Where do you sit on Immigration?

[Teiwaz]

I have tried to be fair in the poll and cover the main positions I thought people might have, please provide further ellaboration my posting as well. You can pick more than one from the poll.

[Moondog]

This is certainly another den of snakes that our govt officials have set by and let boil over. I believe that anyone trying to better themselves by coming to America and going through the legal process should be allowed as citizens as long as they are not criminal.

Everyone from the illegal alien to the company/business that hires illegals should be dealt with harshly and immediately. The borders must be patrolled with more resources having checks and balances in place to ensure that our agents are honest and professional.

For the long term illegals which are already blended in to our society, they must be made to gain legal status. The numbers are staggering and how it could be done will be most challenging to enforce. However, and since they are in an illegal status, if they can not come forward and gain citizenship legally, they must be returned to their country of origin. This would be hard on families when their loved one were caught but it is a risk they took in the beginning and they knew the score if caught.

I would also think that the screening process to allow anyone to become a citizen be throughly investigated and updated if required. While it is a great attribute to the U.S. that we are a land made up of immigrants, the fact is that there is only so much land mass within our country and population levels are continually rising. At what point do we say we have done all we can and there is no more room in the end?

[PCIncorrect]

I agree with Moondog completely.

[Teiwaz]

You can't have an open door immigration policy. You must have standards about who can some in. Genuine refugees (those fleeing persecution and can prove it) are a different kettle of fish. Nation States need to provide infrastructure, Health, etc for their people. If everyone and anyone can come in, you overload essential services and infrastructure, create slums and spread poverty. Everyone accepts this. Everyone knows it. The problem is when you have bleeding heart groups who think that feeling sorry for people can suspend harsh reality.

[Marcus O'Reillius]

First of all, if Juan and his family can cross, so can others.

Yes, I want a border so we don't have terrorists coming in to our country with no documentation upon them whatsoever. Build the fence; stop the trafficking in human beings. The Mexicans have proven you can live on a cash economy under the radar without papers, ID, and even get away without paying taxes. How much more could a terrorist cell do in the same manner with a little help from their oil-rich friends? We knew the identity of the terrorists on 9-11 just from the passenger lists. Unfortunately, we had hamstrung ourselves so the left hand didn't know what the right hand was doing, which gets to my second point:

Enforce the laws we have. Make the playing field level. If everyone had to pay Social Security taxes on their workers, pay them at least minimum wage and withhold their share of local, state, and federal taxes then there is no incentive to hire illegals for less than minimum wage.

I am not going to entertain the notion that Mexicans are doing the jobs no one else will do. Regular people work construction, landscaping and farming too. 3 out of 4 farm workers are legal. Americans will do these jobs. If you're saying we have to have cheap illegal labor, then you're supporting a form of economic slavery. What happened to the liberal notion of minimum wage providing for a family being to live? It goes out the door when they want their house cleaned or their yard done.

My 2 cents...

[Sonrisa]

I 100% endorse your post. We need a secured border both to the north and the south. The laws we have, in most cases are adequate; we need to enforce them. I absolutely do not support, as you said, that the Mexican and other nationals here illegally do the jobs that US citizens or legal immigrants won't do. We need to get back to our can-do attitude and stop playing politics and pandering to hysteria on both sides of the issue. We need to get on the stick and get started immediately. The way to insure compliance by the employers of the illegals is to hit them in their pocketbooks. It seems that is usually the only thing that gets people's attention.

["shazbat"]

I 100% endorse your post. We need a secured border both to the north and the south. The laws we have, in most cases are adequate; we need to enforce them. I absolutely do not support, as you said, that the Mexican and other nationals here illegally do the jobs that US citizens or legal immigrants won't do. We need to get back to our can-do attitude and stop playing politics and pandering to hysteria on both sides of the issue. We need to get on the stick and get started immediately. The way to insure compliance by the employers of the illegals is to hit them in their pocketbooks. It seems that is usually the only thing that gets people's attention.

Ditto. We already have one of the most open and highest numerical quota immigration policies in the world. Hire enough Americans to both enforce it and to handle the administrative issues to make it work efficiently.

[Freethinker]

Ditto. We already have one of the most open and highest numerical quota immigration policies in the world. Hire enough Americans to both enforce it and to handle the administrative issues to make it work efficiently.

Hire more people AND make it more effecient? Build the wall, it'll be easier.