Immigration or amnesty

[boots]

Bush is trying to push his stalled immigration bill. I think it's a bill too late for its time. Is W. on the right track?

 

[alleyallen]

No. Absolutely not on the right track. Out of step with a VERY large majority of Americans, particularly in his home state.

 

[Ashy Larry]

he's way off track......I've yet to speak with anyone that thinks this is a good solution.

 

[TyWebb]

Terrible idea. Would hate to see this go through.

 

[Smallpotatoes]

Is it even possible to deport all of the 12 million or so people living in this country illegally?

 

[alleyallen]

Is it even possible to deport all of the 12 million or so people living in this country illegally?

Not if they're all given amnesty first.

Look, it's one thing if a law is unjust...it should be changed.

But immigration laws aren't unjust necessarily, and we shouldn't not enforce the law just because it would be difficult (if not next to impossible). I mean, we still bust people for simple marijuana possession, don't we? Talk about a losing cause...

 

[zeke12]

Calling something amnesty is a sure way to fire up the law and order crowd.

But as Biden said the other day, what's the alternative?

You gonna round all these folks up and drive or fly them back to their home countries?

It's a big country, there are a lot of them and they're already off the grid.

To stand up and say "Enforce the law as currently written" is patently absurd.

 

[Flying Headbutt]

Crack down on employers first and foremost. Second off, there's never ever ever going to be posses rounding up illegals. Though sometimes with the idiots driving in my neighborhood a Baghdad-esque checkpoint wouldn't bother me (that's a joke, sort of).

But amnesty is a slap in the face to everyone who immigrated here lawfully, and besides that, does anyone really think that millions of people who are among the poorest of our citizens are going to save up thousands of dollars, and then travel, say in the case of people in my neighborhood, two thousand miles to checkpoints?

Besides that, the whole point is that many of these are cheap, available labor that can be paid under the table at less expense than someone who is on the books. Put them on the books and costs go up anyway, and those costs still get passed on to us anyway, despite what the whole amnesty crowd says about how the cost of everything will rise if we deport everyone.

 

[BTExpress]

I mean, we still bust people for simple marijuana possession, don't we?

No, we don't. Just on occasion.

If you woke up tomorrow with every marijuana user in jail, you would see a mighty different America.

And if you woke up tomorrow with every illegal deported, you would see a mighty different America.

Neither is an America you want to see.

 

[HejiraHenry]

But as Biden said the other day, what's the alternative?

You gonna round all these folks up and drive or fly them back to their home countries?

Yes.

Next question.

 

[Double J]

Just shoot them. Bullets are way cheaper than gas these days.

 

[zeke12]

But as Biden said the other day, what's the alternative?

You gonna round all these folks up and drive or fly them back to their home countries?

Yes.

Next question.

No one is going to do that. NO ONE.

Let's deal in reality.

 

[slappy4428]

But as Biden said the other day, what's the alternative?

You gonna round all these folks up and drive or fly them back to their home countries?

Yes.

Next question.

No one is going to do that. NO ONE.

Let's deal in reality.

Nope, they are here to stay -- legally or not.

 

[alleyallen]

I mean, we still bust people for simple marijuana possession, don't we?

No, we don't. Just on occasion.

If you woke up tomorrow with every marijuana user in jail, you would see a mighty different America.

And if you woke up tomorrow with every illegal deported, you would see a mighty different America.

Neither is an America you want to see.

Then change the law, don't apply it capriciously. That's all I'm saying. What's the point about having certain laws and claiming to be tough on said laws, then not fully enforcing them? Either enforce the law or change it.

But amnesty is a definite slap in the face to millions of Americans and not the right thing to do.

And whether it's an America I'd like to see or not, I'll say this much....when I drive around significant parts of my community and listen to the words being spoken, it's not an America I'm particularly proud to see right now.

'Nuff said.

 

[ThomsonONE]

The millions of illegals aren't going to leave, ever. Any position that includes removing them is fantasy. However, any illegal should have no hope of citizenship, and the children of illegals should not get automatic citizenship.

The real plan must include the sealing of the southern border. To continue along this path is like locking your front door, then leaving all your windows open. Locking the door is not making you safe, thinking it is is asinine.

 

[JackS]

This is the most overrated "hot button issue" ever. What the hell has changed on the immigration front over the last 20 years? Nothing. The only reason this is suddenly on everybody's mind now is because you've got a couple of blowhards named Dobbs and O'Reilly harping on it every day.

It ain't 9/11. No terrorists came over the Mexican border on 9/11. In fact, I'd be more nervous about terrorists coming over the Canadian border. I don't envision them suffering through the desert to get here.

 

[T2]

Christians should remember the Parable of the Prodigal Son's Brother, who felt that his father's actions were a slap in the face to him.

http://www.geocities.com/tbtho/noam.htm

 

[User 1019]

I straddle the fence on this issue. Pun intended.

On one hand, I take a very conservative stance and want the illegals to be arrested and deported. I also want their employers to be dealt with swiftly and harsly. I want the laws on the books enforced and the borders sealed.

However, I'm pretty sure that ain't gonna happen.

Number 1: 12-20M people aren't going to be rounded up and hauled off. I think that's a realistic expectation. No. 2: The factory for which my wife is an accountant (which is the largest furniture factory on the earth) would cease to exist if not for illegals, I'm pretty sure. Hell, they even recently had an HR manager fired for running a little Social Security number scam. Coming down hard on compaines from LA to Savannah just ain't gonna happen -- under ANY administration, not just the current one.

I would, however, possibly support some sort of path/amnesty plan that seemed a little more secure than simply registering at the courthouse. I think it's the American thing to do. Don't we have a "dry land" policy with Cubans? (And I know the Cuban situation is different.)

And I don't think this is just a big issue because O'Reilly and other blowhards are harping on it. It's a pretty serious issue -- one that's more complicated than it was when Italians and Irish began landing by the boatload back in the day.

There's got to be some middle ground here, right?

*was that even remotely coherent?*

 

[alleyallen]

This is the most overrated "hot button issue" ever. What the hell has changed on the immigration front over the last 20 years? Nothing. The only reason this is suddenly on everybody's mind now is because you've got a couple of blowhards named Dobbs and O'Reilly harping on it every day.

It ain't 9/11. No terrorists came over the Mexican border on 9/11. In fact, I'd be more nervous about terrorists coming over the Canadian border. I don't envision them suffering through the desert to get here.

Jack, it's not an issue solely because blowhards are screaming about it. It's an issue because it really is an issue and because the amnesty plan is a hideously bad idea opposed by quite a few people on both sides of the aisle.

 

[cranberry]

Calling something amnesty is a sure way to fire up the law and order crowd.

But as Biden said the other day, what's the alternative?

You gonna round all these folks up and drive or fly them back to their home countries?

It's a big country, there are a lot of them and they're already off the grid.

To stand up and say "Enforce the law as currently written" is patently absurd.

Unfortunately, thoughtful, pragmatic solutions aren't sufficient for the extremists nor the cable television pundits who incite them.

I am for any solution in which illegal immigrants are registered, legitimized, put on the books, paid fair wages and pay taxes. I am also in favor of strong penalties to companies that employ illegal immigrants as a cheap source of labor.