Should We Get Rid Of All The Illegal Immigrants In The U.S.

[No DUplicitous DUpe]

Should We Get Rid Of All The Illegal Immigrants In The U.S.
By Dick Kazan
http://saneramblings.com/phpBB/viewtopic.php?t=145&sid=585110c25b516fab70dbbe6c74419b79

"They should round them all up and get rid of them," the wealthy woman said to me during dinner in a fine restaurant, as she talked about illegal immigrants. "They have no business being here," she said with irritation in her voice.

In response, I sat silently for an instant, smiled and then leaned across the table and said to her, 'If they do, this restaurant and every other restaurant in this area will close.' After giving it a moment to sink in, I added, 'All the office buildings near here will not be cleaned, nor will most of the hospitals or the schools.'

And I could have added there won't be enough people to pick the fruits and vegetables, process the meat or do numerous other functions that we all depend on and that many of us don't want to do.

I live in the Los Angeles area, which has the 2nd biggest population in the United States. And it isn't just our community which is dependent on illegal immigrants, but most major communities throughout the U.S.

"I work two jobs to support my family, so my wife can stay home and take care of our two children," Jose told me. This was in 1998 and I had no idea he was an illegal immigrant. "I work long hours but I'm thankful for the life we have here," he added.

He was cleaning tables and bussing dishes and whenever my wife Anne and I visited the restaurant where he worked, he always gave us a big smile and a warm greeting. I was so impressed with him, I spoke to the management on his behalf and soon, they made him a food server. He could now afford to leave his 2nd job.

As time went on, he was promoted into management, his wife had a third child, and then one day he proudly told us, "I just bought a home for my family!" Anne and I were thrilled for him as we shook his hand and hugged him repeatedly.

His home is in South Central Los Angeles, which made it affordable to him and he began fixing it up. And as a doting father, he got involved in school activities and in assisting the teachers to make the school better. Today, he is an assistant general manager at that restaurant and a pleasure to be with for all of us who know him... Continued Here... http://saneramblings.com/phpBB/viewtopic.php?t=145&sid=585110c25b516fab70dbbe6c74419b79

[acmavm]

1. Oh jeeze, listen to those violins...

[bryant69]

2. Yes we should

While increasing and simplifying legal immigration from Hispanic nations.

Bryant
Check it out --> http://politicalcomment.blogspot.com

[TahitiNut]

12. Agreed.

What I find remarkable about such 'discussions' is the overt intellectual dishonesty. For example, if it's accepted that the subject of such discussion are primarily migrants from Mexico and the objection regarding their repatriation is that it would be 'cruel' to send them back to the country in which they're citizens ... then isn't it jingoistic to imply that merely being a citizen of Mexico is 'cruel'? Furthermore, a plurality of the illegal aliens are NOT 'immigrants' and have no intention of being permanent residents or citizens of the US - their sole intention being to gain an income not available to them in Mexico but use that income to afford their families in Mexico a more comfortable lifestyle. Indeed, it is this very motivation that's addressed by the various "guest worker" programs.

[Na Gael]

14. Why only "Hispanic" nations?

I don't understand.
I've met plenty of Eastern Europeans who aren't legally in the US, and they work just as hard as the Hispanic population.

[bryant69]

15. An oversight

I grew up in California, and am used to thinking about the discrepancy between how many Western Europeans we will allow in verses how many from Latin America we will let in.

But obviously immigrants from Latin America aren't the only ones being screwed by our current immigration policy.

Bryant
Check it out --> http://politicalcomment.blogspot.com

[BeHereNow]

19. Because they are BROWN?

The US has a curious way of disliking people of color you know.
Except when they mow lawns or take care of children for slave labor wages.

BHN

[bryant69]

20. Actually i'm pretty sure our current immigration laws shit on eastern europeons

We hate brown people, sure, but we also hate poor people.

[Sapere aude]

3. How is it possible to be that heartless? Are these not human beings also?

Shall we round up all the stray dogs and cats do away with them? No? Are people worth less to you?

[leftofthedial]

4. yes,

starting with the Vikings, the Pilgrims, the Spaniards and the French.

[kineneb]

8. and everyone else who arrived before Ellis Island and immigration laws

which would mean all of my family...Except my Iranian relatives, who have gone through the naturalization process.

[verse18]

5. She meant all the OTHER illegal immigrants.

Not the ones who work for her. Like the nanny, the maid, the gardener, the contractor. They can stay.

[No DUplicitous DUpe]

6. Great point! But you know how "some people" are blinded by bigotry.

It's just sad.

[BeliQueen]

7. If illegal immigrants were to leave...

...who would fill the positions that they have managed to prosper in?

There are so many people in this nation that are unemployed. Would decreasing the illegal immigrant population decrease the unemployment rate if cheap labor were not so readily available?

[kineneb]

10. many "native" unemployed could not do the work

lots of the un/underemployed were in white-collar or manufacturing jobs. They would do poorly working in the vegetable fields. The growers would actually have to do massive training to turn them into farm workers. Could you imagine a former IT worker knowing anything about harvesting lettuce?

Many of the farm workers/farmers in the US have historically been immigrants. My great-great grandfather (from Germany) and great-grandfather were both farmers. The next generation couldn't wait to get off the farm, so none of my grandfather's siblings were farmers. Now I am considering going back to college for a certificate in horticulture.

[Warpy]

9. I wonder if "the wealthy woman" realizes how her precious

bank account would be socked if she had to hire legal servants, groundskeepers, pool boys, chauffeurs, and the like.

The problem with rounding up "all illegals" is the astonishing cruelty. I'm afraid this one is going to have to be decided on a case by case basis. I know some couples who have been here since the 60s or 70s. They've worked hard, had children, saved and bought houses, put down roots. They're the type of people we need to welcome here.

Then there are the ones who've been coming here with entire families. The ones here for 5 years or less should be allowed up to a six month grace period to tie up loose ends and then go home.

Obviously, the ones who come here and have no visible means of support and either work for pennies under the table or have turned to crime should go back, period. Either they're good people being exploited and driving wages down or bad people we don't want.

Simply rounding them up and evicting them is a horror show, as we've seen in place after place. Children are abandoned in day care, property is left for somebody else to clean up, and the whole business is a total cluster*.

I'd prefer a version of the Homestead Act. People who have been here long term and have "proved up" should be welcomed.

The punitive focus should always be on cheap labor employers. The fines for hiring illegals need to be enforced. When there are no more jobs at what looks like a fortune to someone living in Mexico (but is a pittance here), the flood of illegals will slow to a trickle. We can handle a trickle. Really.

There is no easy way to do any of this, something that will annoy the hell out of simpletons. It really does need to be done, though.

[rock]

11. Well, that is the Law

Unless, of course you mean, "should the law be changed?" In which case, I ask why? We're not getting rid of them now.

[Na Gael]

13. We'd lose the taxes

We'd lose the taxes that they pay in, and it is a bunch.
Every illegal immigrant I've known has paid income tax.

[piedmont]

16. We'd also lose the bill for social services. nt

[No DUplicitous DUpe]

17. More from Dick's post:

snip:
But one of the complaints I hear from people critical of illegal immigrants is "they don't pay taxes. They cost us money, they don't pay-in." The Wall Street Journal <4/4/07> published an article "Even Workers in U.S. Illegally Pay Tax Man" that illustrates the fallacy in that belief.

It is estimated that there are 12 million undocumented residents in the U.S. and to show how they file taxes, The Wall Street Journal visit Petra Castillo's crowded tax preparation service in South Central Los Angeles.

One of the stories the Journal shared is of 24-year-old student Berenice Reyes, who works at a sandwich shop. Ms. Reyes works to pay her college tuition as she strives to make something of herself. Her goal is to become a high school teacher in South Central. "I'm trying to go by the law," she told the Journal. "But according to other laws, I shouldn't even be in this country."

The Journal also tells the story of Pablo Espinoza, a welder and his wife Martha, who works in a chicken processing plant. Together, the Espinozas last year earned $42,000 and as he says, "We work hard. We have a clean record. We file our taxes." And as an added incentive, the Espinozas, like many tax-paying citizens, qualify for a refund of some of what they've paid and filing will allow them to collect it.

In 1996, the IRS established an individual taxpayer identification number (ITIN) that begins with 9 for people without valid social security numbers.
Between 1996 and 2003 ITIN income-tax totaled nearly $50 billion. That's right, $50 billion!

Snip

[BeHereNow]

18. Until, WE the people. hold our corporate government accountable for destroying their economies

No.

Everyone has to eat.

Our corporatist government, in partnership with the IMF and the
failed New World Order vision of the Trilateral Commission and
Council on Foreign Relations, have made it necessary for the people
in the countries destroyed by their "policies" to migrate here.

The United States has mercilessly and systematically ravaged
the resources and economies of other countries, and WE the people,
allowed it so that we could consume more crap we did not need
at prices that cost lives in other parts of the world.

BHN