Momentum builds for fence along U.S.-Mexican border

[Imran Siddiqui]

determine who gets in.

Isn't that ironic for the country who STILL holds Emma Lazarus' words "Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses..." on the Statute of Liberty?

[lord of the mark]

Originally posted by Imran Siddiqui

determine who gets in.

Isn't that ironic for the country who STILL holds Emma Lazarus' words "Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses..." on the Statute of Liberty?

If you want unlimited immigration, go lobby for it. The law, now is that there are limits on the number of legal immigrants (fairly generous limits too). We have a right to enforce that law. Subverting a law you dont like by attacking legitimate methods for enforcement doesnt strike as a good thing. AFAIK Emma Lazarus was not against enforcement of the law.

And of course we need to control entry of those who come NOT to settle, but to engage in acts of violence.


BTW, even if we DONT change the law, the current volume of legal immigration gives us a pretty large number of tired, poor, huddled masses. Im glad we take them in, and think we should probably take more in. But giving up control of the border is NOT the way to do it.

[DinoDoc]

Sovereignty is annoying, isn't it?

[lord of the mark]

heres more on Emma Lazarus. Were she alive today to speak for herself, I think she would share our concerns with terrorism.

http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/biography/lazarus.html

[Imran Siddiqui]

Subverting a law you dont like by attacking legitimate methods for enforcement doesnt strike as a good thing.

I'd imagine the leaders of the civil rights movement would disagree .

[Kontiki]

I don't see a problem with the fence either, other than the fact that it may be a waste of money on an ineffective solution. The way I see it, you're either for a completely open border where people can come and go as they please, or you're for controlling immigration and therefore shouldn't have a problem with sticking up a barrier.

[SlowwHand]

We're not talking about immigration. We're talking about illegal aliens. Get your definitions straight, first thing.

Summary

About 5.0 million undocumented immigrants were residing in the United States in October 1996, with a range of about 4.6 to 5.4 million (See Table 1). The population was estimated to be growing by about 275,000 each year, which is about 25,000 lower than the annual level of growth estimated by the INS in 1994.

California is the leading state of residence, with 2.0 million, or 40 percent of the undocumented population. The 7 states with the largest estimated numbers of undocumented immigrants--California (2.0 million), Texas (700,000), New York (540,000), Florida (350,000), Illinois (290,000), New Jersey (135,000), and Arizona (115,000)--accounted for 83 percent of the total population in October 1996.

The 5.0 million undocumented immigrants made up about 1.9 percent of the total U.S. population, with the highest percentages in California, the District of Columbia, and Texas. In the majority of states, undocumented residents comprise less than 1 percent of the population.

Mexico is the leading country of origin, with 2.7 million, or 54 percent, of the population. The Mexican undocumented population has grown at an average annual level of just over 150,000 since 1988. The 15 countries with 50,000 or more undocumented immigrants in 1996 accounted for 82 percent of the total population. The large majority, over 80 percent, of all undocumented immigrants are from countries in the Western Hemisphere.

About 2.1 million, or 41 percent, of the total undocumented population in 1996 are nonimmigrant overstays. That is, they entered legally on a temporary basis and failed to depart. The proportion of the undocumented population who are overstays varies considerably by country of origin. About 16 percent of the Mexican undocumented population are nonimmigrant overstays, compared to 26 percent of those from Central America, and 91 percent from all other countries.

As you can see, some of the bigger mouths have no basis for realistic comparison. Shake that head, that'll turn back time. Get another chance to not look stupid.
You pay their way. You realize that, right?

Table 1. PDF format.
http://uscis.gov/graphics/shared/abo...dex.htm#Table1

[MrFun]

Originally posted by lord of the mark

Subverting a law you dont like by attacking legitimate methods for enforcement doesnt strike as a good thing.

Imran beat me with his reply -- but let me add by asking you how you determine what is a just law, and what is an unjust law, LTM?

[Fake Boris]

Originally posted by lord of the mark
isnt it great Euros are criticizing the US for building a fence along our own damned border, when they get the Moroccan army to shoot people for them

Most eurocommies aren't like American conservatives. They hold their own government to the same standards as the others.

[Rufus T. Firefly]

Originally posted by Arrian
Demand is the problem. Fence or no fence, demand drives this. If illegals couldn't get jobs, then you'd have a lot less of 'em.

I think we need to do two things in concert:

1) Streamline the immigration process so it's not so hard to be a LEGAL immigrant - perhaps with some special assistance for our friends and neighbors... you know, Mexico? This includes increasing quotas, if applicable.

2) Crack down on people & corporations who hire illegals.

-Arrian

As someone who has actually worked for the government on immigration issues, I was going to post something. But this is pretty much everything that needs to be said on the subject.

[Kuciwalker]

Originally posted by JohnT
Keeping out "outsiders" from this country, the greatest collection of immigrants in the world.

"Oh no! Too many little brown people are running around!"

Immigrants, legal or illegal

Fixing our immigration laws to help the people who come here rather than put them in legal limbo

[The Mad Monk]

Originally posted by KrazyHorse


Who the hell are you calling normally rational?

Abnormally rational?

[Sikander]

There are a number of common sense steps which could reduce illegal immigration precipitously and at a reasonable cost. A national ID card is still the best way to approach the problem. It would be required for work, and contain biometric data which would make it very difficult to counterfeit. This would allow the government to easily crack down on illegal employers, which imo is the simplest way to stem the flow of illegal economic immigrants, which probably comprise over 90% of the total.

[PLATO]

Annex Mexico...problem solved.

[Jon Miller]

Originally posted by Kuciwalker


Immigrants, legal or illegal

Fixing our immigration laws to help the people who come here rather than put them in legal limbo

I agree

JM