Illegal immigration

[Teresa]

I hear you loud and clear MarineMom...

Kjell came here almost 3 years ago from Norway, and he had to do everything that you did.

It was sooooo S_L_O_W..
and they lost papers and even one time threatened to send him back because THEY had lost some of the millions of documents that we had sent to them... 2 times no less.
And when we sent them a 3rd time... they casually sent a letter that they had suddenly found them and they were in the processing field.. and to check back in another 3-6 months..
sighhhh.. The system is so over crowded and unorganized it is a miracle that anyone gets papers processed at all.
He was told that he would be immediately deported if he tried to board an airplane without me, and he had to buy a $1,000.00 plane ticket so that he could go to the  airport in Norway.. get off the plane.. touch his feet on European soil ... get back on the plane and return to America.. where he went through tons of red tape once again... ( They wanted to make sure he wasn't going to stay here for more than 6 months at a time without leagal papers)  Duhhhhh...
I had to go through lots of screening myself, and more times than not..this quick temper of mine was really close to telling them how the cow ate the cabbage... but.... I was smart enough to know that it would only have made matters worse. As they don't care.. and would have slapped me with a fine and sent him packing...

Go into an immigration office and there is a room packed with people and get this~!! They all have English speaking representatives doing all the talking and negotiating for them..
It was a madhouse in there.
I say .. If you can't speak the language, then you need to go back to where they can understand you!

He just these last few months got all the papers done and he is as legal as I am  now..
( Don't you dare say anything to that Ta Ta... cause you KNOW what I mean) 

You know ... He is still paying Norway's income taxes ( a different system there) and he is paying income taxes here....  so he is more than pulling his weight. And then to have the illegals sneaking in getting everything free and the government letting them stay for free??!
You have no idea how much disgust we have for the system ...

[MarineMom]

I hear you loud and clear MarineMom...

Kjell came here almost 3 years ago from Norway, and he had to do everything that you did.

You have no idea how much disgust we have for the system ...

They lost my papers several times as well both when I was trying to get here and again when I was trying to get citizenship seems to be a routine thing for them to misplace documents at INS

[Janet Harrington]

Got this in an e-mail and thought it deserved a spot on our illegal immigration board.  I searched Snopes.com and truthorfiction.com and did not find where this was a false e-mail.

A REAL EYE OPENER

Cheap Tomatoes ...

This should make everyone think, be you Democrat,
Republican or Independent

From a California school teacher - - -"As you listen
to the news about the student protests over illegal
immigration, there are some things that you should be
aware of:

I am in charge of the English-as-a-second-language
department at a large southern California high school
which is designated a Title 1 school, meaning that its
students average lower socioeconomic and income
levels.

Most of the schools you are hearing about, South Gate
High, Bell Gardens , Huntington Park , etc., where
these students are protesting, are also Title 1
schools.

Title 1 schools are on the free breakfast and free
lunch program. When I say free breakfast, I'm not
talking a glass of milk and roll -- but a full
breakfast and cereal bar with fruits and juices that
would make a Marriott proud. The waste of this food is
monumental, with trays and trays of it being dumped in
the trash uneaten. (OUR TAX DOLLARS AT WORK)

I estimate that well over 50% of these students are
obese or at least moderately overweight. About 75% or
more DO have cell phones. The school also provides day
care centers for the unwed teenage pregnant girls
(some as young as 13) so they can attend class without
the inconvenience of having to arrange for babysitters
or having family watch their kids. (OUR TAX DOLLARS AT
WORK)

I was ordered to spend $700,000 on my department or
risk losing funding for the upcoming year even though
there was little need for anything; my budget was
already substantial. I ended up buying new computers
for the computer learning center, half of which, one
month later, have been carved with graffiti by the
appreciative students who obviously feel humbled and
grateful to have a free education in America . (OUR
TAX DOLLARS AT WORK)

I have had to intervene several times for young and
substitute teachers whose classes consist of many
illegal immigrant students here in the country less
then 3 months who raised so much hell with the female
teachers, calling them "Putas" whores and throwing
things that the teachers were in tears.

Free medical, free education, free food, day care
etc., etc., etc. Is it any wonder they feel entitled
to not only be in this country but to demand rights,
privileges and entitlements?

To those who want to point out how much these illegal
immigrants contribute to our society because they LIKE
their gardener and housekeeper and they like to pay
less for tomatoes: spend some time in the real world
of illegal immigration and see the TRUE costs.

Higher insurance, medical facilities closing, higher
medical costs, more crime, lower standards of
education in our schools, overcrowding, new diseases
etc., etc, etc.
For me, I'll pay more for tomatoes.

We need to wake up.
The guest worker program will be a disaster because we won't
have the guts to enforce it.

Does anyone in their right mind really think they will
voluntarily leave and return?

There are many hardworking Hispanic/American citizens
that contribute to our country and many that I
consider my true friends. We should encourage and
accept those Hispanics who have done it the right and
legal way.

It does, however, have everything to do with culture:
A third-world culture that does not value education,
that accepts children getting pregnant and dropping
out of school by 15 and that refuses to assimilate,
and an American culture that has become so weak and
worried about "politically correct" that we don't have
the will to do anything about it.

If this makes your blood boil, as it did mine, forward
this to everyone you know.

CHEAP LABOR?
Isn't that what the whole immigration issue is about?

Business doesn't want to pay a decent wage

Consumers don't want expensive produce

Government will tell you Americans don't want the jobs

But the bottom line is cheap labor. The phrase "cheap
labor" is a myth, a farce, and a lie. There is no such
thing as "cheap labor."

Take, for example, an illegal alien with a wife and
five children. He takes a job for $5.00 or $6.00/hour.
At that wage, with six dependents, he pays no income
tax, yet at the end of the year, if he files an Income
Tax Return, he gets an "earned income credit" of up to
$3,200 free.

He qualifies for Section 8 housing and subsidized rent

He qualifies for food stamps

He qualifies for free (no deductible, no co-pay)
health care

His children get free breakfasts and lunches at school

He requires bilingual teachers and books

He qualifies for relief from high energy bills

If they are or become, aged, blind or disabled, they
qualify for SSI. Once qualified for SSI they can
qualify for Medicare. All of this is at taxpayer's
expense

He doesn't worry about car insurance, life insurance,
or homeowners insurance.

Taxpayers provide Spanish language signs, bulletins
and printed material.

He and his family receive the equivalent of $20.00 to
$30.00/hour in benefits.

Working Americans are lucky to have $5.00 or
$6.00/hour left after paying their bills and his.

The American taxpayer's also pay for increased crime,
graffiti and trash clean-up.

Cheap labor? YEAH RIGHT! Wake up people!

[genealogynut]

I don't know how many of you folks may have seen (or if you did) the lengthy article that appeared in the Ark City Traveler a few days ago, and then a very abbreviated version of that was in the Independence Reporter on Sunday, April 15, 2007 that talks about meatpacking towns preparing for raids on illegal immigrants arrests.

Since the Dec. 12 sweeps at Swift plants in six states, immigrant groups have been holding workshops, teaching undocumented workers how to prepare for their arrests by doing such things as drawing up legal documents , so someone could care for their children and handle their financial affairs. 

In addition, the United Food and Commercial Workers union has printed bilingual immigration rights kit it plans to distribute nationwide to workers in the coming weeks.  The kit includes practical information, legal documents and sample letters. Etc...etc.....etc...

THESE PEOPLE OUGHT TO BE ARRESTED BECAUSE THEY ARE HELPING PEOPLE BREAK THE LAW

We have churches that are aiding and abetting people breaking the law.  We have chambers of commerce who want them to do it, politicians who want them to do it. 

What happened to our nation of laws???  Is this a "pick and choose??"  Are these laws worthless?

I am wondering if the Creekstone (I think that's the name of it) facility that's located near Ark City hires illegal immigrants.

[Jane]

I think Tony Blair, the Prime Minister of England said it best.
"America is the only county he knew of, that everyone was trying to get into instead out of."

The thing that really burns me, is that the immigrants can go to school and on to college and pay less then the people born in america. Correct me if I am wrong but I think our Great Govenor signed a bill on this a couple of years ago.

If you do not work for your citizenship, you should have to leave. You can't stay forever on a green card.
Army Mom

[LShortt]

Interesting topic.  Immigration and illegal aliens are topics that we debate within my workplace and the area where I live quite often.  And, it's a topic with content almost identical to what you all have stated here today.  After spending the first 44 years of my life snug-as-a-bug in Kansas, I immigrated to Canada.  Insane?  Possibly.  Irresponsible?  Maybe, in that initial moment.  Happy, ABSOLUTELY!  (But, the happy is due to the magical man I fell in love with and married.)

My point is...I have experienced the immigration process going north across the border.  I/we filled out all the papers, paid all the fees, met all the requirements and timelines, did the obligatory waiting.  After, I became a legal resident one of the first thoughts I had was "it was ALL far too easy".  Okay, we could argue because of the nature of "me" and my background there was no good reason for the process to be difficult.  It was still FAR TOO easy.  Following that I waited the necessary 3 years and then decided in the long run it would be far easier and less bothersome to become a Canadian citizen (basically ending the every other year stream of  "permanent resident" paperwork).  I am still and will always keep my US Citizenship.  I filled out the paperwork, paid the fees, took the test and attended the Citizenship ceremony.  I left thinking "that was FAR TOO easy".

Through all of that process I had ONE face to face meeting with an immigration official regarding my application to live in Canada, and that was the day almost 7 years ago when I went to pickup my "landed immigrant/permanent residency" papers.  Not once during the time period they were "processing" my application did Immigration Canada request a meeting with me and my sponsor/husband to verify any information we had provided.  That's just NOT right.  It's scary.

For the past six years I have worked as a civilian employee of our Regional Police.  I work for the police within the Provincial criminal court system. (Regional police being somewhere between metro-police & large sheriff's department...Provincial court system being much like a state court system on steroids.)  It just amazes me the number of people that go through our local court system that have been "tagged" by Immigration Canada.  Meaning Immigration wants to be made aware of the OUTCOME of court proceedings.  They don't deport them.  Instead the accused are sent through the court system, 90% of them legal aid recipients.  We, the tax payers, carry the burden.  Just like in the US.

The greater Toronto area, which I guess we are part of, is a huge very diverse multi-cultural area.  We have them all.  From all corners of the world.  Everyone from China to Serbia to the Philippines to the Caribbean to the Middle East to Somalia (and yes, Mexico) and on and on.  Overall, do they conform to their new country?  Do they try to blend and adjust?  NOOOOoooo.  We are expected to conform to them.  Just like in the US.   

Canadians are just UP in arms about the new border crossing requirements and issues.  Canadians love to cross the border.  A lot of them for daily work purposes...a lot for travel and vacationing and they are just livid that they have to have a passport.  It just irritates them that suddently they have to PROVE they are Canadian citizens, that they are HERE LEGALLY.  Personally, I think it's great.  I think it's SMART on the part of the American government.  Cuz, you know why? 

It's FAR TOO EASY to get "into" Canada.

[MarineMom]

The thing that really burns me, is that the immigrants can go to school and on to college and pay less then the people born in america. Correct me if I am wrong but I think our Great Govenor signed a bill on this a couple of years ago.

If you do not work for your citizenship, you should have to leave. You can't stay forever on a green card.
Army Mom

I went to college here while I still had my green card and I had to pay the same as everybody else. I did not get any special breaks at all, my scholarships were given (or taken away) according to my gpa which had to remain a 3.5. My class book and lab fees all were the same as everybody else taking the same courses. So I'm not sure that immigrants get special breaks although I have heard but do not know if it true or not that people coming here on student visa's get cut rates. people on a green card are here legally and have most but not all the same rights as a citizen the right to pay taxes for instance but not the right to vote

[Teresa]

Jody Clevengar ask that I put this on for her... so I did..

American Suicide??!!!!??

We know Dick Lamb as the former Governor of Colorado. In that context his thoughts are particularly poignant. Last week there was an immigration overpopulation conference in Washington, DC, filled to capacity by many of America's finest minds and leaders. A brilliant college professor by the name of Victor Hansen Davis talked about his latest book, "Mexifornia," explaining how immigration - both legal and illegal was destroying the entire state of California. He said it would march across the country until it destroyed all vestiges of The American Dream.

Moments later, former Colorado Governor Richard D. Lamm stood up and gave a stunning speech on how to destroy America. The audience sat spellbound as he described eight methods for the destruction of the United States. He said, "If you believe that America is too smug, too self-satisfied, too rich, then let's destroy America. It is not that hard to do. No nation in history has survived the ravages of time. Arnold Toynbee observed that all great civilizations rise and fall and that 'An autopsy of history would show that all great nations commit suicide.'"

"Here is how they do it," Lamm said: "First, to destroy America, turn America into a bilingual or multi-lingual and bicultural country."

History shows that no nation can survive the tension, conflict, and antagonism of two or more competing languages and cultures. It is a blessing for an individual to be bilingual; however, it is a curse for a society to be bilingual. The historical scholar, Seymour Lipset, put it this way: "The histories of bilingual and bi-cultural societies that do not assimilate are histories of turmoil, tension, and tragedy." Canada, Belgium, Malaysia, and Lebanon all face crises of national existence in which minorities press for autonomy, if not independence. Pakistan and Cyprus have divided. Nigeria suppressed an ethnicrebellion. France faces difficulties with Basques, Bretons, and Corsicans.".

Lamm went on: Second, to destroy America, "Invent 'multiculturalism' and encourage immigrants to maintain their culture. Make it an article of belief that all cultures are equal. That there are no cultural differences. Make it an article of faith that the Black and Hispanic dropout rates are due solely to prejudice and discrimination by the majority. Every other explanation is out of bounds.

Third, "We could make the United States an 'Hispanic Quebec' without much effort. The key is to celebrate diversity rather than unity. As Benjamin Schwarz said in the Atlantic Monthly recently: "The apparent success of our own multiethnic and multicultural experiment might have been achieved not by tolerance but by hegemony. Without the dominance that once dictated ethnocentricity and what it meant to be an American, we are left with only tolerance and pluralism to hold us together."

Lamm said, "I would encourage all immigrants to keep their own language and culture. I would replace the melting pot metaphor with the salad bowl metaphor. It is important to ensure that we have various cultural subgroups living in America enforcing their differences rather than as Americans, emphasizing their similarities."

"Fourth, I would make our fastest growing demographic group the least educated. I would add a second underclass, unassimilated, undereducated, and antagonistic to our population. I would have this second underclass have a 50% dropout rate from high school."

"My fifth point for destroying America would be to get big foundations and business to give these efforts lots of money. I would invest in ethnic identity, and I would establish the cult of 'Victimology.' I would get all minorities to think that their lack of success was the fault of the majority. I would start a grievance industry blaming all minority failure on the majority population."

"My sixth plan for America's downfall would include dual citizenship, and promote divided loyalties. I would celebrate diversity over unity. I would stress differences rather than similarities. Diverse people worldwide are mostly engaged in hating each other - that is, when they are not killing each other. A diverse, peaceful, or stable society is against most historical precedent. People undervalue the unity it takes to keep a nation together. Look at the ancient Greeks. The Greeks believed that they belonged to the same race; they possessed a common Language and literature; and they worshipped the same gods. All Greece took part in the Olympic games. A common enemy, Persia, threatened their liberty. Yet all these bonds were not strong enough to overcome two factors: local patriotism and eographical conditions that nurtured political divisions. Greece fell. "E. Pluribus Unum" --From many, one. In that historical reality, if we put the emphasis on the 'pluribus' instead of the 'Unum,' we will balkanize America as surely as Kosovo."

"Next to last, I would place all subjects off limits; make it taboo to talk about anything against the cult of 'diversity.' I would find a word similar to 'heretic' in the 16th century - that stopped discussion and paralyzed thinking. Words like 'racist' or 'xenophobe' halt discussion and debate.  Having made America a bilingual/bicultural country, having established multi-culturism, having the large foundations fund the doctrine of  'Victimology,' I would next make it impossible to enforce our immigration laws. I would develop a mantra: That because immigration has been good for America, it must always be good. I would make every individual immigrant symmetric and ignore the cumulative impact of millions of them."

In the last minute of his speech, Governor Lamm wiped his brow. Profound silence followed. Finally he said,. "Lastly, I would censor Victor Hanson Davis's book "Mexifornia." His book is dangerous. It exposes the plan to destroy America. If you feel America deserves to be destroyed, don't read that book."

There was no applause. A chilling fear quietly rose like an ominous cloud above every attendee at the conference. Every American in that room knew that everything Lamm enumerated was proceeding methodically, quietly, darkly, yet pervasively across the United States today. Discussion is being suppressed. Over 100 languages are ripping the foundation of our educational system and national cohesiveness. Even barbaric cultures that practice female genital mutilation are growing as we celebrate 'diversity.'

American jobs are vanishing into the Third World as corporations create a Third World in America - take note of California and other states - to date, ten million illegal aliens and growing fast. It is reminiscent of George Orwell's book "1984." In that story, three slogans are engraved in the Ministry of Truth building: "War is peace," "Freedom is slavery," and "Ignorance is strength."

Governor Lamm walked back to his seat. It dawned on everyone at the conference that our nation and the future of this great democracy is deeply in trouble and worsening fast. If we don't get this immigration monster stopped within three years, it will rage like a California wildfire and destroy everything in its path especially The American Dream.

[Jody]

We have let IT happen a little at a time!   I refuse to press one for English, and sure enough a real live  person  comes on and talks to me.
I am calling  a business in an  ENGLISH SPEAKING COUNTRY, WHY WOULD I  EXPECT YOU TO  SPEAK ANYTHING BUT ENGLISH?     Submersion is the  best and quickest way to learn English! 
    But what do we do......
print things  in different languages,    teach English as  a second  language,  we make it so easy not to learn ENGLISH.

[frawin]

Jody, Myrna volunteers at the Election Office during elections here in Midland. This is America yet they have to have a Spanish speaking person available to help voters and you have to have all of the ballots available in Spanish and English. You have to be a US citizen to vote and you have to speak/read English to pass your citizenship requirements, so why do we have to have interpreters at the polls. Simply because we are losing our country to people that do not pass citizenship requirements. The longer this goes on the bigger the voting block that will be controlled by the largest group of illegals that are entering this country. Many towns in Texas, New Mexico, Arizonia and California are 50% to 90% hispanic, and a large % of that are illegals. If these people really want to come to America to help improve it and because they love it, why don/'t they stay home and love their country and work to improve it. Americans need to demand their Congressman, Senators and President stop the entry of illegals now before we loose control of this country completely. We need to stop all illegals which come from every country in the world.