(illegal) Immigration
Illegal immigration is a subject that has been discussed at great length in America and most Americans have an opinion on it. Poll after poll estimate that roughly 70-80% of Americans think that illegal immigration is a problem and that not enough is being done to correct the problem. A majority of people state that they want the borders controlled before tackling the problem of what to do with the estimated 12 million illegals who are in the U.S. ( We use the figure of 12 million because popular theory estimates thast this is close to the actual number. We however would place this figure higher.) If this figure is correct, then it would mean that roughly 450,000 people come illegally to America per year. That's over 1200 people a day! (1232 to be exact!) We get this figure from the fact that in 1986 there were an estimated 3 million illegals in the U.S. and now the figure is estimated at 12 million. That's 9 million over a span of 20 years (1986 to 2006) I know it's 2009 and I'm using 2006 figures, but ladies and gentlemen, that figure of 12 million was tossed aroud in 2006, so now the number should be at about 13 million illegals. This is unacceptable, and it must change.
So how does this impact our country? Well, let's see.... Our national unemployment rate is 7.2 % (statistics from December 2008) Our nation had over 300 million people n the 2000 census. 12 million people would account for 4 percent of that figure. If illegals were not taking jobs and Americans were filling these needs, the unemployment rate would be less than half of what it is now. I know what you're thinking, and let's be clear: They are not taking jobs that Americans won't do, they're taking jobs at cheaper rates than Americans are willing to work for. There's a difference. Your taxes have been increased to account for the extra students at schools, the extra police, the increased need for social services, the increased need for public housing, and so on and so forth. Your medical care is more expensive due to the influx of illegals. Your wait time in the Emergency Room is longer. Some have payroll taxes deducted by using a false social security number, but many do not pay payroll taxes at all. That is why your taxes have increased. They need services (schools, police, etc) that our society offers them, and those services must be funded. You and I get to fund them, at least in part.
Traditionally, immigrants to this country assimilate into our culture. This has not been so with many of the Latino illegals that have come to America. This is due to the fact that there have been so many in so short a period of time, as well as the fact that they come here illegally instead of through legal channels; neither of which promotes assimilation into American society.
Assimilation into American society is key to maintaining a sense of unity and national identity. We cannot be a nation with two identities, we must be one for our nation to remain strong. The level of illegal immigration today is destroying our national identity. We push "1" for English and "2" for Spanish now on many phone calls. Our bills often come in English and Spanish. Many signs in public places are written twice to account for those who don't habla ingles. We ARE a nation of immigrants; but the immigrants who came here previously assimilated. The first generation immigrants didn't master the language, but by and large insisted that their children do so, knowing that English was the path to success in America. The story has been told to me about Polish immigrants telling their children, "English only in public". They still maintained their home country traditions, but they came here because they wanted to be Americans. My ancestors were British and French (no jokes, please) eventually settling in Kentucky. My wife's ancestors were mainly Germans who settled northwest Ohio in the early 19th century. The tradition of immigrating to America continues today. I work with many people from the Philippines, who speak of the day when they will "have their (American) citizenship", and it has meaning when they say it. They separate from their families to come here, and bring their families over when they can legally do so. They sacrifice to be part of America. God bless them for doing so, and I welcome them. I also work with a Polish immigrant, a British immigrant, and a Scottish immigrant, as well as many Canadians all who have come legally, and I welcome Latino immigrants, if they come legally.
We know that the overwhelming majority of illegals in the U.S. now are Latinos. They come from Central and South America. When we as Americans cry out for illegal immigration to be stopped; it does NOT mean we are being biased towards Latinos. We are simply want a halt to the inflow of illegals. It has nothing to do with their race or country of origin. Do not label us as being racist or bigoted. We simply want the law to be followed, and illegal immigrants are in violation of the law.
Politicians want illegal immigration to continue because they have potential voters, if and when they find a way to make these people legal. They also get kickbacks from businesses for turning a blind eye toward illegals. Shame on them. Businesses want illegal immigration to continue because they have a constant lower class for cheap labor. Their operating costs are lessened by the cheap labor that comes with illegal immigration. Shame on them. If you knowingly use illegal immigrant labor for your business or your home then shame on you. You contribute to the problem.
Finding a workable solution to this problem is going to be difficult, and most Americans understand this. One thing that most of us agrees on is that we must halt the flow. The borders must be closed NOW! It surpasses negligence and borders treason to turn a blind eye when so many are entering our country illegally for so many years. It is shameful. Our borders must be secured, even if we have to station active duty military personnel on the border. (and by the way, I think that's what we must do.) They must have a free hand to secure those borders, given weapons with ammo, and no "rules of engagement" that they must follow, or similar nonsense. They're would be guarding our borders! What part of serious don't our politicians understand? Our weak, unpatriotic politicians tie the hands of our U.S. Border Patrol now, and would seek to do it if the Military were stationed on the border. For example, the Border Patrol agents who spent a couple of years in prison: do you know why? They shot a Mexican in the rear end while he was running for the Mexican border. Why was he in the U.S.? He was delivering hundreds of pounds of Marijuana! So, he is a drug smuggler, foreigner, and here illegally in the U.S.; with drugs in his possession. These guys chase him off, shooting him in the process. He gets to Mexico, and someone on the other side calls into the U.S. to complain about it. Our weak, pathetic government not only brought him to the U.S. for medical care, but arrested and charged the two border agents! They spent years in jail. It was a cowardly and immoral decision. Those two were doing their jobs, and they were prosecuted for it by a government that no longer has the stomach to take a stand and make a hard decision. I'm ashamed (again). So securing the border must come first before trying to legalize everyone who is already here.
In 2006, an immigration reform bill was put forth, and after a major grassroots effort by voters, defeated in congress. The reason for the overwhelming negative response by the public for an amnesty bill is because, simply, the public does no trust the government to secure the border, and to keep it's word that the border will remain secure. We don't trust those in congress, or the President. I am of the opinion that if the borders were secured; I mean really secured, not some half-hearted effort like we've seen time and again, the people would be more receptive to starting many of these people on the path to citizenship.
Until such time as the borders are secure,
those here illegally are either deported,
placed on a legal path to citizenship,
or given a limited work visa and then returned to their country of origin when that visa expires,
these people learn to speak English,
stop waving foreign flags in America,
and in general either assimilate or leave,
They should not be surprised to find that there are those of us who are in opposition to them being here, illegally!
So how does this impact our country? Well, let's see.... Our national unemployment rate is 7.2 % (statistics from December 2008) Our nation had over 300 million people n the 2000 census. 12 million people would account for 4 percent of that figure. If illegals were not taking jobs and Americans were filling these needs, the unemployment rate would be less than half of what it is now. I know what you're thinking, and let's be clear: They are not taking jobs that Americans won't do, they're taking jobs at cheaper rates than Americans are willing to work for. There's a difference. Your taxes have been increased to account for the extra students at schools, the extra police, the increased need for social services, the increased need for public housing, and so on and so forth. Your medical care is more expensive due to the influx of illegals. Your wait time in the Emergency Room is longer. Some have payroll taxes deducted by using a false social security number, but many do not pay payroll taxes at all. That is why your taxes have increased. They need services (schools, police, etc) that our society offers them, and those services must be funded. You and I get to fund them, at least in part.
Traditionally, immigrants to this country assimilate into our culture. This has not been so with many of the Latino illegals that have come to America. This is due to the fact that there have been so many in so short a period of time, as well as the fact that they come here illegally instead of through legal channels; neither of which promotes assimilation into American society.
Assimilation into American society is key to maintaining a sense of unity and national identity. We cannot be a nation with two identities, we must be one for our nation to remain strong. The level of illegal immigration today is destroying our national identity. We push "1" for English and "2" for Spanish now on many phone calls. Our bills often come in English and Spanish. Many signs in public places are written twice to account for those who don't habla ingles. We ARE a nation of immigrants; but the immigrants who came here previously assimilated. The first generation immigrants didn't master the language, but by and large insisted that their children do so, knowing that English was the path to success in America. The story has been told to me about Polish immigrants telling their children, "English only in public". They still maintained their home country traditions, but they came here because they wanted to be Americans. My ancestors were British and French (no jokes, please) eventually settling in Kentucky. My wife's ancestors were mainly Germans who settled northwest Ohio in the early 19th century. The tradition of immigrating to America continues today. I work with many people from the Philippines, who speak of the day when they will "have their (American) citizenship", and it has meaning when they say it. They separate from their families to come here, and bring their families over when they can legally do so. They sacrifice to be part of America. God bless them for doing so, and I welcome them. I also work with a Polish immigrant, a British immigrant, and a Scottish immigrant, as well as many Canadians all who have come legally, and I welcome Latino immigrants, if they come legally.
We know that the overwhelming majority of illegals in the U.S. now are Latinos. They come from Central and South America. When we as Americans cry out for illegal immigration to be stopped; it does NOT mean we are being biased towards Latinos. We are simply want a halt to the inflow of illegals. It has nothing to do with their race or country of origin. Do not label us as being racist or bigoted. We simply want the law to be followed, and illegal immigrants are in violation of the law.
Politicians want illegal immigration to continue because they have potential voters, if and when they find a way to make these people legal. They also get kickbacks from businesses for turning a blind eye toward illegals. Shame on them. Businesses want illegal immigration to continue because they have a constant lower class for cheap labor. Their operating costs are lessened by the cheap labor that comes with illegal immigration. Shame on them. If you knowingly use illegal immigrant labor for your business or your home then shame on you. You contribute to the problem.
Finding a workable solution to this problem is going to be difficult, and most Americans understand this. One thing that most of us agrees on is that we must halt the flow. The borders must be closed NOW! It surpasses negligence and borders treason to turn a blind eye when so many are entering our country illegally for so many years. It is shameful. Our borders must be secured, even if we have to station active duty military personnel on the border. (and by the way, I think that's what we must do.) They must have a free hand to secure those borders, given weapons with ammo, and no "rules of engagement" that they must follow, or similar nonsense. They're would be guarding our borders! What part of serious don't our politicians understand? Our weak, unpatriotic politicians tie the hands of our U.S. Border Patrol now, and would seek to do it if the Military were stationed on the border. For example, the Border Patrol agents who spent a couple of years in prison: do you know why? They shot a Mexican in the rear end while he was running for the Mexican border. Why was he in the U.S.? He was delivering hundreds of pounds of Marijuana! So, he is a drug smuggler, foreigner, and here illegally in the U.S.; with drugs in his possession. These guys chase him off, shooting him in the process. He gets to Mexico, and someone on the other side calls into the U.S. to complain about it. Our weak, pathetic government not only brought him to the U.S. for medical care, but arrested and charged the two border agents! They spent years in jail. It was a cowardly and immoral decision. Those two were doing their jobs, and they were prosecuted for it by a government that no longer has the stomach to take a stand and make a hard decision. I'm ashamed (again). So securing the border must come first before trying to legalize everyone who is already here.
In 2006, an immigration reform bill was put forth, and after a major grassroots effort by voters, defeated in congress. The reason for the overwhelming negative response by the public for an amnesty bill is because, simply, the public does no trust the government to secure the border, and to keep it's word that the border will remain secure. We don't trust those in congress, or the President. I am of the opinion that if the borders were secured; I mean really secured, not some half-hearted effort like we've seen time and again, the people would be more receptive to starting many of these people on the path to citizenship.
Until such time as the borders are secure,
those here illegally are either deported,
placed on a legal path to citizenship,
or given a limited work visa and then returned to their country of origin when that visa expires,
these people learn to speak English,
stop waving foreign flags in America,
and in general either assimilate or leave,
They should not be surprised to find that there are those of us who are in opposition to them being here, illegally!
End of page
Foreign flags in America?
I've seen foreign flags raised in America, I've seen flag decals on automobiles, I've seen foreign flag t-shirts, but never have I ever seen a foreign flag raised on a flagpole above Old Glory. This is unexcusable! It shows a blatant disrespect for the United States, and should not be tolerated. We at CSOL say good for you, Jim. It's bad enough that illegals thumb their noses at our immigration laws, and that our corrupt politicians can't find the courage to enforce the law, but we will not stand for foreigners flying their flag above ours. This will not stand! If you think I'm being intolerant, so be it. I for one will never sit quietly and see another flag flying above Old Glory.
Chairman Lyons
(I know that those people may not be illegals. Even if they are here legally, there's no excuse. If you want to be an American, get on board and show some patriotism. If you still want to be a citizen of some other nation, then get the hell out, and if you want to work here for awhile, then go home, then get your work visa or green card, keep your flag and political opinion to yourself, and don't cause trouble.)
I've seen foreign flags raised in America, I've seen flag decals on automobiles, I've seen foreign flag t-shirts, but never have I ever seen a foreign flag raised on a flagpole above Old Glory. This is unexcusable! It shows a blatant disrespect for the United States, and should not be tolerated. We at CSOL say good for you, Jim. It's bad enough that illegals thumb their noses at our immigration laws, and that our corrupt politicians can't find the courage to enforce the law, but we will not stand for foreigners flying their flag above ours. This will not stand! If you think I'm being intolerant, so be it. I for one will never sit quietly and see another flag flying above Old Glory.
Chairman Lyons
(I know that those people may not be illegals. Even if they are here legally, there's no excuse. If you want to be an American, get on board and show some patriotism. If you still want to be a citizen of some other nation, then get the hell out, and if you want to work here for awhile, then go home, then get your work visa or green card, keep your flag and political opinion to yourself, and don't cause trouble.)
