Yes, yes you are... :)

My wife is a legal immigrant and it took years, tons of paperwork, and money to naturalize her. She is still proud of her Korean heritage, but she is proud to be an American, and its interests come before Korea's. We adopted a Korean boy last time in Korea and He was not even allowed to enter the USA for two entire years, not even to visit, until he had resided with me for two years. After the two years it took hours upon hours of filling out paperwork, waiting at the embassy, spending money for stamps and passports and numerous background checks, and checks to prove that he really did live with us, at the age of three mind you. It was long, hard and almost had to leave my wife in Korea with him for a bit to make it work, but WE FOLLOWED the laws of the country that I have promised to protect. So why should people who have NO respect for the laws of the USA be allowed the rights privileges of those who have to follow the laws. If I was your neighbor, and I lived in a cardboard box, kids were dressed in ragged clothes with no shoes, you on the other hand lived in a nice house, plenty of land, you worked hard and earned it. If I was able to sneak onto your land, and build a home there before you caught me, should I be allowed to live there, even if my family was living better now, of course not, I would be arrested for CRIMINAL trespassing and have my tail hauled off. These ILLEGAL immigrants KNOW that they are breaking the law, that is why the sneak into this country under the cover of night or where nobody is watching. They are stealing the rights and privelges of Americans and LEGAL immigrants who have followed the rules to be here LEGALLY. It is right that this is AMERICA where if you work hard and honestly , you can achieve your dreams, but I don't remember THEFT as being part of a hard working person, with integrity. You can flower it up all you want, but it is still CRIMINAL trespassing and they are STEALING from this country. Try sneaking into Mexico or any other country (Canada excluded, :p ) and find out what happens to you. Every year America allows more LEGAL immigrants than ALL other countries combined, the American dream is alive, but ONLY if you follow the rules.

No, this issue actually matters.

It sounds the same to me...

From wikipedia:

I don't remember in the 1900's that illegals could fly jet airplanes into buildings and kill 3000 people or possibly bring in a nuclear bomb and kill MILLIONS.

If you are so Open Immigration that why in post #235 do you suggest we need to discriminate against Middle Eastern people? That is anti-American and discriminatory. In other words you are a hypocrite.

Come on sweetness, it's like yer not even trying...

Hypocricy isn't a matter of if, but when...

You're right, I'm not. But if I were an illegal Mexican immigrant I'd be trying 14 hours a day, 7 days a week for $3.35 an hour, but alas. Don't make me stoop to this level again. :banghead:

You got me pegged.

I hate Mexicans and Mexican immigrants.

Wouldn't have anything to do with them...

build the fence and every 25 yard have a bunker with 2 guys in it and a 50 cal.

jspchief--

I started reading this thread and had to respond before I got all the way through.

I totally understand your point about there not being enough American citizens available to backfill jobs if illegals were deported, but I have another viewpoint.

My Brother-in-law isn't educated enough to have anything other than a trade job and that's just fine with him. But he is constantly undermined by the lower wages that illegals can get and nearly price him out of everything. The point its, he is following the LAWS of this country and just trying to earn a modest living, but ILLEGAL workers who don't have to pay taxes and employers who also don't pay employment taxes undercut him just enough that it can be tough to get work.

Sure prices will rise, but not that much. There isn't the vacumm of workforce out there that you may think. I know that he, and others he knows, want to make a living in construction, but essentially can't because there isn't room for them.

:clap: :clap:

Thanks for taking the time to respond, dirk. I certainly understand the national security concerns, and agree that tightening border control should be a priority. I'm just not convinced that a fence is the answer: very expensive to build, maintain, and guard--and will it even really work? I guess I could see shutting down the borders briefly, in exteme circumstances, but I'm not sure we are there yet. Deporting illegals without addressing the reason they come here seems pointless to me. As I've said, national ID would be fine with me; I just think we are still a ways off on getting that one passed. Sadly, it'll probably take another 9/11 or something similar to wake people up. Your last point is the one I probably agree most strongly about. For the life of me, I don't understand how we can administer programs or services to people we know to be here illegally. That makes no sense. If we are gonna do that, then some sort of earned amnesty and eventual citizenship should be arranged for those people; otherwise, I think we should deport them.

Thanks to all those that responded to the poll, and contributed to the thread. I learned some things I didn't know, including some things that have shaped my opinion on the subject.

People continue to use my line incorrectly; it is as follows:

Why yes; yes you are.

Please try to get it right, or there will be a $500.00 service charge.

Just proving a point