Illegal Immigrants in the U.S. Protest against Immigration Policies
Mar. 28 - In Washington, 100 demonstrators wore handcuffs at the Capitol to protest a bill that would make it a felony to be in this country illegally and would make it crime to dispense aid to the nation's 11 million illegal immigrants.
Immigrant supporters also object to legislation that would also impose new penalties on employers who hire illegal immigrants and would build fences along part of the U.S.-Mexican border.
__________________ "The darkside, Sidious, is an illness no true Sith wishes to be cured of, my young apprentice .."
I suppose there's another answer. Make it a civil matter. If a someone who's in the country wants a job held by an illegal - it has to be given them or the hiring party can be sued.
You think there'd be any lawsuits?
Problem with this idea - it doesn't account for those crossing the borders for purposes other than employment (you know those nefarious, terrorist/drug smugling type purposes).
What do you mean. It is a civil matter but I don't think that there'll be any lawsuits. No one's above the law. No matter how hard working you are. If you want to enter this country, do it though legal channels.
__________________ "The darkside, Sidious, is an illness no true Sith wishes to be cured of, my young apprentice .."
Thousands of illegal-immigrant rights supporters flooded Phoenix streets Friday, rallying in a unified cry against several bills being considered by Congress, including one that would make it a felony to be an illegal immigrant in the United States.
The turnout, estimated by police at more than 20,000 people, clogged major thoroughfares in the central part of the city for hours in what officials said was one of the largest protests in Phoenix history.
The rally was called by the Border Action Network and was expected to draw only between 1,000 and 3,000 people, said Phoenix police Sgt. Andy Hill.
The massive demonstration, billed as "We are not the enemy, we are part of the solution," coincided with other protests Friday in Tucson, Los Angeles and Atlanta.
Clutching Mexican and American flags, thousands in Phoenix chanted, "Si, se puede," a rallying cry of the United Farm Workers union that means "Yes, we can."
Most of the protesters shouted against a bill passed by the U.S. House in December that would make it a felony to be illegally in the United States, impose new penalties on employers who hire illegal immigrants and erect fences along one-third of the U.S.-Mexican border.
Critics of the bill argue that if it passes, those who help illegal immigrants could be committing a felony.
"They want to make a law that would make it illegal for me to talk to my wife," said 21-year-old Phoenix resident Isidro Ortega, who left his job as a traffic engineer for the day to protest the bill. "It's ridiculous."
Ortega and his two children are U.S. citizens, but his wife is not.
"Under this law, I would be considered a felon for supporting my family," he said.
Ortega, who waived a giant Mexican flag, said it's important for the Latino community to unite against the legislation.
"Nobody ever stands up," he said. "It's about time people stood up."
The demonstrations in Phoenix and Tucson were held outside the offices of U.S. Sen. Jon Kyl, sponsor of a separate immigration bill that would step up enforcement along the U.S.-Mexico border and create a temporary guest-worker program.
Malissa Geer, 29, of Phoenix, went to the march with her husband and two daughters to support her Hispanic friends.
"They're here for the American dream," Geer said as she held her 2-year-old daughter and stood on a curb, punching the air with the beat of the chanting protesters. "God created all of us. He's not a God of the United States. He's a God of the world."
Kyl responded to the protest by pointing out that most were speaking out against the House bill making it a felony to be an illegal immigrant, not his bill.
"They (protesters) should be pleased that the Senate is probably going to address this in a much more comprehensive way," Kyl told the Tucson Citizen newspaper during a meeting with its editorial board.
"I support a comprehensive approach to it, and I know the majority of people on the Judiciary Committee do, and I think the majority of senators generally do," he said.
As the protesters thinned out Friday, 37-year-old John Chavez of Phoenix stood on a 6-foot-wall, shouting to passers-by.
"It's about time we exercised some of our civil rights," said Chavez, whose family immigrated from Mexico to Arizona five generations ago.
Chavez' small and simple black-and-white sign drew shouts of support and agreement from the crowd.
Maybe the US should just annex Mexico and finish what he failed to finish 150 years ago. Then we can just send all the illegals to the 51st state- Amexica.
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Anywho, it's called illegal immigration for a reason. I agree with making the law tougher, but I also think it should be made easier to become a legal immigrant. It's actually kind of ridiculous at the moment, even legal immigrants are getting beef.
I have a friend who moved to England from the U.S. last year and she said she still hasn't become fully immigrated because they ask "why would you want to move out of a first world country?' WTF is that? If she wants to move out, who gives a shit?
Gender: Unspecified Location: Corporate States of America
Americans are always crying about illegal immigrants but the fact of the matter is these people take the jobs Americans don't want. How many Americans want to be cooks, dishwashers, farm workers, busboys, etc? You don't see very many illegals getting jobs as aerospace engineers, nuclear physicists, etc. The problem isn't immigration, it's free trade which allows corporations to outsource the actual good jobs to cheap labor countries.
__________________ My parents said I could be anything I wanted, so I became an a$$hole.
Now if all the protesters were Illegal Immigrants at that protest they should have just rounded them up told them to STFU and sent them back to Mexico..................
If they are legal then fight the legislation however the voices in the article above are voices that haven't read all the legislation and are just meant to give an emotional rally cry...........you seperated my family in the USA.........
Really? They need to step on this problem already. If they can't be bothered to become citizens legally (At least attempt the process... and most of them don't even speak English. I learned that from three years in El Paso), why should anyone coddle them and say it's okay? It's illegal immigration. We as a nation have the right to stand up and say "Hey, this is enough." There's 12 million or so of them already over here. How many other first world countries have that many ILLEGAL immigrants? None. This is ridiculous. It isn't about them taking jobs we don't want; it's about the fact that you have millions of people living here who aren't US citizens. Do you think that if 12 million Romanians moved into France or Germany illegally, the latter would just be like "Okay" and let it slide? Nope. I mean, who's going to house all of these people? What if they deliver babies here so they can be citizens? Is that fair? Should they suddenly be granted rights in that case either?
I'm not saying we shouldn't have immigration, and I'm not saying this because it's primarily Mexicans coming over either; I'm saying that the enormous amount of undereducated, non-English speaking people pouring into a country that's already made the world landmark in national debt is a recipe for disastor. Obviously Mexico sucks so bad that 12 million of its former inhabitants and their descendants are in this country. Instead of fleeing, they should be back home trying to make things better. This is not a get out of jail free card... You come over here and get a job illegally, live here illegally, and most reap the benefits of being in the US and forms of aid, etc... That's not fair to the rest of us. I'm pretty sure if we sent over enormous groups of undereducated, English speaking individuals who demanded classes be taught in English, signs and driver's tests be in English, that Mexico celebrate the Fourth of July, etc. White History month... Please. That wouldn't fly two seconds in any other nation in the world. Why should we take up a standard that no one else will?
I say let's make the process available for those who do intend to stay here. They should have to know English because it IS the language on the money, and the damn Constitution is written in it, as are all the damn laws in the country. They should maintain consistant residence for their first few years in the country, and they should have to prove that they're getting a job and trying to maintain a home. The rest who fail to reach that level of commitment to becoming Americans can go home in droves.
I believe that if laws are broken in the U.S. there are consequences for breaking them, no matter who you are. No one's above the law, not even the President.
My heart bleeds for the difficult situations that immigrants go though but if you're in the country illegally then your committing a crime. I would get arrested for breaking U.S. laws (if i get caught) just like everyone else would.
I am not against immigration or immigrants but like I said before, I do think they should enter the country through legal channels, that's all. So do I think the law should be passed? Yes but only if there's a pro to it. (pro-con)
With con being the passing of the bill and the pro part making it easier than ever for all immigrants to legally come to the U.S.
But passing this law balls to bones like this may be impossible. What about families who have an immigrant mother, and a husband and son born in the U.S. Do you separate them. It would cause unnecessary chaos.
__________________ "The darkside, Sidious, is an illness no true Sith wishes to be cured of, my young apprentice .."
No, it's not a racist statement; it's something most people don't consider. The common stance is that they need to be here, that it's like a refuge. Well, if Mexico is so bad, why isn't anything done about it? I'm sure if 12 million people come into your country from the one next door, there's something wrong. What is it? Can it be fixed? I don't think running is the answer to the problems. Hell, just a portion of those people could make a difference in Mexico. Is it really the right idea to just leave? It's not Soviet Russia down there.
I like how we're supposed to be sympathetic to illegal immigrants and their plight, but what are they doing to help themselves? Running here? What ever happened to working to better your country? I see half a dozen Mexican flags on bumpers of cars driving to work, but the license plates are American. How can you claim to have national pride when you're fleeing your country and you won't even work to make it better? That's ridiculous. I'd rather the U.S. pour effort and money into making Mexico a better place for people to want to live than to just sit by idlely and let people run here and start over again. Again, I ask: what was so horrible about Mexico that people won't stay and fight for better conditions?
Gender: Male Location: Welfare Kingdom of California
I'm all for illegal immigration policies. For me we should keep the productive immigrant and kick out all the rowdy and abusive immigrants that come to this country to commit crimes.
Didn't you guys know that Scarface is an actual critique of the immigrants? Whereas films like El Norte are an illustration of the productive immigrant that comes to this country? Isn't it odd Scarface is more known that El Norte? And yes, El Norte is powerful film. I suggest you watch it.
I also support the students that have been marching to voice their opinions in a peaceful and orderly behavior. However, the students that are just walking out of school to get on freeways and march in the middle of a busy work day SHOULD be arrested and the parents should be give strict penalties for not keeping their children in order.
There's nothing "wrong" per se; they're impoverished people who are willing to do bottom feeder work for shit pay. They're doing it to support their family. I do think that if you're that poor, you shouldn't have like 7 or 8 kids.
I have the Mexican flag on the front of my ride, but it has nothing to do with national affiliation; its in recognition of heritage and cultural pride, ese. Its no different than white people who have the Irish or Italian flag on their car.
Where are you from, Wesker?
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Last edited by Quiero Mota on Mar 29th, 2006 at 07:58 PM
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Mar 29th, 2006 03:38 AM
