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Sat 8 Dec, 2007 11:11 am
OPINION | December 8, 2007
Op-Ed Columnist: Spies Like You and Me
By BOB HERBERT
Solutions to immigration problems need to come from rationally thought-out and compassionate government policies, not a witch hunt by all and sundry.
Right now, it's considered acceptable to persecute illegals by a growing number of persons. One day, the hysteria may die down, then we can address the problem more rationally.
edgarblythe wrote:Right now, it's considered acceptable to persecute illegals by a growing number of persons. One day, the hysteria may die down, then we can address the problem more rationally.
Persecute?
I think thats a little harsh.
It is right to want illegals deported however.
If they want to come here LEGALLY, I have no problem with that at all.
However, if they want to break our laws, they shouldnt be allowed to do so.
Since different colleges have different SAT (Scholastic Aptitude Test) requirements, each state can devise its own IAT (Immigrant Aptitude Test) requirements. Those states that had jobs for immigrants that require greater intelligence, would have a higher IAT requirement (just like certain universities have higher SAT requirements).
Naturally, there is no IAT yet, or likely ever will be; just a figment of my imagination. However, I always wonder how much "anti-immigrant feeling" reflects feelings towards todays immigrants not usually being European.
I also believe that the large urban centers have less hostility to illegal immigrants, since I believe urbanites are just more cosmopolitan. I believe much of the anti-immigrant feeling comes from the segment of society that feels threatened by the non-European immigrant. I say this as someone whose ancestors came from Europe (125 years ago), so my feelings do not reflect an attitude, based on ethnocentrism with many illegal immigrants.
Odd as it may seem, I just feel the diversity in this country, that the current immigrants will give the U.S., will just make this nation stronger. Call me crazy.
C I
I know that you know better to clarify with precise words .
What is legal and what is illegal in respect of immigration.?
What about the illegal immigrants in Syria due to the unfounded war in Iraq?
Is Dalai lama a legal person in india?
Is USA is full of legal citizen right from the birth?
how come this legal and illegal issue draws the attention of the citizens of USA now?
Is Jesus is a legal adviser to our right honourable BUSH who had approved(ordered) to wage a war in the name of culture?
Please clarfy for which act of kindness I am much obliged to you
Regards
Rama
Hope I had paid my regards and repects to you in advance.
Accept once again without any reservations.
Why anti-immigration conservatives fell flat in 2006
David Weigel | February 2007 Print Edition
"The idea that Americans might be more compassionate about immigrants than they let on is a tough one for hard-liners to comprehend. Most Americans, though eager to exercise some control over the border, don't see their would-be fellow citizens as a menace. Immigration hawks who look at those huddled masses and choose to see an ugly threat will keep getting the same results they got this year. They'll lose.
http://www.reason.com/news/show/118323.html
Illegal immigrants leaving Arizona
PHOENIX (AP) ?- Illegal immigrants in Arizona, frustrated with a flagging economy and tough new legislation cracking down on their employers, are returning to their home countries or trying their luck in other states.
For months, immigrants have taken a wait-and-see attitude toward the state's new employer-sanctions law, which takes effect Jan. 1. The voter-approved legislation is an attempt to lessen the economic incentive for illegal immigrants in Arizona, the busiest crossing point along the U.S.-Mexico border.
And by all appearances, it's starting to work.
"People are calling me telling me about their friend, their cousin, their neighbors ?- they're moving back to Mexico," said Magdalena Schwartz, an immigrant-rights activist and pastor at a Mesa church. "They don't want to live in fear, in terror."
VOTING: Not on government database? Some in Florida can still register
TO THE NORTH: Mustangs enlisted in U.S.-Canada border patrols
Martin Herrera, a 40-year-old illegal immigrant and masonry worker who lives in Camp Verde, 70 miles north of Phoenix, said he is planning to return to Mexico as soon as he ties up loose ends after living here for four years.
"I don't want to live here because of the new law and the oppressive environment," he said. "I'll be better in my country."
He called the employer-sanctions law "absurd."
"Everybody here, legally or illegally, we are part of a motor that makes this country run," Herrera said. "Once we leave, the motor is going to start to slow down."
There's no way to know how many illegal immigrants are leaving Arizona, especially now with many returning home for normal holidays visits. But economists, immigration lawyers and people who work in the immigrant community agree it's happening.
State Rep. Russell Pearce of Mesa, the author of the employer sanctions law, said his intent was to drive illegal immigrants out of Arizona.
"I'm hoping they will self-deport," Pearce said. "They broke the law. They're criminals."
Under the employer sanctions law, businesses found to have knowingly hired illegal workers will be subject to sanctions from probation to a 10-day suspension of their business licenses. A second violation would bring permanent revocation of the license.
Nancy-Jo Merritt, an immigration lawyer who primarily represents employers, said her clients already have started to fire workers who can't prove they are in the country legally.
"Workers are being fired, of course," she said. "Nobody wants to find out later on that they've got somebody working for them who's not here legally."
When immigrants don't have jobs, they don't stick around, said Dawn McLaren, a research economist at Arizona State University who specializes in illegal immigration.
She said the flagging economy, particularly in the construction industry, also is contributing to an immigrant exodus.
"As the jobs dwindle and the environment becomes more unpleasant in more ways than one, you then decide what to do, and perhaps leaving looks like a good idea," she said. "And certainly that creates a problem, because as people leave, they take the jobs they created with them."
cicerone imposter wrote:Illegal immigrants leaving Arizona
PHOENIX (AP) ?- Illegal immigrants in Arizona, frustrated with a flagging economy and tough new legislation cracking down on their employers, are returning to their home countries or trying their luck in other states.
For months, immigrants have taken a wait-and-see attitude toward the state's new employer-sanctions law, which takes effect Jan. 1. The voter-approved legislation is an attempt to lessen the economic incentive for illegal immigrants in Arizona, the busiest crossing point along the U.S.-Mexico border.
And by all appearances, it's starting to work.
"People are calling me telling me about their friend, their cousin, their neighbors ?- they're moving back to Mexico," said Magdalena Schwartz, an immigrant-rights activist and pastor at a Mesa church. "They don't want to live in fear, in terror."
VOTING: Not on government database? Some in Florida can still register
TO THE NORTH: Mustangs enlisted in U.S.-Canada border patrols
Martin Herrera, a 40-year-old illegal immigrant and masonry worker who lives in Camp Verde, 70 miles north of Phoenix, said he is planning to return to Mexico as soon as he ties up loose ends after living here for four years.
"I don't want to live here because of the new law and the oppressive environment," he said. "I'll be better in my country."
He called the employer-sanctions law "absurd."
"Everybody here, legally or illegally, we are part of a motor that makes this country run," Herrera said. "Once we leave, the motor is going to start to slow down."
There's no way to know how many illegal immigrants are leaving Arizona, especially now with many returning home for normal holidays visits. But economists, immigration lawyers and people who work in the immigrant community agree it's happening.
State Rep. Russell Pearce of Mesa, the author of the employer sanctions law, said his intent was to drive illegal immigrants out of Arizona.
"I'm hoping they will self-deport," Pearce said. "They broke the law. They're criminals."
Under the employer sanctions law, businesses found to have knowingly hired illegal workers will be subject to sanctions from probation to a 10-day suspension of their business licenses. A second violation would bring permanent revocation of the license.
Nancy-Jo Merritt, an immigration lawyer who primarily represents employers, said her clients already have started to fire workers who can't prove they are in the country legally.
"Workers are being fired, of course," she said. "Nobody wants to find out later on that they've got somebody working for them who's not here legally."
When immigrants don't have jobs, they don't stick around, said Dawn McLaren, a research economist at Arizona State University who specializes in illegal immigration.
She said the flagging economy, particularly in the construction industry, also is contributing to an immigrant exodus.
"As the jobs dwindle and the environment becomes more unpleasant in more ways than one, you then decide what to do, and perhaps leaving looks like a good idea," she said. "And certainly that creates a problem, because as people leave, they take the jobs they created with them."
This is a good thing, IMHO, and should be done nationwide.
Looks like it's affecting more than Arizona.
U.S. illegal immigrants 'self deport' as woes mount
By Tim Gaynor
Sun Dec 23, 7:22 PM ET
PHOENIX (Reuters) - Mexican illegal immigrant Lindi sat down with her husband Marco Antonio in the weeks before Christmas to decide when to go back to Mexico.
She has spent three years working as a hairdresser in and around Phoenix, but now she figures it is time to go back to her hometown of Aguascalientes in central Mexico.
"The situation has got so tough that there don't seem to be many options left for us," Lindi, who asked for her last name not to be used, told Reuters.
The couple are among a growing number of illegal immigrants across the United States who are starting to pack their bags and move on as a crackdown on undocumented immigrants widens and the U.S. economy slows, turning a traditional Christmas trek home into a one-way trip.
In the past year, U.S. immigration police have stepped up workplace sweeps across the country and teamed up with a growing number of local forces to train officers to enforce immigration laws.
Meanwhile, a bill seeking to offer many of the 12 million illegal immigrants a path to legal status was tossed by the U.S. Congress, spurring many state and local authorities to pass their own measures targeting illegal immigrants.
The toughening environment has been coupled with a turndown in the U.S. economy, which has tipped the balance toward self deportation for many illegal immigrants left struggling to find work.
"It is still just a thought, although we are preparing to leave," said Ernesto Garcia, a carpenter from Caborca in northwest Mexico, who stood in line at the Mexican consulate in Phoenix this week for paperwork that will allow him and his family to resume their lives south of the border.
Speaking for myself personally, I want proper legal action taken against anyone who has entered the country illegally. I absolutely welcome all legal immigrants. I'm glad they're here. We need new blood and new ideas. However, I want all illegal immigrants removed now, and nothing will change my mind about it. Every country has the right to regulate immigration.
Brandon, I agree; all countries have the right to regulate inmigration. Our government has failed on all counts. Now what?
Wis. cop who lied about citizenship deported
Posted 11h 28m ago |
(AP) ?- A man who took a dead cousin's identity to pose as a U.S. citizen in order to become a police officer was deported from the United States and arrived in central Mexico on Sunday.
Oscar Ayala-Cornejo, 25, was arrested May 31 after an anonymous tip and was charged with falsely representing himself as an American citizen.
He accepted a plea deal, agreeing to be deported, and resigned from the Milwaukee police force. A judge sentenced Ayala last month to a year of probation.
Darryl Morin, special projects coordinator for the League of United Latin American Citizens, said Ayala left on a flight out of Milwaukee on Sunday morning. Dense fog had forced the cancellation of Ayala's flight on Saturday.
Chertoff unveils new rules for driver's licenses
Updated 4h 26m ago |
"This kind of identification gives us a tremendous tool in preventing dangerous people from getting on airplanes or getting into federal buildings," Chertoff said.
By Donna Leinwand, USA TODAY
WASHINGTON ?- U.S. residents born after Dec. 1, 1964, will need to have new Homeland Security-approved drivers licenses by Dec. 1, 2014, if they want to use their ID to board an airplane or enter a federal building, Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff said Friday.
Older drivers will have until 2017, he said.
The new rules do not require states to issue the new identification cards, but residents of states that do not participate will not be able to use their driver's licenses as proof of identity at federal agencies.
States that need more time to comply with the new rules must apply for a waiver if they want their licenses to remain valid after May 2008.
Congress directed Homeland Security to devise the new rules as part of the Real ID Act, passed in 2005.
The way to get a law changed is to obey it. If the regional or national economies start grinding down due to illegals chosing to leave, the laws are going to change. I will be glad when they do. We are not at that point. Until we are, I agree with Brandon.
Actually, I think McCain/Kennedy was about the best possible compromise we could have had. We didn't get it. Unless I'm off on the timeline, I think its failure might have been due to the Mayday demonstrations of a few years ago. It is not always wise to threaten your hosts.
They will certainly need to compromise for any legislation to pass. The congress has been sitting on this issue long enough; it's time they either live with the current laws or establish new laws that are enforced.
This is yet another reason we must change our representatives in congress: they are not taking responsibility for the important issues of our times.
Now, why don't our southern neighbors offer any returning illegals a job teaching English? Wouldn't that be a nice gesture of neighborliness?
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