Main > Everything Else
Illegal Immigration
RacerX:
--- Quote from: ChadTower on March 22, 2005, 07:52:42 am ---
--- Quote ---I do want them to make their economy better, but if we can help them do that, and it will benefit us as well as them in the long run, we should do it.
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You've said this about 5 times now but have yet to give any plausible ways for helping Mexico's economy to benefit us. Raising their per capita income enough that they don't want to come here will cost us more than it helps our immigration problem. What do we do then, build them a health care system so that they don't come here to see our doctors? Build them high schools so they don't come here and fill ours? If they were such an enterprising people they would build their own. Many other countries have.
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I've given a few ways; *you* just disagree with them, which is fine. Mexico is not an empty box. They have natural resources. A large part of their problem has been that a very few people have all the money, and the rest are dirt poor. There is indeed only so much we can do to help them help themselves. And make no mistake, *that's* what I'm talking about here. I'm not talking about just throwing money at the issue. Especially government money. Private businesses should invest in Mexico. Wal-mart has, for example. They employ more people in Mexico than any other private company. There, that's another example, but you will say it isn't feasible. ::)
If the government steps up and enforces our immigration laws like a lot of you are suggesting, yes, they can *reduce* the symptoms. But until the problem is solved, i.e. until the average Mexican worker can make any kind of living in their own country, they will find a way to get over here and work, no matter what our government does. The will to survive and to try to provide a better life for one's family is too strong to deny.
ChadTower:
--- Quote from: RacerX on March 22, 2005, 03:31:04 pm ---Wal-mart has, for example. They employ more people in Mexico than any private company. There, that's another example, but you will say it isn't feasible. ::)
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Not really... I say that is feasable because it already exists.
--- Quote ---If the government steps up and enforces our immigration laws like a lot of you are suggesting, yes, they can *reduce* the symptoms. But until the problem is solved, i.e. until the average Mexican worker can make any kind of living in their own country, they will find a way to get over here and work, no matter what our government does. The will to survive and to try to provide a better life for one's family is too strong to deny.
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If the immigration laws were enforced... if the US companies that employ the illegals were approrpiately punished... if crossing the border were more difficult than crossing the street... there would be a smaller amount of illegals such that we could deal with them in a more humane manner. We could help them go through proper channels to become citizens or we could make them go home by means better than catapult. As it is, what we have is not a problem, it's an infestation, and unfortunately the first thing you do with an infestation is spray it with pesticide to reduce the problem to a more manageable level.
lokki:
I think Puerto ricans have the best of both worlds.
They can legally work in the USA. But don't have to pay taxes.
http://www.irs.gov/businesses/small/international/article/0,,id=97184,00.html
http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/rq.html
Grasshopper:
I don't see the Mexicans as being essentially any different to the (mainly white european) settlers who have colonised North America over the past few hundred years. They are just people trying to create a better life for themselves.
I'm sure from the perspective of the native americans, the white settlers were considered to be just as 'illegal' as the Mexicans are considered to be today.
Don't get me wrong, I totally agree that immigration has to be tightly controlled. I can't think of any historical example where mass uncontrolled immigration has benefitted the host population. But where I part company is when people start to demonise illegal immigrants as being criminals and/or scroungers when they are often simply poor, desperate people.
ChadTower:
We understand that they are poor. We understand that they are trying to improve their lives. I actually don't hate them because I respect that they are taking initiative. That doesn't change the fact that they are circumventing our laws and draining our resources without giving back nearly what they take. Hospitals are failing, schools are collapsing, because of the influx of people who are not legally here.
If they were coming in legally, hell I'll write them a sign and hold it at the border saying nice to meet you. I came in that way. But we cannot sustain this type of drain. It is killing our infrastructure.