Immigrants needed
Immigration will be a big political issue this election year. I hope there will be political leaders speaking out clearly for the idea that taking parents away from their children is not a good solution (“Study: Kids hit hard by Greeley raid,” Nov. 1).
We have an economic system that needs and encourages workers from other countries to come seeking jobs and a better life for their families. Workplace raids such as happened in Greeley are a shameful attack on these families.
Is this what we really stand for? What happened to the lamp beside the golden door?
Eric Wright, Denver
Bless you Eric. I have now seen the error of my ways. CRY ME A RIVER, they were here ILLEGALLY! Did every worker at Swift get busted? Nope, only the illegals. Oh and get over it, its been almost a year ago now.
Posted by on November 12, 2007 10:21 AMeric you are the typical progressive left liberal idiot. what part of Illegal do you not understand? look at the way good ole hillbillary wants to give them drivers licenses in NY so they can get around. what around the law and then when they get one they can register to vote for more freebees that tax payers get to pay for.
I suggest the next raid we dont seperate the kids from mommy and daddy we just send them all across the river from where they came.
they want back there is a process to come here legally and at that point they would be welcome and also have to learn english.
Eric's high school must be out for Veteran's day. Grow up young'en and see the truth.
Illegals break our laws with impunity while the rest of us follow them. Double standard that's hard to swallow and the lack of respect is just terrible.
If that's shameful than your shameless.
Posted by raoul on November 12, 2007 10:58 AMImmigrants enrich us all by bring cultural diversity to our communities. They do the jobs that we think we are above, and they ask little in return. Having to press one for English should be the biggest problem we face in any given day. Besides, would it kill Americans to learn some basic Spanish? It's a beautiful language.
Posted by on November 12, 2007 11:00 AMImmigrants are welcome if:
1. They show respect for their new country.
2. They submit to a health screening.
3. They are not racists.
4. They are not here to change the culture or standard of living of this country.
5. They learn english.
6. They present no burden on the state.
Otherwise, ENTRY DENIED.
The rules above not as restrictive as the immigration laws of MEXICO. In fact, not by a long shot.
Posted by truthy on November 12, 2007 11:02 AM"the idea that taking parents away from their children is not a good solution."
You are absolutely right. A good solution would be for these law breakers to return to their native countries and return when they can do so in accordance with the laws of the USA. If their children are US citizens, they can either stay in the US or return to their parent's native country.
Posted by on November 12, 2007 11:25 AMoh you are so wise 1102 by saying this
Having to press one for English should be the biggest problem we face in any given day. Besides, would it kill Americans to learn some basic Spanish? It's a beautiful language.
ok why should I have to press one at all? is there a press 3 for German? NOPE we only have to do it for the millions of illegals here who refuse to learn English as it would kill them to do so.
so here is my part on learning the beautiful langauge of the illegals. I hope you can understand and pay attention as well.
ADIOS,
Posted by on November 12, 2007 12:21 PMImmigrants are more than welcome.
ILLEGAL immigrants are not welcome at all.
Eric,
You're a sell-out. There's Americans that need good paying jobs. We don't need 30 mil
from another country.
11:03
They bring cultural diversity?
Yea, we see all the culture and diversity they bring..every day in the TV and newspapers
gangs,murders,amber alerts, car accidents
the list goes on. Yea, really HUMBLE people
they are. (sarcasm)
Yes Spanish is a beautiful language.
The illegals speak in an ugly Mexican tounge that a true Spaniard could not even understand.
Call it what it is Mexican lingo!
Immigrants are NOT needed at this time America is overflowing with them...legal AND illegal.
Posted by Cease ALL immigration on November 12, 2007 12:56 PMAnybody here know any good drivers willing to drag a lady down the road behind their truck for a while?
Oh, yes, the jobs that Americans just won't do.
Ok, so if illegals get sent back to their home country, and their citizen kids get left here, whose fault is that?
"Taking parents away from their children is not a good solution".
When citizens get thrown in jail or prison for something illegal they have done, nobody is crying about them being taken away from their kids.
A 10 year moratorium on ALL immigration to this nation just might give us enough time to get our society back in order.
And if terrorism was really such a threat, as we are told by the powers that be, wouldn't they also think that securing the borders would be a good thing?
Immigration is not that big a deal. Immigrants bring a rich cultural contribution to the community.
If you really want a problem, we should address the war in Iraq.
Posted by on November 12, 2007 01:38 PM11:00 am and 1:38pm are baiters,
master-baiters
Eric, The "golden door" needs to be closed and locked behind self-DEPORTED millions of dishonorable mexican citizens who have breached our boundarys!
Illegals have stolen the very breaths from our bodies, livelyhoods from ourselves, and our relatives, healthcare from our needy, identities of our citizens, knowledge from our young. They desecrate our flag and march upon our cities spouting racist slogans and insulting the very country they are victimizing.
Do you want more?? The list can go on and on Eric concerning a dishonorable race of people who are shoving their way into this country like a pack of hungry jackals.
What is shameful Eric is your misguided compassion for a people who knowingly, break into our country and ignore our laws. If you are an American citizen, your lack of loyalty to America and her people is very sad indeed!
America cannot continue to hemorrhage it's tax base in the long term pursuit of CHEAP labor without the economy bleeding to death!!
Racist NO!
Realist YES!
Illegal Immigrants NO!
LEGAL Immigrants YES!
Attrition through enforcement!!
Posted by A on November 12, 2007 01:59 PMAttrition through enforcement....I like that much better than attrition through lynchings.It's the government's choice which.They can step up,or they can step off.
Posted by Jimminy on November 12, 2007 02:25 PMwhat is so wrong about completely denying illegals tax payer benefits such as medical & a k-12 education ?
we do not OWE THEM ANYTHING!
we need to make it impossible for an ILLEGAL to get a job here! IMPOSSIBLE!!!!!!!
then the problem resolves itself!
Posted by Fresh on November 12, 2007 03:36 PMLetter writer Eric Wright is a typical Democrat hiding behind the children to push his agenda when he states"taking parents away is not a good soultion" to the illegal alien problem.A least he is not hiding behind the womens' skirts like Democrats usually do.
Posted by An american on November 12, 2007 04:06 PMI TOTALLY agree .... (Illegal) Immigrants are needed - to vacate this country immediately so that our once great country can regain some of its strength that has been drained by the influx of the illegals. No more free healthcare, no more changing our educational standards to suit the illegal, and no more "Press 1 for English". It is time to take a stand and let the politicians we won't stand for it no more!
Posted by mi on November 12, 2007 04:34 PMCut and paste
'In the first place, we should insist that if the immigrant who comes here in good faith becomes an American and assimilates himself to us, he shall be treated on an exact equality with everyone else, for it is an outrage to discriminate against any such man because of creed, or birthplace, or origin. But this is predicated upon the person's becoming in every facet an American, and nothing but an American...There can be no divided allegiance here. Any man who says he is an American, but something else also, isn't an American at all. We have room for but one flag, the American flag.. We have room for but one language here, and that is the English language.. and we have room for but one sole loyalty and that is a loyalty to the American people.'
Theodore Roosevelt 1907
Nice quote.Says it all.
Posted by Get Real on November 12, 2007 06:04 PMTeddy: "But this is predicated upon the person's becoming in every facet an American, and nothing but an American..."
In other words, if you don't think the same way I do, you are not welcome. Apparently, Teddy's study of vocabulary never got to the word "diversity". If there is anything true about Americans, it is the wide variety of differences among them. His words make no sense at all.
Here's hoping that we will treat, not just the children of illegal immigrants, but the illegal immigrants themselves, with compassion. That is the American way. You don't treat people with compassion because you owe them something; you treat them with compassion because you are a compassionate person. Compassion is not a way of paying a debt but rather a way of living a life.
Posted by Truth on November 12, 2007 06:59 PM
Truth,
We may have a variety of differences but if one of those differences is you loyalty then you are not welcome. he was talking about loyalty to this country and no other.
If you do not want to learn our language, respect our laws, honor our flag, then get the hell out. Period!
"Treat them with compassion" Why don't you just say "give them amnesty" and get it over with? This is exactly the point I have been making, if you want to give them amnesty say so, why do you keep using the phrase "treat them with compassion"?
Posted by jgd777 on November 12, 2007 07:46 PMWhat Teddy Roosevelt said does not make sense. Once again, we need to treat the children of illegal immigrants as well as the illegal immigrants themselves with compassion.
And why do you say kick them out when you really mean you want all of them shot at dawn without a trial?
Hey, jdg, this business of putting words in each other's mouths is fun. Your turn.
Posted by Truth on November 12, 2007 07:52 PMOver 7 out of 10 Americans supports a GWP with a path to citizenship for those illegal immigrants that qualify.
Again we see some of you regulars doing some hardcore rationalizing from the minority pulpit.
Posted by jay on November 12, 2007 07:56 PMThose who bleat about "compassion" seem to reserve that sentiment most for those who,like them,sh*t on Old Glory.
Posted by Jimminy on November 12, 2007 08:11 PMJay,
How many support GWP "before" the border has been secured?
Posted by jgd777 on November 12, 2007 08:18 PMI don't see them bringing anything to the country except slums. Teddy was right. Truth is wrong. They need to go home. I am tired of supporting them.
Posted by on November 12, 2007 08:35 PMI seem to remember that days after this "atrocious" raid on the families, there were many LEGAL citizens who lined up at the plant to apply for jobs.
I agree that we need immigrants. It's what makes this country great. Is it too much to ask that they do it legally?
Posted by Joanna on November 12, 2007 09:00 PMJoanna,
How much is too much? A few thousands
America can handle , that makes a great country. But, 12-30 mil,thats an invasion.
Yes! It is too much to ask..they will NOT do it illegally. They use Americans S.S.# without
a guilty consience. They falsify EVERYTHING!
Opps, I meant LEGALLY.
Posted by on November 12, 2007 09:46 PMHer goes jay again with a stat he doesn't back up - did you take a poll of your fifty cats?
Provide proof that over 70% want this? I think it is 70% that want the border closed and for our government to enforce existing laws. But thay don't do polls for that.
Jay , looks like your stats are wrong, as there are more than enough to prove that here, i think it is more like 7 of 10000 people support illegal immigration, you see the problem is the 14th amendment was not meant for illegal immigrants, it was meant for slaves to become legal citizens not border jumping wetbacks sucking our system dry of it resources. as for the children of the Illegals, send then the hell back with their parents, if they want a better economy, let them fix up their own country. oh yeah almost forgot all the ones who can swing a hammer are here building crappy houses outside of standard building code and far from osha regulations, kinda makes you wonder about the new houses you live in and the quality of the workmanship that went into it
yes i used to frame houses and i made damn good money, then came the layoffs due to an illegal immigrant would to the work for half the cost but only put in half the effort but the contractors dont care about quality, just wages that they pay to the workers .
send them back home , we NATIVE Americans were here first
your local friendly atheist
Hoimaha C.
"Here's hoping that we will treat, not just the children of illegal immigrants, but the illegal immigrants themselves, with compassion. That is the American way. You don't treat people with compassion because you owe them something; you treat them with compassion because you are a compassionate person. Compassion is not a way of paying a debt but rather a way of living a life. "
Truth- please explain exactly what you mean by "compassion" in regards to the illegal immigrant debate.
If you are arguing amnesty or discontinuing raids, I don't agree. Compassion doesn't mean relieving someone of accountability for their actions. For example, in the case of illegal immigrants, if caught, they need to be deported. If you believe compassion for the broken families is a reason, then it needs to be explained why illegal immigrants deserve an exemption vs any other criminal who engages in illegal actions who has a family.
Immigrants are a valuable contribution to our society, but only those who have respect for our laws and truly want to be Americans.
Posted by fiesty on November 13, 2007 07:48 AMJay I just saw a poll that said that 70% of the people want a slave.Will you support this issue?[Jay lives by polls]
Posted by An American on November 13, 2007 09:36 AMEric, do you believe this country has the right to determine who is allowed to come here, or do you believe everyone in the world is entitiled to live here? If we have any limits at all should we enforce them?
What is shameful about enforcing our law? Personally, I think disrespecting another countries laws is shameful. I don't go to Mexico and disregard theirs.
What happened to the lamp beside the golden door?
Whatever happened to looking out for other American's? The meat packing industry used to be a well paid, unionized job, done primarily by American citizens. For some reason, some people, such as yourself apparently, seem to think we need immigrants to do this work. Businesses looking for cheap labor in everything from agriculture, construction, to IT benefit from this outlook, their employees not so much.
What do you do for a living? I can only hope your job gets taken by immigrants and you see how it feels.
7 out of 10 illegal aliens agree, they want all the benefits of being in the USA, with none of the reponsibilities, the other 3 didn't understand the question which was asked in plain English
Posted by Jeb on November 13, 2007 01:18 PMAnd I know for a fact that JESUS LIVES!
He served me a burger this very day!!
Posted by Californians go home! on November 13, 2007 04:21 PMThis says absolutely everything.....
Richard. D. Lamm
I have a secret plan to destroy America. If you believe, as many do, that America is too smug, too white bread, too self-satisfied, too rich, let's destroy America. It is not that hard to do. History shows that nations are more fragile than their citizens think. No nation in history has survived the ravages of time. Arnold Toynbee observed that all great civilizations rise and they all fall, and that "an autopsy of history would show that all great nations commit suicide." Here is my plan:
We must first make America a bilingual-bicultural country. History shows, in my opinion, that no nation can survive the tension, conflict and antagonism of two competing languages and cultures. It is a blessing for an individual to be bilingual; it is a curse for a society to be bilingual. One scholar, Seymour Martin Lipset, put it this way: "The histories of bilingual and bicultural societies that do not assimilate are histories of turmoil, tension and tragedy. Canada, Belgium, Malaysia, Lebanon – all face crises of national existence in which minorities press for autonomy, if not independence. Pakistan and Cyprus have divided. Nigeria suppressed an ethnic rebellion. France faces difficulties with its Basques, Bretons and Corsicans."
I would then invent "multiculturalism" and encourage immigrants to maintain their own culture. I would make it an article of belief that all cultures are equal: that there are no cultural differences that are important. I would declare it an article of faith that the black and Hispanic dropout rate is only due to prejudice and discrimination by the majority. Every other explanation is out-of-bounds.
We can make the United States a "Hispanic Quebec" without much effort. The key is to celebrate diversity rather than unity. As Benjamin Schwarz said in the Atlantic Monthly recently, "The apparent success of our own multiethnic and multicultural experiment might have been achieved, not by tolerance, but by hegemony. Without the dominance that once dictated ethnocentrically, and what it meant to be an American, we are left with only tolerance and pluralism to hold us together." I would encourage all immigrants to keep their own language and culture. I would replace the melting pot metaphor with a salad bowl metaphor. It is important to insure that we have various cultural sub-groups living in America reinforcing their differences, rather than Americans emphasizing their similarities.
Having done all this, I would make our fastest-growing demographic group the least educated – I would add a second underclass, unassimilated, undereducated and antagonistic to our population. I would have this second underclass have a 50 percent dropout rate from school.
I would then get the big foundations and big business to give these efforts lots of money. I would invest in ethnic identity, and I would establish the cult of victimology. I would get all minorities to think their lack of success was all the fault of the majority. I would start a grievance industry blaming all minority failure on the majority population.
I would establish dual citizenship and promote divided loyalties. I would "celebrate diversity." "Diversity" is a wonderfully seductive word. It stresses differences rather than commonalities. Diverse people worldwide are mostly engaged in hating each other – that is, when they are not killing each other. A "diverse," peaceful or stable society is against most historical precedent. People undervalue the unity it takes to keep a nation together, and we can take advantage of this myopia. Look at the ancient Greeks. Dorf's "World History" tells us: "The Greeks believed that they belonged to the same race; they possessed a common language and literature; and they worshiped the same gods. All Greece took part in the Olympic Games in honor of Zeus, and all Greeks venerated the shrine of Apollo at Delphi. A common enemy, Persia, threatened their liberty. Yet, all of these bonds together were not strong enough to overcome two factors ... (local patriotism and geographical conditions that nurtured political divisions ...)" If we can put the emphasis on the "pluribus," instead of the "unum," we can balkanize America as surely as Kosovo.
Then I would place all these subjects off-limits – make it taboo to talk about. I would find a word similar to "heretic" in the 16th century – that stopped discussion and paralyzed thinking. Words like "racist", "xenophobe" halt argument and conversation. Having made America a bilingual-bicultural country, having established multiculturalism, having the large foundations fund the doctrine of "victimology," I would next make it impossible to enforce our immigration laws. I would develop a mantra – "because immigration has been good for America, it must always be good." I would make every individual immigrant sympatric and ignore the cumulative impact.
Lastly, I would censor Victor Davis Hanson's book "Mexifornia" – this book is dangerous; it exposes my plan to destroy America. So please, please – if you feel that America deserves to be destroyed – please, please – don't buy this book! This guy is on to my plan. "The smart way to keep people passive and obedient is to strictly limit the spectrum of acceptable opinion, but allow very lively debate within that spectrum." – Noam Chomsky, American linguist and U.S. media and foreign policy critic.
Methinks 2:44am there is a bit too engrossed in their MYTH....yes myth.
"bigotry", ONE WHO(thinks they)KNOW????
What do you feel about the author of this letter?
IS HE A BIGOT TOO!?!?!?!?!?!?
Mexican-American resents footing the bill
Monday, October 22 at 12:01 AM
I am a person of Hispanic descent and I have to tell you that it makes me angry that the other persons of Hispanic descent are expecting us as taxpayers to foot the bill for the education of their children in a bilingual school.
That doubles the expense of educating children. Why is it up to us to interpret the English language for these folks? If the parents of the children would educate themselves prior to coming to our country, perhaps it wouldn’t be as expensive for the schools and maybe then more schools could remain open.
It’s wrong for immigrants who come to this country to expect us to foot the bill for their every need! So let’s not blame the school district for the problems; how about we look in the mirror!
We can’t allow this abuse of our good graces and our programs that were designed for the American people to continue.
I am Mexican myself, however my family came here legally and assimilated to the American way of life including speaking the language of the land — English. If immigrants really want to contribute to America, that would be a good place to start!
Anthony Garcia, Castle Rock