Immigration bill protests: "A Day Without Latinos"
 

Just thought I'd get everyone's opinions on the protests over the immigration bill they're talking about. Last week, a bunch of students down here missed school to go march over the bill.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/kgtv/20060407/lo_kgtv/3382875

Another immigration reform event is brewing -- inspired by the 2004 movie "A Day Without A Mexican," 10News reported.

Activists said Monday, May 1 will be called, "A Day Without Latinos" -- a boycott of work, school and shopping for those who participate nationwide.

Cardinal Mahoney is saying not to do it to the people of LA because boycotting isn't going to get anyone anywhere on this issue and it causes anger and mistrust. (his words not mine, there was an article about it on MSN earlier last week.)

I guess my question is, what about the rest of the people who come to this country illegally? This bill doesn't affect them? Why not try to get all the immigrants in on this and not just latinos? Granted immigrants of hispanic descent are the largest number in the country, but there are lots of others as well. How many people have come over here legally via an airport, stayed "on vacation" and then just never left?

The school where I teach was affected by the walkouts, though not much, only about 60 students did it and our school is about 35% hispanic with around 1900 students. Most of the students who walked out had little idea why they were doing it, and we just doing it because they wanted to miss class. Also the majority of the ones who walked aren't exactly upstanding students who tend to do well in their classes - quite honestly students who would have been better served to stay in school and attempt to learn about the issue in their history/social science classes as opposed to walking out and then marching to city hall with our principal in tow- he follwed because he knew if anyone got hurt, you know we'd be sued. What does city hall have to do with a federal bill?

Sticky issue...and one that will require some actual thought and true intelligent discussion if it is to be resolved in a reasonable manner.

Well the protests are at least a better idea than what the College Republicans at Penn State wanted to do to promote the bill.

http://www.collegian.psu.edu/archive...ps-edit-01.asp

These are the geniuses that two years ago had a party where members showed up in blackface, as a KKK member, as an "oversodomized frat pledge", and as a "sorostitute".

http://www.collegian.psu.edu/archive...03dnews-08.asp

Now if we could get both Latinos and African Americans to collaborate on the same day we could really affect the economy on that given day!

What does this bill have to do with African Americans?

Nahh, that would never happen, the blacks would be too lazy to do anything.

interesting....

Actually I could really care less....Just wanted to see how many "You are a racist, bigot, etc. etc. etc." responses I could get. Surprisingly GC was rather tame.

suuuuurrreee.

that and considering your post on "typical" black strippers.

I think "Catch an illegal immigrant day" is funnier.

-Rudey

statistically speaking there are more of those particular illegal immigrants (and the ones who came to college here and never left) than those who "border jump" from mexico - despite what the xenophobes would have you believe.

- marissa

Let's see those statistics then, because I find that really hard to believe.

I was wondering about that, too. I'm not saying that statement is wrong, because I don't know, but I find it very surprising as well.

You have no way of proving this, and I highly doubt it's true. There will be records of those who overstay visas while there are no records for whatever "border jumpers" as you call them come into the country illegally.

Granted, it's a small sample size I'm talking about here, but I lived in the International dorm on my campus for two years back in the mid 80's and the vast majority of the foreign students on my floor had no intention of ever going back to their home countries, especially the Iranian students (this was during the Iran-Iraq war and as soon as they stepped foot in Iran again, they were going to have to go fight in the military). It was right after the Shah was booted and things had gone from a Western type civilization to an extremist regime. The women were particularly determined not to return because they had no rights there. I know for sure that three of the Iranian students never left and ended up "legal" eventually, but it was years of hiding and running first. But, it wasn't just the Iranian students either. There were students from 18 countries on my dorm floor alone and I would be surprised if any of them returned home, because they really loved it here.

The funniest ones were the German guys who thought they could "road trip" to California (from Michigan) on a weekend, because they were used to other countries being nearby.. they didn't get just how big the US was! But, that's a hijack.

Actually, there are records of the illegals that border patrol/immigrations pick-up. I saw a clip on border patrol on MSNBC about a week ago and they did have yearly statistics around the 100,000+ mark ( number of people crossing illegally ).

What percentage of illegal border crossings do you think border patrol actually documents?

I don't know if that number is an estimate based on the amount that they do catch, or what. I guess I should have paid more attention to it, but none the less, over a hundred thousand a year. A lot more mexicans up in here than lost tourists and students.

Okey, I admit it...
 

I just don't wanna pay for sending folks back...

I'd rather spend the money it takes for making sure undocumented babies get formula from WIC, than to pay all the money to send some dude from across the ocean on a 1st class ticket to Tahiti. I mean dayum, I wanna 1st class ticket to Tahiti...

I've been on 1 jury where EVERYBODY was undocumented and they make a fool outta the Border Patrol agents chasing them. Wasting my tax dollars putting them in jail...

And there are options... Although it will be against Geneva Convention and violate a lot of human rights, but, there are those options...

So, really, it is cheaper to keep the labor on this side and not relocate big business--such as agriculture to another country--and have some folks think they are American and buy into the American dream...

It's a form of propagandizing folks... And it's our greatest export... Everyone wants to be an American--right? Yeah, right...

Well maybe everyone wants to be an European with the Euro going... Although France just jacked that off...

How can one be on a jury full of undocumented immigrants? They use the DMV records to pull for jury duty and at least in California you can't get a drivers license unless you are here legally. Granted you can buy one in downtown LA, but the DMV isn't going to call up a fake license.

Realistically speaking, the government isn't going to waste the time to try and deport them all, it's not efficacious.What the hell are you talking about with France? That comment was out of nowhere and made no sense.

I will have to respectfully disagree. I deal with a lot of undocumented people and their children in my job, and in a lot of respects I can tell you that those who are here have "bought in" to the American dream and want to stay because it's a much better life here than it is there, wherever there may be. Many of the parents of the students at the school where I teach want to become Americans in the future.

I'm all for a guest worker program, but it can't be done the way it's been done in Europe. It's ridiculous to tell people that they can come work in our country, but they can't get citizenship. Heck, get the guest workers to pay taxes to help pay for some of the programs that are being used to help them here. Granted it won't solve all the problems, but it can't be much different than it is right now.

I think she meant that she was on a jury where the subject of the case was undocumented immigrants (ie, 15 Hispanics all caught together in a Geo Storm with not 1 driver's license in the group), not that the rest of the jury was undocumented.

yeah stats!
 

courtesy of the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services website and stats section (uscis.gov)

turns out we're both right (cause my stats were old)...

"nonimmigrant overstays" or those immigrants who came here legally and simply stayed past their paperwork DID account for a higher percentage than "border jumpers" up until the mid to late nineties

HOWEVER - as of 2000

"Roughly 2.3 million, or 33 percent, of the 7.0 million unauthorized immigrants residing in the United States in January 2000 were estimated to be nonimmigrant overstays."



***new stats will not be available until the next census, so who knows...

my bad!

- marissa