<p>And you can only get a driver’s license in Florida if you can show you are in the county legally! My license has a gold star on it, and I had to show either a passport or certified birth certificate to get it. My kids did too.</p>
<p>How does one register for the draft if he has no other documents to show he’s in the country legally?</p>
<p>The private legislation on Mr. Godinez-Sampiero’s behalf is just another incarnation of the spoils system where politicians get to pick and choose who benefits, despite what the law might say about eligibility and entitlement.</p>
<p>Also, I agree with Bay. In this day and age immigration law is about protectionism, as are tariffs on goods. Most of the time I dislike tariffs on imported products. In the global economy employers labor is a product, and our messy immigration situation is definitely disadvantageous to the American working class.</p>
<p>And as GMT points out, the existing messy situation and bias towards sympathy for illegal immigrants, is absolutely unfair and demoralizing for people who have spent at lot of time, energy, emotion, tears etc.waiting to have their visa applications approved. So I guess we just tell those folks "sorry that you had to play by the rules, suckers.’ </p>
<p>The rules are stacked against our close neighbors to the South. No surprise that for the last century they’ve broken the laws to arrive here. Our distant neighbors across the Northern Atlantic have not had to endure these restrictions. IMO, as the demographics change, so will the obstacles. </p>
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<p>Paying a lawyer to tell you there is nothing he or she can do for you is a waste of money.</p>
<p>The simple solution is marriage. Plenty of them do go that route.</p>
<p>"the existing messy situation and bias towards sympathy for illegal immigrants, is absolutely unfair and demoralizing for people who have spent at lot of time, energy, emotion, tears etc.waiting to have their visa applications approved. So I guess we just tell those folks “sorry that you had to play by the rules, suckers.’”</p>
<p>My thoughts exactly. And what other country in the world is willing to accept and support illegal immigrants at the expense of their own hard working, tax paying citizens. The U.S. economy is not exactly roaring and many of our own citizens are struggling to make ends meet. It absolutely boggles the mind.</p>
<p>Plenty of countries in Europe take illegals in, convert them to refugees and support them. We just don’t have an enthusiasm for certain immigrants. </p>
<p>Frugal, I believe that illegal aliens from Africa who make it to Spain would disagree with you about the Spaniard method of welcome and accommodation. Mediterranean and sub-Saharan Africans are regularly rousted and deported by the authorities in Spain. Maybe you’re referring to the Roma or gypsy populations in Europe, who by EU law can freely immigrate to any EU nation. But in in the case of the Roma (and Poles, for that matter) there is much controversy over public benefits and entitlements, which is a fair debate to have.</p>
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<p>Can you be more specific? The majority of US immigrants come from South American and Asian countries.</p>
<p>@frugal,</p>
<p>The U.S. admits plenty of LEGAL immigrants & asylum seekers. According to the UNHCR, the US receives the greatest number of asylum-seekers in the world, for the 7th straight year. </p>
<p>Illegal immigrants are neither legal immigrants nor assylum seekers.</p>
<p>As far as the Europeans are concerned, I can tell u that when I lived/worked LEGALLY in Europe, the local newspapers weren’t reporting much joy on the influx of legal or illegal immigrants. You will recall that the nut in Norway who gunned down the school children on the island retreat, did it over anger over immigration. In the Netherlands, Theo van Gogh was stabbed in retaliation for his criticism of immigrants. The Parisians corral immigrants in ghettos where the angry youth riot & torch cars. </p>
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<p>That’s because it leads to racial profiling. If you want an example, look at ‘stop-and-frisk.’ Policies like that help promote treating certain groups within the country unequally to the detriment of those groups. That may not mean much to you, but it does mean a lot to many other people in the U.S.</p>
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<p>They’re not mutually exclusive. Someone would have to make a very strong argument to show me that there’s no racism involved in these positions. When people say ‘illegal’ in my experience, they’re typically talking about one race. Even though these ‘illegals’ are comprised of a number of different races all across the U.S.</p>
<p>There are nearly 12 million who fall into the ‘illegal/undocumented’ class within the U.S. Due to Ius Soli, many of these ‘children of illegal immigrants’ are U.S. citizens. Would it really be in the best interest of these children to send them to orphanages and deport their parents? Or to deport them with their parents to countries which don’t recognize them as citizens? It’s a really complicated issue. Many of these people are people who are renting and buying goods and services within the country. You can’t just deport 12 million people and think that it will have no impact on an economy.</p>
<p>That being said, it’s pretty clear this was done for political reasons. In California, Latin Americans and whites are neck-in-neck for comprising the majority within the state (38.2% and 39.4% respectively according to the U.S. Census.) And evidence indicates that the former will become the majority in a few decades. Politicians know that and that’s affects what they say, and what policies they enact. </p>
<p>e.g. <a href=“http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/post-politics/wp/2014/04/06/jeb-bush-many-illegal-immigrants-come-out-of-an-act-of-love/”>http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/post-politics/wp/2014/04/06/jeb-bush-many-illegal-immigrants-come-out-of-an-act-of-love/</a></p>
<p>Illegal immigration is an issue which many Latin Americans are very sympathetic to. That why California passed laws allowing illegal immigrants to not only get in-state tuition, but also financial aid, and even drivers licenses. IIRC, Jerry Brown signed the bill on the last one to sort of protest the broken federal immigration system. And I think many would agree that it is broken. Here’s something Mark Zuckerberg had to say about the issue</p>
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<p><a href=“http://washingtonexaminer.com/mark-zuckerberg-immigration-reform-a-big-deal/article/2536049”>http://washingtonexaminer.com/mark-zuckerberg-immigration-reform-a-big-deal/article/2536049</a></p>
<p>If anyone wants to read about the issue at depth, rather than just make assumptions, here’s a pretty decent reference on the issue:</p>
<p><a href=“Economic impact of illegal immigrants in the United States - Wikipedia”>http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economic_impact_of_illegal_immigrants_in_the_United_States</a></p>
<p>Throw in several Caribbean countries into the mix (Haiti, Jamaica, and Dominican Republic) whose citizens encounter extensive barriers to tourism as well as legal immigration. </p>
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Unlike the wasteful practice of throwing away the potential contributions of promising young minds? Is it really your assumption that those educated young people can never, never, ever, ever, get a legitimate job?</p>
<p>The barriers to tourism have an economic basis, not a racial one. That’s why citizens from rich countries like Japan (asian race) are allowed visaless entry into the U.S., but citizens from poor countries like Romania (caucasian) are not. </p>
<p>Unless we change the employment laws I don’t see what the point is of subsidizing education. Also, this is not about elite schools that are an achievement to get into btw. Community college qualifies and anyone can go.</p>
<p>I agree with beyphy. It’s totally, obviously a political bid to curry favor with a large potential future voting block.</p>
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<p>No, but I don’t like to make assumptions about what will happen in the future and when it will happen. Right <em>now,</em> admitting illegal immigrants takes away education from US residents who can make a contribution to our economy <em>now.</em></p>
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<p>Are there countries that do this? I did not know that.</p>
<p>Virginia, too.</p>
<p>Story in the Washington Post about a middle class SKorean family that
Now their son is going to Virginia Tech, paying in-state tuition.
<a href=“http://m.washingtonpost.com/local/korean-student-in-virginia-joined-forces-with-latino-dreamers-to-fight-for-in-state-tuition/2014/05/03/d2c8eea0-d150-11e3-9e25-188ebe1fa93b_story.html”>http://m.washingtonpost.com/local/korean-student-in-virginia-joined-forces-with-latino-dreamers-to-fight-for-in-state-tuition/2014/05/03/d2c8eea0-d150-11e3-9e25-188ebe1fa93b_story.html</a></p>
<p>I was aware of Korean “goose families” at my kids’ private international school overseas, but I was not aware until now of goose families immigrating illegally to the U.S. for a free public school education. Now they even get subsidized college tuition in Virginia-- the streets really are paved w gold in America! </p>
<p>More on “goose families”:
<a href=“Korean Families Chase Their Dreams In The U.S. : NPR”>Korean Families Chase Their Dreams In The U.S. : NPR;
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<p>We should be clear, there is a cost to the state. Florida estimated it would be $50 million a year, and the legislature will be monitoring the actual cost. In the above example (Virginia), it could end up costing the state much more (they have 8,100 young illegal immigrants in Virginia who have been granted temporary legal status).</p>
<p>Also, what do “goose families” say about the Korean educational system?</p>
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<p>Some get jobs illegally too, with stolen identities. Some will buy themselves citizenships–$12K will buy your an American spouse. Others will go through the steps to get citizenship. I live in an area rife with this and see all three things and other alternatives as well.</p>