OK, maybe I missed it, but what does this guy think is going to happen? A race war? Why would illegal immigrants "break up" America in that way, considering if you secede and declare yourself the country of ABCDEFG, you won't GET any of the benefits America has?

And if the areas he's talking about have declined so much, wouldn't their defecting back to Mexico actually HELP the USA? I mean, we've been threatening to annex Philly back onto NJ for years. ;)

All the US would really have to do to fix this would be 2 things:

#1: Enforce current immigration laws.

#2: Make it easier to become a legal immigrant. If someone who only wants a better opportunity in life wants to come the US, good for them. Require them to keep visas current and to pay taxes. If you're not paying taxes, and do not have a current visa, SORRY, no government services for you.

The article is pretty off base. Some of the subjects in it are worthy of description. It seems almost like it was taken out of some White Power publication.

Agreed.

Now tell it to the activist lawyers. ;)

--add

My point is no one wants to be exploited. its not a want...its a need. A temporary one, for those with higher degrees.

Really? Each of the groups you cited were at one time "illegal" in that they weren't entitled to vote, but once there was enough of a political/economic force behind their cultural groups they were included into the political system.. after-all if you are the politican or party that reaches out and helps a group become "legal" citizens they tend to show a little loyalty....

Cooper, those earlier immigrants became entitled to vote when they became LEGAL CITIZENS. I'm talking about activists who want rights WITHOUT that little step. No one (read: me) is against LEGAL immigration. What I am against is people sneaking over borders with the intent of stealing services and rights without even bothering to think about obtaining legal status. You know these are two different things.

This is what causes the anti-immigrant backlash: when arguments are made that try to merge the plight of legal immigrants with illegal. It hurts the legal immigrant's cause.

--add

For me, it's mainly about paying taxes so someone that doesn't pay taxes can enjoy governmental benefits in the US.

Or having to pay high insurance costs because illegal immigrants like to shoot eachother and use our hospitals for free.

Or having to read about our state prisons being filled up with people who never paid taxes in their lives.

If someone wants to come here, work their ass off and make a better life, I don't think anyone has a problem with that. Just so long as they do their fair share.

Most immigrants who can come do so at the luxury of those that can't come. When they arrive, many have resources available to them in terms of family and community.

And when they go into the businesses they go to, they don't go into them with shame. Many immigrant businesses are cash business - more lucrative versions of what they had back home.

You have all these ignorant people arguing over they should get better jobs and how they're so poor and yada yada yada when much of the wealth of foreigners is simply economically immeasurable.

http://www.cato.org/special/friedman/desoto/bio.html

-Rudey

Yes but how do the current "illegals" become legal citizens? What happens if a currently illegal immigrant "reports in" and wants to begin the process of obtaining legal citizenship? Are they summarily arrested, deported, or given a chance to become a legal citizen? See I thought that the "activists" were for the most part advocating a position in favour of granting rights to current illegal immigrants that already reside in the US.

Personally, what I'd like to see is a process something like this:

1. Immigrant shows up to office, registers.

2. An extensive background check is done on immigrant.

3. A Social Security number is issued along with a visa. Brief classes/literature are given about US tax code, government services, etc.

4. Immigrant then has opportunity to apply for citizenship after fulfilling certain requirments.

For the US to close its borders to immigration flies in the face of what this country has always been. Anyone that seeks a better life should be welcomed here with open arms as long as they are willing to pay their own way (by that, I mean pay taxes). The only time I think immigrants should be imprisoned or deported is for having incomes but not paying taxes on them.

My only problem with illegals is that I have to pay for the services they receive and the education their kids get. They don't have to even kick in a penny.

I don't know how hasty they would be to report themselves in when immigration services is now within the department of homeland security.

Cooper--
Ditto what he said.

"Current illegals" is a pretty loose term, because as long as people are encouraged to sneak over the border, they'll do it. That's one of the things that should be stopped. It's not like there's an amnesty (like you're proposing) and all of a sudden, everyone just magically obeys the law. It's more like, "Hey, Amnesty, cool! We can get away w/ this so let's take all we can and run!" Do you honestly think this is a good idea???

Also, I have in issue w/ the order these rights come in. The activists in California advocating drivers licenses, public school, etc etc etc for illegal aliens want US taxpayers (see ktsnake above) to foot the bill, w/out any effort on their part. Now, if these same "current illegals" and their advocates decided to pursue legal status (green card, resident alien, citizenship, whichever - pick one) BEFORE they started asking for drivers' licenses, etc, I think that would be a better idea and would prevent an anti-immigration backlash. Plus, it would uphold this itty bitty little thing called THE LAW which everyone else is expected to follow.

One more - if it can be proven they're involved in a terrorist org (Al Quaeda, etc). You want to destroy this country from the inside? Forget it, the gate's closed.

--add

I didn't put that in because even US citizens should be imprisoned for that. It had no real relation to the subject in my opinion.

We'd have a lot less of a problem with people sneaking accross the border if we made it more attractive to do it legally.

So we yoink government services, we make "special" prisons that suck way worse than US prisons for non-citizens, but on the other hand we make it much more of a rubber-stamp process for people to come to the US in search of a better life.

Realistically, what other way is there? I guess we could always install machine guns on the back of border patrol vehicles.. that might get the same effect.

How about you tell the middle and upper classes not to offer work to illegal immigrants, not have their houses and gardens built and tended by them, etc.?

-Rudey