Your Thoughts: Day Without Immigrants-Boycott
 

Immigrants Walk Off Jobs in Boycott
AP - 1 hour, 58 minutes ago
LOS ANGELES - Hundreds of thousands of mostly Hispanic immigrants skipped work and took to the streets Monday, flexing their newfound political muscle in a nationwide boycott that, while far from unified, still succeeded in slowing or shutting many farms, factories, markets and restaurants. From Los Angeles to Chicago, New Orleans to Houston, the "Day Without Immigrants" attracted widespread participation despite divisions among activists over whether a boycott would send the right message to Washington lawmakers considering sweeping immigration reform.



http://news.yahoo.com/fc/US/Immigration

I admit that I haven't researched this and I need some help. Can someone please tell me what do you need to immigrate to the U.S. legally besides a passport or visa? Do you need to have a U.S. family member, employer or someone like that to vouch for you? Thanks for any and all repsonses.

Well it depends on where you're coming from. There is lots of paperwork involved b/c as with any country you need to keep track of who's in your country & who's coming in and out of it. It only makes sense. Now Once you have your passport or Visa (if it is required by the US government) there's is usually a time limit that you can stay. Exceeding that is one form of being here illegally. I.E you got in legally but exceeded your stay...that's illegal.

Some instances require a family member to "vouch" for you, say if you're trying to get a green card. Some instances allow you to stay on a work visa, or student visa or asylum visa. They've got something for everyone. You can even be here off of a student visa, work on an Optional Practical Training Visa & the company you work for can "vouch" for you.

But then you have those who have come tot he US by boat or by sneaking into the country by land as in the case of illegal Mexicans. So basically there's no record of you even being here.

No traffic on the 405...sorry.

I have been following this story closely. There is one thing that confuses me. The pending legislation is for immigration reform right? Those that have emigrated here LEGALLY should have no beef right? In fact, I have tremendous respect for people who have left their homeland to seek a better life; the more the better if they did it the RIGHT way.

My problem, and what I think the focus of the legislation is, would be the ILLEGAL immigrants that sneak into the country every year. These people demand the rights of citizenship (schooling, public housing, financial aid, jobs) without the documentation that they are entitled to those rights and the responsibility and allegiance to this country. Why didn't the boycott only ask the ILLEGALS to stay home so that we can clearly see who are the ones that this country can do without?

I would be interested to hear from folks who emigrated here legally and the challenges you faced.

I didn't know anything about this until I went to IHOP last night to study and it was closed.... :(

I need to read up on this subject after finals are over.

I have been married since Nov 2004 and we are still going through red tape and more red tape. Many people have this idea that you get married, and everything is automatic. IT'S NOT. It takes LOTS of time (hours filling out paperwork, weeks/months/years waiting for it to be processed), LOTS of money (Your first petition to determine if you are even eligible to apply costs $200, your second round of paperwork costs $2000, plus the $ for fingerprinting and medical exam AND the forms are EXTREMELY complicated, so many people have to have legal help to do those and that's major $$ also), and LOTS of patience. We're working on getting him a Social Security number right now so that he can get a driver's license.

I think that this is just another case of the US upholding their double standard. Maybe this issue is too close to me, but I'm amazed at how Cubans can touch US soil and be a citizen but Hatians get turned away. I was just reading some old historical things about Haiti and the Louisiana Purchase and this whole conspiracy thing to keep Haiti weak. But that's another topic. I really believe that whatever the policy is, it needs to be the same all across the board.

The US has strong ties to Cuba (whereas France has strong ties to Haiti). On top of that, I don't think they become citizens automatically, but are given political asylum. That's different. And the US government has provided political asylum to people from all over the world.

-Rudey

They are protesting and screaming "We are Americans". No they're Mexicans that send money back to Mexico if they're illegal. Substitute Mexican for whatever country you want.

They had a woman screaming "We're not criminals" but I guess she doesn't know what the meaning of illegal is and how people are ILLEGAL immigrants because they break the law.

But then they had a Mexican guy on tv who said his family had been here for 30 years and worked hard to come here and become citizens, sacrificed, and didn't think illegals are entitled to the rewards without going through all that.

So the local burrito joint was closed? Tomatoes weren't picked in the US? I'll go to Taco Bell and buy Mexican grown tomatoes...no worries. If this were Mexico, they could bring the economy to a halt but it's America and the economy thrives in areas illegals have no involvement in.

-Rudey

I agree with Rudey :) .........and that scares me. :(

There, there, HK1974. It's going to be OK. You get over it eventually.

OT, thanks for the explanations everyone. AlphaFrog's situation makes it clearer. I have known people who have come here legally and later became US citizens. We never discussed fees and such so I never knew what it cost.

Give me a break...the US HATES Castro and have tried over the years to remove him. To get in Castro's face the US has established a system which allows Cuban residents rights they REFUSE to give others who are in actual danger solely to piss Castro off. Haitian citizens who are in danger (not just politically but are starving and still suffering from the mudslides that hit the country after the hurricaines last year) continue to DIE - but the US sticks to its "policies" and continues to deport anyone who happens to make it here with no regard.

How quickly we've forgotten Elian and the drama with his mothers family that wanted to keep him here while his father fought to have him returned to Cuba. He wasn't in danger - he's in Cuba living his life.

Funny how the media now has people up in arms over immigrants "stealing our jobs" and "mis-using our tax dollars" and we've conveniently taken the heat off the president for the rising gas prices and daily rising death toll in Iraq.....

But again, the US has ties to Cuba historically and not to Haiti. That's why France is so involved in Haiti (or at least moreso than other countries). It's also why that altered form of French is spoken there.

Haitians are starving? So is a considerable portion of the world. Everywhere from India to Africa. It's all good and great to talk about helping people, but the United States isn't in the business of charity. It donates quite a bit but it doesn't open its doors for all the poor to just rush in. I mean hey why don't we just send boats to Haiti and bring the entire population over and settle them in Montana? Then we can make Haiti into a new club Med.

And you're right, Elian did get returned and wasn't made into a US citizen. He wasn't in danger, like you said, and was returned.

As for rising gas prices a president doesn't control them (blame the Arabs and Venezualans as well as investors who control the price of oil after it reaches the market). As for Iraq, that's a whole other issue but either way it's a separate issue. It's not like anyone said don't talk about Iraq. Iraq is in the news every day. It's a pretty big copout to just say "Hey don't enforce immigration laws, because we have the Iraq war going on".

On top of that immigration is mostly a congressional issue and not presidential. It's come into the spotlight because of the congressional races that are coming up.

Either way, the law is the law isn't it? And aren't these people breaking the law? That's what it all comes down to. And since this isn't a small law they're breaking it's pretty important to enforce it.

-Rudey

gasp! so do I..


My thing is this..for those of you working on doing it the correct way, more power to you and I wish you all the best. :)

To those who keep coming here illegally but want all the benefits I don't think so. I am sorry but if the American gov has the right to tax me to death and take my $$ in an assortment of taxes (and half azz do what they are supposed to do with them) just to live here then you should get to experience the same. I could care less about the jobs you do, but there is a price to be paid to say you are an American (whether natural born or naturalized). I think that you should have the right to have to have 1/2 your isht seized by the gov'ment like i do for back taxes. :mad:


End rant...

Me, too! :eek:

See this is what it takes...SACRIFICE...no matter how long it takes to achieve something that you want. Citizenship in America is a process and these people, no matter where they come from, need to WORK. I know several people who have fought the good fight of faith in obtaining US Citizenship and won! It's just bothersome knowing that some people ignore the process.

Maybe I'm the voice of dissent. People seek out this country because of the opportunity. What bothers me about the discussion is that if there were illegal immigrants from France, or Russia, there wouldn't be a discussion about it. They would be able to come in and assimilate. But for people of a darker hue, everywhere the obstacles are greater, the racism is more apparent. Listening to NPR yesterday, the report said that there were children at the march, people peacefully protesting for their rights. Does this sound familiar at all?

It seems to me that the African American community is being pitted against the Latino community. What better way to keep low income/middle income people from talking about class related issues than to make them squabble over immigration issues. Normally, politicians don't care about low income blacks and their access to health care and schools. But now, some politicians are so concerned with the downtrodden black man because those are day laboring jobs now being taken by the undocumented aliens from Central America. Give me a break!

The issue is becoming politicized much like the gay marriage issue(another thread) to encourage blacks to fight against other ethnic and sexual orientation groups. This country typically could give a damn what happens to black America except when they need someone to fight against someone else.

Honestly, I'm a little jealous of the ability of immigrants to stand together regardless of country of nationality and fight against the legislation. It would be nice if the Black community could unite together with issues that bring people together not tear them apart.

Yall got me typing fast and breathin hard over here. :D

I see your point. BUT. This issue applies to ALL immigrants not just Latinos. In my neck of the woods, an immigrant is more likely to be Russian/Eastern European or Asian/Indian. EYE don't care where you came from, the policy should be the same. If the policy is NOT the same, then that is where the legislation should aim to make a level playing field for all.

Wow. I'm amazed at this posters ability to take a non-(black)-racist issue and turn it into one. I'm not saying that blacks cannot have an opinion or be involved with "the cause" on either side of the issue, but IT'S REALLY NOT ABOUT blacks vs. whites vs. hispanics. I'm sorry if anyone disagrees, but this subject is personal to me. I have a ton more I would like to say, but I can't phrase it right now to say exactly what I want to say and not have people read more into it then what I really mean. So I'm just going to leave it at that for right now.

After giving it much thought, I've come to believe that this is not a race issue but a class issue. If you pay close attention to immigrants in our country, a good majority reap the benefits of our system more than the average american. Why? Because they know how hard it is in their country and they take advantage of the opportunities. The reason why I say that this is a class issue is because the middle class financial gap is shrinking and I'm predicting that it will be widen out due to the influx of immigrants. Has anyone ever notice that they only invest in their own? Around here, Latins come here make money, send it back home, and invest the rest here in their own family. It doesn't immediately go back into the market (which is very smart). As a result they tend to "come up" a lot faster. The same thing with Asians, Russians, and other Europeans. They take advantage of the opportunity and that becomes a problem to a lot of Americans who waste theirs because immigrants literally take over neighborhoods with large numbers and active participation. There's a county in Alabama where 10 years ago I would ride through with my uncle and I would see all these latin workers on the road doing roadwork. Now I drive through that same town and they have an elected official, still out there doing the road work, they have stores, and the population there is about half latin and half everything else. It's damn smart if you ask me. That's just my two pennies.

My point is not that this is a black issue. My point is that blacks should stand with the immigrant community as we are all people of color. From the televison programs I have watched, there seems to be concern by politicians about who illegal immigration is affecting, namely but not only low income blacks. And no...I dont listen to everything I see on TV. ;) But....Wow...my point got totally lost. :(

Well, AlphaFrog, it really isn't that unheard of for someone to point out the differences in the US immigration policy for various countries. It has been argued for a long time that it it may be more difficult for some people to migrate to this country (like Haitians, and other Carribean Islanders) than others (like Europeans). I'm not getting into the merits of this argument right now, but I am saying that is certainly isn't new and shouldn't immediatedly be dismissed. Also, speaking to your question awhile back of why some topics are discussed in the NPHC forums rather than the general fourms, it was metioned that some people do not care for the reception (or lack thereof) that they receive from posters in those fourms when race is brought up. Perhaps your response is an example of that. It is fine to disagree on this issue, but to blast this poster at the mere mention of race is unnecessary.

Maybe I was confused. I guess when I see a post with THREE paragraphs discussing something (how immigration is a black issue) and ONE paragraph discussing something different (black unity) I generally assume the point lies in the most heavily discussed part of the post. And since this was 3:1, that's how I came to the conclusion that it was the main point of the post. My mistake.

Just as some of you have "hot issues" this is one with me.

I agree that the immigration policy for different countries is very unfair. It would eliminate POUNDS of red tape for me if my husband was Cuban or Salvadoranian instead of Mexican. But this doesn't have much to do with blacks who are already in this country.

illegal immigrant rights.


sounds like an oxy-moron.

How is a country of immigrants going to have issues with immigrants?

because the current law of the land requires them to be documented.

you realize that over 80 percent of the illegal immigrant population is hispanic?

http://www.npr.org/programs/atc/feat...s/where200.gif

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/s...toryId=4703307

i think the main point you're missing is: they're ILLEGAL.

is it legal to go and kill someone? no - you get punished for your crime. if you think about it, it's kinda almost along the same lines, because it's the LAW.



don't get me wrong, i have absolutely no problem with immigrants, as long as they're legal. i do, however have a problem with those who are here illegally, and yet seem to have the same benefits that are offered to me. hey, if i have to pay uncle sam 30% of my income, then by God so can everyone else that resides in this country.

How exactly would a Russian easily migrate to the US illegally? There is a reason why so many illegals are Mexican and that's because the border is open and right next to the US.

It's not about Mexicans, it's about illegals. The law is already there. It's not about should we let them in or not or are illegal immigrants bad. That's been decided on and they are illegal because of it. It's about enforcing the law.

-Rudey

Try as you may this ain about black vs white. This is about Illegal Immigration and Illegal Immigrants. All of them are not just light-skinned latino, but limited to Cuban ones. All illegal immigrants. There is alot of time, effort & money that goes into getting prpoer documentation WHEREVER you're from. I am from the Bahamas. Wonderful place. Politics are fine, money is strong, the only boats we arriving to the US on are cruise ships or our personal watercrafts. Point is me being able to go to school in the US I had paperwork to go through to attain my Visa and to keep that Visa.

Do you know they want to let illegal immigrants go to university for the IN-STATE price while I, who has gone through the long process that an international student does pays out of state price??? Don't think so.
Caribbean people & those who are not geographically connected to the US are going to have to go through the proper channels for the most part b/c like Rudey said we can't sneak across any border.

The point in this whole matter is you have to follow the laws of the land & whatever documentation is required is necessary for you to have! End of story! Lots of other people come to the US some for a better life, some for a change of scenery(not every immigrant is escaping hardships) and they do it RIGHT. I suggest these folks do the same & become legal, financial contributers to the American society.:o

I can't believe you left the Bahamas. And do you get British citizenship there or is it an independent country?

-Rudey

I agree with your post 100%. I remember what it was like watching my mother and her husband go through the proper procedure for him to come over legally (he's from Jamaica) and even my aunt in bringing my cousin over (My aunt who is an American moved to Freeport Bahamas and married a guy there and they adopted a little girl; he died and they moved back home)...so to say the Process is WORTH fighting. If you aren't willing to go through the proper procedures, why should anyone be granted citizenship and walk in the freedom and amenities that we have.

Very true! Apparently, most of the freeways were easy breezy.

lol I'm back home right now. We are independent.

I truly believe in karma, what goes around comes around.

If you found your country by raping, murdering, isolating and "illegally" coming to claim a land that belongs to someone else, you are asking for it later in your history. I am sure according to the Native Americans many Europeans did not confirm with them the process for coming to the New World they just "illegally" bombarded themselves on the country and eventually took over. Hmmm sounds familiar.....however the law is the law and karma or not that can't be your excuse for coming here illegally.

At any rate I think that the process of becoming a citizen is the problem. It is this process of coming here and truly wanting a better life and having to go through red tape to get it. Give me a break I don't care what anybody types, this country will be eventually majority Hispanic in our lifetime.

I agree a country of immigrants can't choose and pick whom they want, they tried that with the Irish and that did not work, its about being organized for your cause and that is something that these immigrants are doing a damn good job of. Sometimes you have to just publizize your case to make change.....

It amazes me that people are like the law is the law, so that means people shouldn't get out there and try to change it.:rolleyes: Wasn't segregation once illegal? Wasn't interracial marriage once illegal? Surely these people who took to the streets were once is a similiar boat as many of the peope in history who want change. I think the thing that disturbs everybody is that they are ORGANIZED and you know deep down they will eventually get reforms in their favor, I mean think about it, how can any judge, governor, senator, or anybody in power say sorry we are reforming the process to make it harder to be a citizen? When its all said and one it will be only easier.....

People, so many are missing the point. I don't see how these people's plight is being compared to black Americans who were born in America! How does that even compare to people who are her ILLEGALLY? Immigration is NOT the issue ....ILLEGAL immigration is. It's a fallacy to grab some law any law & then try & apply it to immigration. It's like arguing apples and oranges. No, you can not have the same rights as citizens when you are not one. See, the difference between Black Americans & illegal Immigrants is that Black citizens were fighting to have to SAME rights as their white counterparts, afterall they were born here. See they were already Americans, but viewed as a much lower class American. Illegal immigrants aren't viewed as any Americans because they're not.

I hope everyone who is all "we are the world" realizes that you have to look out for your country & your countrymen first. To just let everybody in however they come in is not in the best interest of the country.

Yes America is generally a well off nation, but not every american citizen is well off. The resources that the country has needs to be for the people of America. There's this skewed view that America is somebody's Daddy & can take care of the world but they're not & they can't. There are Americans that still need to be helped. Don't go & share yourselves right out of your own pie.

...and i second that emotion.

if you are here legally, that is one thing. but when you BREAK THE LAW to be here, that is a whole 'nother ball of wax. while it may be time consuming to get the proper paperwork done and it may be harder to do it the legal way, VERY BAD THINGS HAPPEN when you are here illegally: shady employers exploit you and threaten you with turning you in, there is human slavery, human trafficking... yes, these things are very much alive and well in 2006. how are you going to demand the rights and privileges of an American or a legal immigrant if you are here ILLEGALLY? i don't know about you all, but i would be pretty darn TICKED if i spent all this time, money, and effort to gain lawful status in this country the RIGHT way, and then somebody comes here illegally and then just gets the same things that i do...

i think the process to being granted citizenship in this country is a long one, but i think that citizenship into the country shouldn't be something that is just afforded to whomever wants it. there should be a process and if it is lengthy and costly... i don't mean to be unsympathetic, but so be it. the opportunities and securities that citizenship afford you will provide a hundredfold return on the investment over the course of a lifetime. AND...just as an aside, i work for the federal government (and i just finished up a grad class on Refugees, Immigrants, and Migrants) and we talk all this stuff about America exploiting immigrants...but there are TONS of instances where America does for immigrants what it will not do for its native citizens who were born here and worked here all their lives... where is the protest for that?

well said...