etc... by willing to work those dirty jobs they do not care about the wages or amount that the company pay them the just want to work and have some money. Most of time the company do not even pay half of the minimuim wages. In my opinion, i believe illegal immigrants should stay in the country if they are willing to be legal. Because they help our economy in many ways. Not only for our economy but to have a way to survive instead of been homeless staying in the country asking people for a dollar every day.

Unknown said...

I personally don't like having illegal immigrants who come in and take money and don't have to pay taxes. If they want to live here fine I don't have a problem with that, but follow the law get your paper work, stop stealing from the country and its citizens because that is what they are doing when they come here illegally. I don't have a problem forgiving those who are already here who take on the responsibility of following the laws like the rest of us try to. I have no problem sharing the joys and benefits of our country with others but it should be done properly. People talk about how this country was formed on immigration yes sure but our ancestors put their backs into this land too and came here and settled off the laws that were given. It was not a crime to just come here and settle so I personally feel thats a week argument in this day and age.

lil_princess86 said...

I believe that immigrant should be given amnesty in some situations. For instance if an imigrant has a clean background and is a hard worker then they should be able to help our country out with certain jobs. Like Shaunda said we should have wide open doors to all who want to make America a home but to people who is going to help our economy. Like it says in the article in the next 20 years we are going to need more people to complete all the low end jobs and Americans dont want to them so we should allow some hard working immigrants to live a decent life here and work in those jobs.

mledoux said...

It is not reasonable to deport all illegal immigrants from the U.S.; however, there needs to be a pathway created for illegal immigrants. I know that there is a pathway to get into the U.S. legally, it may not be easiest path, but it is the way to become a legal citizen. Amnesty should not be just given to the illegal immigrants but there should be a pathway so that those that are in the country illegally could stay. The criteria for the illegal immigrants to meet to become a U.S. citizen would be as follows; 1) No significant criminal history. 2) Must speak English. 3) Must be currently employed. 4) Must register with state and government. The manpower, resources and time taken to deport all illegal immigrants would be virtually impossible since the U.S. can’t even really manage its borders. To give illegal immigrants a certain period of time, like 6 months to learn English and get a job would be more than enough time since really they should already know English and have a job. After the 6 month period is has passed and if each of the criteria has not been met to stay in the country, then the illegal immigrants will be sent back as soon as they are identified as not be U.S. citizen.

msjessi said...

I believe that immigrants should be given amnesty here in the United States. From what I have learned in history classes, it was the immigrants (countries) that provided us with many of the resources that we have today. I love being around different types of people and I think that diversity is important to experience. The only thing I think should be enforced is that they follow the ways of the Americans or at least attempt to learn the American way. Yes culture is very important and cherished by many and one should not be forced to live how others live, but I am a strong believer of the saying, "When in Rome, do what the Romans do". I would never take a massive group of family or friends, travel to a foreign country, and expect them to speak my language or get upset with those that don't speak my language (English). Yes it's pretty neat to see and hear who speaks different languages and how others live their lives daily, but at the same time one shouldn't neglect the origins or lifestyles of America and Americans. Letting immigrants come to America shouldn't be a huge problem. With the fast growing technology that we have, all we would need to do is have accurate background checks.

Aries said...

Deporting immigrant is not the answer. This county was made by immigrants. The US needs to figure out a system which allows immigrants to come here, work, and have an opportunity to a better life. A lot of our problems today is the enforcement of laws trying to keep immigrants out. We have a lot of immigrant sneaking in. I am not saying let all immigrants in, just make the process much more do able. The immigrants that are here illegally may work for less money and do work the average has no interest in doing- but pay no taxes. These immigrants get free health services, government assistance, and eligible for programs that the average American isn’t. I feel the government needs to develop a system where all immigrant whether here or coming in to be documented. I want for immigrants to come here.. I want them to work for a living. I wants them to pay taxes…I don’t want my taxes dollars benefiting them, when at times it doesn’t even benefit tax paying American citizens.

bb521 said...

Yes, i believe that immigrants should be given amnesty if they have been here working for years and have no criminal history. It is obvious by now that no matter what we do there are going to be illegal immigrants in our country and the economy is probably better off having them here. We should give them amnesty so that they are in our databases so that they get taxed and we can keep track of what they are doing.

JohnnyD813 said...

Personally i think they should be given some amnesty, but not alot. For instance we need immagrants to balance out the economy and do the so called "dirty work" that we would not do. Thier are many jobs that we would not ever do for such cheap wage but immagrants making a better life for themselves will do. But i think it would be a huge problem if we let everybody in our country becuase that is what makes us America. Deffinantly should be some serious backround checks and if you ever did anything wrong in your own country your not allowed to even have a chance to come to america. I think its a great idea the way USA is now and should not change any of its laws about immagration.

kirsten austin said...

Any person with good intentions who wants to live here should have that opportunity to fulfill their "American Dream", to have a chance at success and accomplishment, or even just to be able to provide for their family. A home in America would be a dream come true to many people in other countries, but in order to obtain that dream, should it not be done legally? Immigrants in this country should only be here on our terms. Our country, our rules , right? I respect the fact that many of the illegal immigrants, some that have been here for years undetected, are working hard and just trying to provide for themselves and/or their families. I have nothing but sympathy, really, but whether they have been here for a few months or several years, their living here is against the law. If a person wants to be apart of our country, they should go about it the right way. Living in shadows from the law isn't being apart of our country, it's living here against the will of our government. Why should a person live here risking being deported when they could have just gone about things the right way in the first place? Of course there may be that itch to get here, a need, but it's better to wait and become a legal citizen and have a chance at a job that doesn't involve strenuous physical labor or "getting your hands dirty". If they would just work to live here legally in the first place then our economy wouldn't be resting on the fact that they take up all the jobs that involve dirty work. Besides, aren't some of those jobs paying them under the table? And what about the people who already live here legally who need jobs, living off of welfare or living on the streets? The key word to the question at hand is ILLEGAL. Should we be protecting criminals?

Mafaye said...

I think that certain Immigrants should be given some amnesty. There are so many jobs in America that none of us have any interest in doing. Immigrants come here to do those jobs and make money to be sent back to families where theyre from. For the Immigrants that are here in America to make money and have a better life then that is fine, they should be given amnesty. But for the illegal immigrants who are here in America and are just causing crimes they should be sent back with no chance of ever being allowed back. There is no harm in having these people here if they are here for the right reasons. People shouldn't complained about having them here when theyre doing all the jobs that we have no desire in doing.

COWABUNGAAAA!!! said...
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Unknown said...

This country need the immigrants to survive. I agree with this article about how our immigrant are needed in the United State because they do the labor work that the own american refuse to do. Immigrants that have been here in the country for several years and have not criminal record should be given amnesty, however; the immigrants who are not doing anything to better themselve and just around comiting crimal act should be deported. Now, in regard to whomever from another country that is interested to come to the United State to work, should be put through a serious of security messure. We should place the qualification list to be able to apply. They should have graduated from high school, because people with some education tend to be better behieved, pasted a crimal backgrond as suggested on the artcle and ofcourse, they should be given a contract of couple of years and if they are not following our laws then we have the right to deport them. We have a lot of good immigrants and I don't agree we should cut down the apple tree just because of few bad apples. If you know what I mean.

aw6349 said...

I believe that immigrants should be given amnesty because they contribute so much to our society and not only that, they are an important part of our community because some of them do the hard laboring jobs that most americans refuse to do. Deporting them would only cause problems because then who would do the hard laboring jobs that some of them sadly end up doing. We would have a lot of unhappy americans if we deported them. Plus they are in the medical fields and in engineering positions and that proves to us that they are very smart and very dedicated when it comes to their careers. I believe that immigrants should stay for thoses reasons. Plus they haven't don't anything to really hurts so whats the point in deporting them anyway.

aw6349 said...

I believe that immigrants should be given amnesty because they contribute so much to our society and not only that, they are an important part of our community because some of them do the hard laboring jobs that most americans refuse to do. Deporting them would only cause problems because then who would do the hard laboring jobs that some of them sadly end up doing. We would have a lot of unhappy americans if we deported them. Plus they are in the medical fields and in engineering positions and that proves to us that they are very smart and very dedicated when it comes to their careers. I believe that immigrants should stay for thoses reasons. Plus they haven't don't anything to really hurts so whats the point in deporting them anyway.

Marcos said...

Being from Cuban descent and believing America is the land of opportunity, I feel amnesty should be granted to immigrants. My family came in the Mariel Boatlift in the early 80's when Castro declared the port of Mariel open. Although many may believe immigrants effect the economy negatively it is usually the other way around. Many of the jobs in Miami were not taken from U.S. citizens and very few Cubans (less than 60 out of thousands) were criminals under United States law and were not allowed citizenship. I feel we should allow immigrants a chance in advancing financially in life and granting their children an opportunity through schooling as well. Many of us do not know where our bloodlines migrated from centuries ago, doesn’t matter if it may have been from Ireland, Italy, Germany, or Africa. That should not decide whether or not we are deported. Protecting our citizens should be our primary focus at our borders, which our government has taken steps to improve. Financial assistance for schooling should be equal for all people whom would like to attend an educational institution regardless of their ethnicity. Immigration programs should also be arranged and be much more accessible for those who wish to improve their living and call the United States their home.

mike t said...

Our country was built from immirgants, because of the idea of the american dream,people see a chance for a better life here. Amnesty should be given in some cases, but so many issues have to be ironed out. Illegal immigrants perform less desirable jobs,at lower wages,which in turn does take jobs away from the american citezen. I have seen this first hand in the construction industry. Sure, most are hard woking and help to boost the economy. Who pays thier taxes? Is thier income invested back into our economy? Definatly some stricter policies and guidlines need to evolve. I believe anyone should be given the right to prgress thier lives anywhere they choose to, but through the correct and legal channels.

Mina Armanious said...

Personally,I have never thought about that probleme before, and that might be why I don't have a particuler opinion about that, but It seems that extremes abound when it comes to our illegal immigration dilemma. Some would have us attempt to deport every single illegal without exception, regardless of any and all other circumstances. Others would have us offer blanket amnesty to all, and pretend that illegals never committed a crime. There should be, and is, a more moderate and reasonable solution to this problem. The extremists on both sides need to be willing to compromise in order to resolve this crisis.

frankthetank said...

I think that immigrants should not be given amnesty. I have no problem with immigrants coming to our country the legal way, our ancestors had that right and so should they. Now on the other hand the illegal immigrants should be deported. There are laws and they cannot just be ignored, they have committed a crime and they should be punished not just given a free pass. I also believe that these immigrants have had a big impact on our economy in a negative way. There are just to many of them coming in and just not enough room in our schools, so are tax dollars are going towards building more schools and not going towards improving the education for our children. They are also hurting the job market, everybody says that they just do the jobs that nobody wants but I know many people who once I decent paying jobs in construction and now have no job because they were replaced by an immigrant that will work for next to nothing. So in my opinion immigrants should go about coming to our country the legal way or they should be shown the way out.

hurricanes520 said...

I think that immigrants should be given amnesty. Immigrants have been coming into the U.S. for hundreds of years. After reading some of the comments and I agree that the U.S. has been founded on immigrants coming from over seas and settling here, and they “us” have not been asked to leave. Many immigrants that I know that live in the U.S. love it here and they support our economy and they support the ones they love either if they are here in the U.S. or in other countries. Is that illegal to support your family? Some immigrants that I know come to America to work so they are helping our economy and then they leave and go back to their “home” so it’s not like they are just piling in and filling up our country. I believe that immigrants should be given amnesty, some of which you probably know and deal with them on a day to day bases would you like to see your friends exported just for being an immigrant?

tennispro said...

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William Brown said...

I think if the question is simply amnesty or deportation, amnesty is the only plausible answer. Imagine trying to force illegal immigrants to leave, take their kids and families, and relocate to somewhere they probably don't have a home anymore. It would be ridiculously expensive and probably create a lot of unethical situations. I don't think I deserve the fruits America has to offer anymore than anyone else just because I was born here.

catlvr42 said...

Illegal immigration is a serious problem that has been ignored for so long that there is no way to answer the question of amnesty vs. deportation as a yes or no. It would be impossible to fix the entire crisis by saying we should deport 20-30 million illegals. Nor would it be in the best interest of America to provide amnesty to this overwhelming population. What would that say to the honest immigrants who have become established through the legal process. I feel that as much as legal immigration has had a great positive impact on our economy, that the illegal immigration has had that much of a greater negative impact on our economy. A lot of this is due to the free social services that are provided, the opportunity for the children of illegals to go to public schools, and the loss of taxes to benefit the economy. Many issues such as these contribute to the rising cost of healthcare and insurance to Americans and legal immigrants. Keeping illegals here to cover "dirty jobs" and pay them lower wages is just enabling them to stay. We need to secure our borders, enforce existing laws, curb free social services, and deport illegals immediatly who are caught commiting crimes. I don't know how to resolve this issue just to say; we need to continue to keep America's laws and principles intact in able to continue to provide "opportunities" to citizens and legal immigrants.

tampa250 said...

immigrant should have amnesty with fair equal rights. often i see some immigrant having low paying jobs or mostly mexican men doing the same outside road jobs and it makes them look like thats all they are able to do. every one has a chance in doing something knew in life and training starts first. its hard to get to america with so much things going on in the world. america is trying to protect their country by eny means necessary. this dates back to war1 and 2. and its going to get worse over time because things are getting striker.

RockyRikoko said...

I don’t have any problems with immigrants. The wide range of culture is part of what makes our country so great. The problem I have is, if I walk into a Target and pick up a piece of merchandise and proceed to walk out of the store without paying for it, I am going to have to pay the consequences for my actions. There is a correct way to come into this country and many many many Mexican immigrants are choosing the illegal way. So if everyone walks into Target and takes whatever they want, does that mean that the government should pardon everyone because of the volume of people doing it, or because it would put so many children in foster care. I don’t think so; the immigration problem is that individuals who aren’t citizens of our country begin breaking our rules literally the moment they step into it. If they don’t want to follow the rules, they are not welcome here no matter what service they can provide. If they want to be patient and wait for their number to get called so they can go through the process properly, then I’m all for it.

Charles said...

I think that immigration is a good thing because the US would not be founded if it was not for immigration. Without immigration we would not have the resources that we have now. Americans would never do some of the jobs that some of the Migrant workers do. They are a key role played in our society.

All they are wanting to do is live a better life style, make more money than they are now. If there was some way that the US could create some type of balance to help regulate the control over the influx of immigrants then I think that immigration would not be as big of a problem.

Steelers88 said...
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Steelers88 said...

Illegal immigrants should be deported back to their countries. If they cannot find a legal way to enter our country, they should not be aloud in at all. Illegal immigrants degrade our economy for worse than helping the economy out. They traffic illegal activities and bring the crime rate up. Most are unintelligent and serve no purpose in the United States. Sure, they may help with lower class jobs, but overall, they worsen the US economy more than help it out. They also take skilled jobs away from the more needed American citizens. Many illegal’s have children in Public schools, which cost our country money. The social services for illegals are also overwhelming, not to mention illegal’s who have no Health insurance omit themselves in hospitals to waste our tax paying dollars.

Athena Smith said...

Steelers
If they are "unintelligent" how do they take skilled jobs aways?
As far as the crime rate is concerned, I copy from the Center for Immigration studies
that "In the 1980s and 1990s researchers have concluded, or at least have lent support to the conclusion, that immigrants commit proportionately no more than and possibly even fewer crimes than native-born citizens."

Goob07 said...

Immigrants that come to this country the legal way have every right to be here! I want to think that all those that come the illegal way are good hard working people...But the fact is that by coming to this country illegally they are breaking the law. I know that becoming a naturalized citizen is hard, but we can't just let millions of people get away with breaking these laws when so many adhere to them. I understand the necessity of illegal immigrants to the economy, but I will not condone them breaking the law to make a better life for themselves.

Silly puddy said...

I personally believe that illegal immigrants should be given an amnesty only if they use it toward good use and have no criminal tides with anyone. If they come to our country and all they want is to have a better life by working hard and going to school then yes by all means give it to them. By giving them an amnesty they would have to report on a monthly basis until a certain amount of time like 3 years just to see they are in good standing for their visa. If they have any criminal tides, then they do not get the amnesty.

Mony88 said...

Of course immigrants should be given amnesty if they have been living here for a certain amount of years. America was not developed by native people, but by immigrants that migrated here. If all immigrants were given ammnesty they will be able to converge on the culture of America. This of course in not to say we let everybody in, just the immigrants already here. This also means we should aggresively protect are borders. Also, the government should do identify all immigrants here now and make sure they are safe for our country. Just think if they were allowed to be given amnesty they would help are economy greatly and improve it for the future.

EUrban said...

I recently just wrote a paper on illegal immigration and I do not agree with amnesty. I feel that these people should not just be given forgiveness and become American citizens. I also do not believe in the idea of rounding up all of the immigrants and deporting them. That is not realistic and would be almost impossible. One of the ideas that I really liked was the idea that candidate Hillary Clinton has on immigration. Her ideas are that the illegal immigrants that are in the United States currently who have not commited a crime should have to pay a fine for entering the country illegally they then would have to go through the process of becoming a citizen as well as paying taxes. Also border control needs to be heightened even though this is not something that can completely prevent illegal immigration it can help.

NiCa said...

I agree with the majority of responses here. Immigrants are the backbone of our economy here in the states. Without the cheap labor that immigrants provide, prices would sky rocket for produce, milk, housing etc.. I feel that immigration still needs to be regulated to control the population. The government needs to start approving papers for illegals here in the country because that will help the local and federal governments by actually taxing immigrants but instead the mojority of them work under the table. I myself am an immigrant from Nicaragua. First generation here, I can still recall a day when my father didn't have any paperwork. He was in the construction business laying shingles on million dollar homes in Miami. I can only imagine what may have happened if he feel and suffered a major injury, he wouldn't be entitled to any worker's comp or health care. Thankfully my family got through it and he now is a US resident. I have several cousins living in this country that have no papers or even a drivers license.

Ro-twin said...

Yes, I think illegal immigrants should be given a anmesty. Because in their own country there are no jobs so they cannot take care of there families the way they dream of. Besides citizens of our country do not want to do that hard labor for minimum wage. So its fair in order to please everyone let immigrants come to America to work these jobs and more so they can better themselves. USA is a freedom country and filled with different indiviuals from different groups. That is why foreigners want to come here and be free. Also in order for this economy to expand we need hard working indiviuals like them to get the job done.

wanttobefit said...

I believe in giving immigrants amnesty. If they are willing to work the jobs that no one else wants to work, and not at someone else’s expense, than why the heck not? This could also help our economy since it needs more skilled workers. I personally know that more than half the jobs they perform I couldn’t bring myself to do unless it was a last resort. Of course the immigration flow should be controlled and the immigrants should receive full background checks to ensure American safety.

jalane88 said...

I think that immigrants should be granted amnesty, however, I think that they need to go through all of the required paperwork. I see nothing wrong with being very tight and controlling of who comes into our country, but I feel like a lot of Americans have the wrong idea about immigrants. I feel like immigrants make America so wonderful. We are after all the melting pot of the world. I just feel like the word “immigrant” has such a negative connotation in our society. I just think that the government needs to find a good balance of how to deal with immigrants coming into the United States. It seems like it is near impossible to claim legal residency in the states for immigrants. Of course the United States needs to keep a tight grip on who can come in from a foreign country to reside here and I see how immigrants could put up red flags in our minds and thoughts of terrorists in our borders, but I also have to think about the fact that there are people who are born in this country who hate us and have formed terrorist and hate groups. We can not be 100% accurate that everyone who comes through is safe, but that should not stop us from welcoming foreigners in.

kortneywithak2 said...

Letting immigrants into our country could be very beneficial to our economy if dealt with correctly, and if they actually do that. I do not feel that we should ship every immigrant back to where they came from and act like we are better than them. America was founded by people from other countries, so how are we going to just assume now that we're are far too good to allow immigrants to make a home here now? I do not feel that we should open our doors wide to whoever feels compelled to live here, but I think after a serious of background checks and much investigation. If the party checks out clear, then why not welcome them here and let them enhance our economy. They'd also get a much better education here, and I feel that EVERYONE has the right to become educated. Diversity is a good thing, it keeps everyone open minded. I do not understand why as Americans we seem so frightened by it.

kortneywithak2 said...

Letting immigrants into our country could be very beneficial to our economy if dealt with correctly, and if they actually do that. I do not feel that we should ship every immigrant back to where they came from and act like we are better than them. America was founded by people from other countries, so how are we going to just assume now that we're are far too good to allow immigrants to make a home here now? I do not feel that we should open our doors wide to whoever feels compelled to live here, but I think after a serious of background checks and much investigation. If the party checks out clear, then why not welcome them here and let them enhance our economy. They'd also get a much better education here, and I feel that EVERYONE has the right to become educated. Diversity is a good thing, it keeps everyone open minded. I do not understand why as Americans we seem so frightened by it.

Unknown said...

I do believe that immigrants should be given amnesty to a certain extent. Many illegal immigrants are very hard working people with a limited criminal record. They do jobs that are low paying, physically demanding and necessary for our economic growth. For those people, it is better to allow them to apply for legal status and give them some rights such as getting insurance. I think that we should widely open our doors to high-educated people who can help keep our country’s science and technology in highest level which can lead the world, whether they are immigrants or not. If they are willing, and are capable to contribute to our country, then by all means, let them!

idreamofcali said...

i think that illegal immigrants should be deported from our country. If they want to live here so badly then they should become a citizen like everyone else. coming to our country for a better life should be just that, get legalized, get an education which should be easy enough, seeing as how most scholarships are for the minorities of our country anyway, and get a job. Not somehow getting past our border and then living here and working without having to pay taxes. i mean, why even bother to come to our country to work the low paying jobs that the rest of the country doesn't want, as well as trying to hide from our immigration officers?

Karma Chameleon said...

Although this topic is controversial, the writer had a very strong opinion on the subject – making his/her article quite persuasive. I do not know much about the pros and cons of illegal immigrants in our country, but there are quite a number of people who are against it. I would like to read an article in opposition to this one just to be certain that I know all the facts and whether or not the good outweigh the bad. The writer of this article makes several incredibly persuasive points; however, because I can see the bias, it makes it somewhat less credible to me. That being said, and with the information I’ve been given, how could I be against granting amnesty to illegal immigrants? They are being assimilated into our society whether the government wants them here or not and apparently only stand to improve our declining economy.

JR8 said...

Personally I think immigrants should be given amnesty and be able to live in our country without any problems because they provide us with most of our manual labor and we all know that most of the Americans hate to do manual labor. It’s not like the immigrants are taking all of the good American jobs. So considering the immigrants pretty much do all the hot and dirty jobs they should be able to live in the United States. But once in the states they should get all kinds of background checks and make sure there here for the right reasons and not here to cause terrorism

SocialButterfly said...

I dont know about if immigrants should be given their ammnesty. We should have a balance of all the cultures and of people. But they shouldnt cheat the system. They should do the paperwork and I understand that it takes a long time but some people have waited years to accepted. We do need immigrants and I like different languages and people. Maybe our country should go back and change somethings on how immigrants get in America. Like, speeding up the process or something.

phildo888 said...

Illegal immigrants should have been deported a long time ago. However, now the situation has spun out of control. We can't kick them all out now but we can't give them amnesty. If they were to be kick out, not only would it cost unbelievable amounts of money but it would start a lot of controversy on a global scale. What we should really concentrate on now is keeping more out by making it a law so it could avoid controversy wouldn't be a factor, as well as regulating the ones we have in our country now. Other than that immigrants should stay we they are and deal with their own problems, and stop contributing to ours. American society is obvious elite, otherwise they wouldn't what to come here, so they should have to prove that they should contribute to our society before being allowed in.

mndz05 said...

In my opinion and with me being a Mexican American, I believe that immigrants should be given amnesty. Why because many people don’t realize that they contribute a lot to the U.S. They’ve done all the jobs most Americans wouldn’t do such as working in construction, landscaping, and lets not forget farm work like planting and picking crops. I mean of course I do agree that they should get a background check and not give it to those who do have a criminal record. But why not let them have some of the benefits as we Americans do? It’s only fair.

pcgirl said...

I believe Americans could not live without immigrants. But I also believe that any illegal immigrants in this country should be punished. I do not see why we should allow any illegal activities period. If someone wants in the US then do it legally. Now I don’t know all the parts/steps in the process of an immigrant being legalized but breaking the law gets people nowhere. I have nothing against immigrants. I mean they have great work ethic and do most jobs everyday Americans refuse to do. But that is no excuse for breaking the law.

diana25 said...

I believe they are very important for our economy. I think they should have to come in our country legally. People should not just be able to enter our country. It would be too dangerous for the security of the US. We should strengthen the US border. I also believe they should not make it too hard for them to become citizens. Some Americans should let go of their pride and not think they are too good to do the jobs that they expect the immigrants to do. Employers, businesses and farmers are making so much money off of the immigrants cheap labor. Because they are a crucial necessity to our economy I do not believe they should all be deported. There needs to be a way congress can figure out for them to become citizens.

mike b said...

I believe that immigrants should be given amnesty. Just like everyone has been saying, without immigrants, we, Americans, would not be able to perform the jobs we want. Instead we would be doing the jobs no one else wants to do for example construction and janitor work of schools and businesses, or even work as maids in hotels.Most Americans try to be will not take jobs like that due to the fact that they want to be more successful than to have a minimun wage job or less. Society needs these immigrants. If kicked out, we would lose all we have worked hard for. In my opinion i believe that our country was built from immigrants. If it was not for my European immigrant family members, I would not be here typing this while fighting for other immigrants rights to stay in the states.This is why i believe that immigrants should be granted amnesty.

tquintero728 said...

Illegal immigrants should be given an amnesty under certain conditions. We are all people, whether some having a higher profession, we are all equal. If the immigrants are actually helping us more than they are hurting us, then it would be crazy to deport them. If after a certain amount of years, after they have acted as loyal citizens, then in my opinion they should be able to file for amnesty after their individual case is reviewed. I think that is is absolutely awful that some Americans look down on these immigrants, who are we to judge and scorn another race or culture? Now, if they abuse this generous offer that we are giving them, then of course, lets deport them.

Britt said...
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Britt said...

I personally feel that immigrants should be deported back to their country. I do not believe they should be given any amnesty. Unless the immigrants are trying to become citizens, I feel they should not get any lead way. For example, many immigrants that come here want work permits so they can make money and go back to their country when the permit is expired. How can the U.S. allow this? If I were to try to be an immigrant of another country, I would be kicked out without second thought. It is very hard for us Americans to go live anywhere else, why should immigrants in our country be given so many opportunities? I do not think amnesties should be given. I strongly support the idea of deporting any immigrant back to his or her country.

Tink1213 said...
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Tink1213 said...

I have mixed feelings on this topic. There are some immigrants that are here to provide a better life for their families, and work extremely hard and would never do anything that might cause them to be sent back to their country. Those immigrants I feel should be granted amnesty. But, the immigrants who are just here to have a good time should be sent back to their countries. I have known many people who have had immigrant workers work for them, and they were really decent people and hard working. I do agree with the fact that immigrants are a huge part of our economy, and there are so many jobs out there, that most people would never dream of doing. So, for the most part I don’t see a problem with granting most of the immigrants citizenship.