Fresno-area farmer Pat Ricchiuti tells The Sacramento Bee in this story that he's frustrated with the positions that the Republican presidential candidates have offered on the immigration issue. The Republican said he wants to hear alternatives to shipping illegal immigrants out of the country, according to The Bee.
Here's a quote: "We're what, the sixth or seventh largest economy in the world?" he said of California. "Do they really know what it would be (like) to send all these people off? It will cause a major disruption in the American way of life."
The Sac Bee points out that the Republican candidates, with the exception of John McCain, have taken hard lines against illegal immigrants. "Amnesty" is a non-starter, and they wouldn't be allowed to earn legal residency.
That may win the candidates support in Iowa and New Hampshire, but it won't solve the illegal immigration problem in the United States. Comprehensive immigration reform must include increased border security, a reliable supply of labor for industries that use these workers and an opportunity for those here illegally to earn legal residency.
Congress could have passed a reform bill this year, but the Senate killed a comprehensive measure that had bipartisan backing, including the support of President Bush. But that wasn't good enough for reform opponents in the Senate who would rather demagogue the issue than fix it.
Let's play a little be honest here, if these illegal immigrants were euoropean whites we wouldn't be having this conversation
What’s race got to do with it? We are not talking about immigrants of any particular race. We are talking about "ILLEGAL" immigrants. What part of "illegal" don’t people understand?
Maybe it's seen as a racial issue because it wasn't "illegal" for our ancestors to come here (although the Native Americans might disagree with that). As long as the immigrants were mostly white Europeans, the doors were wide open for almost anyone who wanted to come here legally.
It could also be seen as a racial issue because of how many people are worried about "them" changing "our" culture. In some areas of the country, anyone who "looks Mexican" is suspected of being illegal.
If your only objection is that they're breaking the law, why not change the law so they won't be breaking it? Do rules exist only for their own sake?
As far as I know the law applies to everyone, no matter where they are from. Illegal immigration is putting tremendous strain on medical, educational, and social services. The people who are net tax payers are rightly incensed by the increase in taxation that is required to support this influx, as well as the decline in the standard of living because of it. There is a tremendous transfer of wealth, from the lowest skilled, lowest income Americans to the wealthiest (ie: farmers and other business owners who thrive on low-wage workers).
Fraud is a necessary element at every level in support of illegal immigration, yet we are told these people share our values. Strong institutions are important in maintaining the success of our great nation. Mexico has a weak rule of law, and its citizens bring this culture of corruption with them, disregarding laws that are inconvenient for them to obey. Those from other countries who are here illegally are also likely to have the same proclivities.
The law is fair, and only needs to be enforced, not changed. If you are in the country illegally, you should be deported; period.
A law should never be assumed to be fair just because it is on the books. Laws can be and frequently are changed when they aren't accomplishing the desired effects.
In this case, a fair argument can be made that we need access to more immigrant labor - to do the work that most Americans are not inclined to do, and to replace the baby-boomer generation as they retire. Immigrants are by nature hard-working and ambitious, and thus probably less likely to be a "burden" on society than non-immigrants.
Secondly, the law can be changed to make it more humane - to avoid splitting families, leaving children abandoned, and tearing people away from the only country they have known since infancy.
Unfortunately, this is an issue that is emotionally charged on both sides, making any sort of rational compromise difficult, at best.
Maybe a question could be asked along the lines of the global warming question - why do so many people (mostly conservatives) get so passionate about this? How do illegal immigrants affect them? (And "they're breaking our laws!!" doesn't suffice as an explanation for me.)