OT - can someone please explain immigration to me?

Complex issue. 

The first role of government - any government - should be to protect its citizens.  And each government gets to make the rules on what you have to do to be considered a citizen.  Being a citizen comes with rights AND responsibilities, like paying taxes.  And because you pay taxes, you get to drive on the government-subsidized road, go to the tax supported schools, get public assistance, medical care, etc.

When you immigrate legally, you're registered, you pay taxes, you qualify for the benefits that come with the responsibility.  When you come into the country illegally, you're under the radar screen.  You end up getting the benefits without contributing to the communal pot.

I don't have a problem at all with legal immigration.  I do have an issue with the illegals because they end up putting a strain on services that are already being strained.

You make good points about rights AND responsibilities and paying taxes.  I'm thinking the solution there would be to make it easier for people to immigrate legally and to crack down on employers that pay workers under the table.  I have known many american citizens to get paid under the table, too, and take advantage of all those government-subsidized roads, schools, etc.  And I agree that it's wrong to take advantage of the benefits without adding to the pot.

 That is factually incorrect.

 A legal immigrant is not eligible to vote, hold any public office, work for the government and without listing everything, we do NOT have the same access to benefits we have contributed to.

I have no complaints regarding paying taxes without the same benefits.  Canadian taxes were about the same but there were benefits for everyone.

I am fortunate to be able to travel, pay taxes and have a very comfortable life. I would be happy to designate my contributions to any person who needs.

It's simply the decent thing to do.

Harassing children in school, their parents or assuming anyone is a criminal, undeserving or making any assumptions is ugly and uncalled for.  

Remember, there are those who would have the obese punished for increasing the cost of healthcare, etc.  (We even had an idiot suggest a fuel surcharge on city buses!)

Seriously.

Significant Historic Dates in U.S. Immigration

• Naturalization Act of 1790: Stipulated that "any alien, being a free white person, may be admitted to become a citizen of the United States"
• 1875: Supreme Court declared that regulation of US immigration is the responsibility of the Federal Government.
• 1882 The Chinese Exclusion Act: Prohibited certain laborers from immigrating to the United States.
• 1885 and 1887: Alien Contract Labor laws which prohibited certain laborers from immigrating to the United States.
• 1891: The Federal Government assumed the task of inspecting, admitting, rejecting, and processing all immigrants seeking admission to the U.S.
• 1892: On January 2, a new Federal US immigration station opened on Ellis Island in New York Harbor.
• 1903: This Act restated the 1891 provisions concerning land borders and called for rules covering entry as well as inspection of aliens crossing the Mexican border.
• 1907 The US immigration Act of 1907: Reorganized the states bordering Mexico (Arizona, New Mexico and a large part of Texas) into Mexican Border District to stem the flow of immigrants into the United States.
• 1917 - 1924: A series of laws were enacted to further limit the number of new immigrants. These laws established the quota system and imposed passport requirements. They expanded the categories of excludable aliens and banned all Asians except Japanese.
• 1924 Act: Reduced the number of US immigration visas and allocated them on the basis of national origin.
• 1940 The Alien Registration Act: Required all aliens (non-U.S. citizens) within the United States to register with the Government and receive an Alien Registration Receipt Card (the predecessor of the "Green Card").
• 1950 Passage of the Internal Security Act: Rendered the Alien Registration Receipt Card even more valuable. Immigrants with legal status had their cards replaced with what generally became known as the "green card" (Form I-151).
• 1952 Act: Established the modern day US immigration system. It created a quota system which imposes limits on a per-country basis. It also established the preference system that gave priority to family members and people with special skills.
• 1968 Act: Eliminated US immigration discrimination based on race, place of birth, sex and residence. It also officially abolished restrictions on Oriental US immigration.
• 1976 Act: Eliminated preferential treatment for residents of the Western Hemisphere.
• 1980 Act: Established a general policy governing the admission of refugees.
• 1986 Act: Focused on curtailing illegal US immigration. It legalized hundred of thousands of illegal immigrants. The 1986 Immigration Act is commonly know as the 1986 Immigration Amnesty. It also introduced the employer sanctions program which fines employers for hiring illegal workers. It also passed tough laws to prevent bogus marriage fraud.
• 1990 Act: Established an annual limit for certain categories of immigrants. It was aimed at helping U.S. businesses attract skilled foreign workers; thus, it expanded the business class categories to favor persons who can make educational, professional or financial contributions. It created the Immigrant Investor Program.
• USA Patriot Act 2001: Uniting and Strengthening America by providing appropriate tools required to intercept and obstruct terrorism.
• Creation of the USCIS 2003: As of March 1, 2003, the US immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) becomes part of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). The department’s new U.S. Citizenship and US immigration Services (USCIS) function is to handle US immigration services and benefits, including citizenship, applications for permanent residence, non-immigrant applications, asylum, and refugee services. US immigration enforcement functions are now under the Department's Border and Transportation Security Directorate, known as the Bureau of US immigration and Customs Enforcement ****).

I'm a little late on this, but rather late than never I suppose. I don't have an issue with immigrants who have entered legally (I am married to one), I do have an issue with people who think getting a new start by doing something Illegal is a good thing.

One thing I see in the thread is all the people talking about agriculture jobs that immigrants do, but remember it's not just agriculture jobs. My husband is a PH'd and works in a Biomedical Lab. In his lab the majority of the workers are immigrants or here on work visa's. 3 of my last 4 dentists have been immigrants. 2 of my sons teachers last year were immigrants. 2 of my high risk pregnancy doctors were immigrants.

Do I think by virtue of being born in the US that we deserve more than others. No. I do however think that if we can't take care of our own citizens that are already here, than we have no business letting others move in until we get our S@#T together. If you live in a three bedroom home, with one income, three children and misc. pets and are struggling financially to make it paycheck to paycheck do you invite 5 more people who are homeless and without any income to move into your home so you can support them as well? I wouldn't. Now don't get me wrong, We donate time/money/etc. every chance we can. I just wouldn't take on the full responsibility of more mouths to feed, Dr. bills, etc. than I already have.

In your question you also didn't note the growing number of illegal aliens from other countries like Russia, Ukraine, India, etc. it's not just Central and South America.

When the U.S. can have health care for everyone not just the wealthy or those that can afford it, when we can feed and house the people that are already here. When we can take care of our population that have medical issues and mental health issues, when we don't have 1 of every 5 kids in danger of going hungry, when our elderly parents can live comfortably without worrying about being tossed out in the street because they've lost their house, then I might be a little prouder of the US. Then I might agree that we can open our borders to more people. I don't agree with giving citizenship to illegals just because of the fact they made it to american soil anyway they could. I'm sorry. I just don't think starting a new life by doing something illegal  should be rewarded.

Ok. flame away.

I'm not trying to flame anybody.  I'm asking honest questions because it's an issue I don't know much about and I figured there were lots of angles I was missing when I looked at the issue just because I don't know a lot about it.  I don't agree with all the responses I've gotten, but all have made me think and I like discussions that make me think.  And when I pose complex questions that many people have strong feelings and opinions about, I try really hard to be respectful to everyone that replies, even if I disagree with what they say.

I'm guessing your dentists and doctors and you son's teachers that were immigrants were here legally, right?  Probably?  I think when we were talking about agricultural jobs that many immigrants do, we were referring ti illegal immigrants.  I believe they often do jobs like picking crops and cleaning houses and caring for people's children because those employers often don't report wages or withhold taxes like they legally are supposed to do.  And if those are the only available jobs that don't require them to fill out tax papers and prove they are legally allowed to work in the US, illegal immigrants will do them even if the pay is very low.

I did not mean to imply that all immigrants were working in manual labor at low paying  jobs.  My psychiatrist is an immigrant.  Now, I did ask him about where he went to medical school and did his residency, but it did not occur to me to ask him to prove he was in this country legally.  And I'm not planning to ask.

You make a good point about taking care of the citizens that are already here first and once we can do that, then taking care of others, such as those that want to immigrate.  And I've said the same thing about the  money and food and stuff we donate to other countries.  I'm all for helping the hungry people in Africa but let's feed the hungry people in the US first.  And I am not sure why I think we should feed our country first but feed the hungry immigrants if they come here illegally as well, but not feed them if they stay in their own country.  Somewhere in my head it seems there is some difference there but I can't think what it would be.  So thank you for giving me something more to think about!

I didn't mean that you were flaming anybody, I just expect someone to come on and flame me. LOL.

Yes, most of those that I deal with are here legally, however, that is still something like 25 odd jobs that natural born US citizens could be doing but aren't. It's not just manual labor. I have a sister in law who went to school to become a teacher. When she graduated she couldn't find a job. She's oversea's teaching. Now, if those teachers my son had last year weren't taken by immigrants, she could have applied for one of them. That's the issue. it's not just the manuel labor jobs. That's the one everybody seems to focus on, but it's not the only factor.

According to the Migration information Source we've had over a MILLION LEGAL immigrants each year for the last decade. That's over 10 million (info I could find says closer to 14 million for the last decade) jobs, housing, food, etc. that our natural born citizens no longer have access to. That of course doesn't count the over 20 million illegal aliens. so yeah, we get a small country moving in every year. That's a lot of people to bring in when we can't even take care of the people already here.

I don't mind helping other countries out if we can. I just think we need to take care of ourselves as well.

 
So, using your  logic, your husband should not have been allowed to come and work here in the USA  legally?




There is a simple solution, you know.  

Um, tee? Where did I say that nobody should be allowed to come here and work? I just said lets take care of the people here (legally) before we start bringing in more people. As for there being a simple solution to any imigration issue, it doesn't exist. I also stated that some people are upset with immigrants not just those here illegally from certain area's. If I'd had an issue with immigrants period I'd never have married him.

ETA: I put the numbers there because nobody ever seems to really look at how many people immigrate legally. We are already dealing with all these issues, and we are letting in another 1.5 million this year. That's not an insignificant amount of people. The OP asked why SOME people feel that immigrants are taking away jobs from American's. I was just giving an example. I never said, that was the way I felt. I stated I didn't think people should be here illegally and to start a new life with breaking the law was wrong. Granted I'm not living in which ever country they came from, nor the cir****tances surrounding their decision to enter this country illegally.