Your ancestors came through a gateway, today they just walk through a tunnel, hide in a truck, or climb a (lame) fence.

Do you see the difference?

Rob

You’re both right. We have all been polarized by our political/religious view of the world around us.

Our government is trying to hide the fact that we as a country have failed to deal with illegals for thirty-plus years (I’m probably older than you guys).

Now, they are a vital part of our economy; even if we could round ‘em up and deport them, the economic effect would be devastating. However, we have not subjected them to the standards we had in generations past. Drive through a Hispanic neighborhood. Do you hear English being spoken? No. Do you see trash and junk everywhere? Yes.

This is why the average guy is so pissed off. They have no desire whatsoever to assimilate, they just want your money.

This NOT what it means to be an American.

I want reform as well, and have said as much in reference to the visa system. Like a significant majority of Americans, I want my government to enforce laws already enacted, as opposed to using parliamentary tricks to look like they are doing one thing while doing another altogher, e.g. authorizing an action while at the same time declining to fund it, or funding it but redirecting the funds to something altogether different.

I’ll support a bill that aligns with my priorities, enforcing border security first. I’m willing to compromise on a lot (even if it does result in accelerated and undisputed social security insolvency), in that order.

I also want representatives of Congress who have to stand in front of their district and defend their vote leading the charge.

I too agree the aggressive stance of the Senate was wrong…nonetheless we have a situation where towns and groups are making their own rules…that’s not right either…

…I too resent going through Miami where if your name is Hispanic sounding they don’t sometimes page you in English at all…

but you know what we have plenty of Cuban, Puerto Rican service providers where we live, and none in my family speak Spanish…they have to speak English to earn our dollars.

Could we end up with a Quebec? Possible, but not if we keep pointing out the Italians, the Poles, the Koreans all had to learn English…

PS- I don’t have to press 1 for Italian either…

I am all for making illegal aliens compensate the system for back taxes, pay a fine – I am also for more border controls. What I do not like is this limbo and local governments or vigilante groups doing their own things…

BTW – every Irish, Pole, Italian who entered in the first half of the 20th century was technically “illegal” and they made this country…

I disagree with you on your comment about the House and Senate failing to agree to a compromise, this really doesn’t have anything to do with compromise but rather confidence. The American people don’t have confidence in the federal government when it comes to doing what they say they will do. It didn’t even get close to the House so how can you suggest it failed because of a failure to compromise between the Senate and the House?

Politics is cut throat – I thought they would have given the Prez at least one domestic victory and something to salvage his place in history.

So the issue will just fester for 2+ years. And we will end up hundreds of individual local and state “solutions” on immigration – a matter which is clearly a federal issue…

that to me is a bigger constituional mess…

But I think the best contribution I can make to the country is to make sure we not forget how good immigration has been for this country. Oscar Handlin, Pulitzer Prize winner in 1952 wrote

““Once I thought to write a history of the immigrants in America. Then I discovered that the immigrants were American history.”

Two subtle changes have happened in the last few decades years. We have been spolit by the white collar Japanese, Korean, Indian immigrants who started coming more recently – doctors, software engineers etc. But what made our country was the blue collar Irish, Italians, Poles, Jews.

I want to make sure we allow blue collar workers as well…unfortunately most of that today comes from our neighboring countries to the south and from the Caribbean and we are contemptous of them. But if they did not have opportunities here do you think they would risk hostile deserts and leaky boats to come here? We need their help because our third and fifth generation immigrants (and our first generation recent immigrants) do not want to work in our orange groves or in our restuarant kitchens

Secondly, labor has become much more mobile. When my Irish father in law (born in LA) moved back to ireland (his parents did – he was 2, I think) that was a rarity. Today the Irish and Indians who move here are going back home for opportunities there. I think our immigration rules assume people want to come here permanently. Not sure that is true any more. Labor like capital is mobile and we should encourage free movement.

Much as we think we are getting inundated, massive migrations are happening in the EU and Russia in particular and to lesser extent Australia, Canada etc. We have a significant lead over rest of world in assimiliating immigrants. It is core competence which we risk losing in our current angst and anger.

We are looking for leadership from a spineless Congress…but it’s for us citizens to debate.