<p>zm, in this context, there’s nothing incorrect about the word “brokest.” “Broke” in the sense of having no money is a colloquial term anyway. We’re having an informal conversation here, not writing an academic paper. Most of us use contractions, abbreviations, etc… This native speaker of American English thought it was an appropriate casual coinage used to enhance the impact of the sentence. (Can you tell I was almost a linguistics major?) </p>
<p>It’s only the hyperbole I object to – the U.S. is not in dire economic straits compared to Weimar Germany, much less nations like Burundi in 2012. I know that you do know we’re lucky, but that rhetoric is not consistent with that perspective.</p>
<p>Well, regardless, I don’t think we need to compare ourselves to Weimar Germany in order to acknowledge we are in a few financial difficulties, right now, and can no longer afford to go around the world handing out blood and treasure. We need to deal with things at home.</p>
<p>One thing, though, that we do need to deal with at home is educating those who are here. We need to find a balance between encouraging people to come here illegally and all that entails, including the hazards of human trafficking and, in some horrific cases, slavery, actual and wage-wise, and a way to make a path to citizenship for the children who were brought here.</p>
<p>It is true, in fact, that there are “illegals” in this country who have barely lived anywhere else and for whom this is truly home, and who have no more business going back to a culture they don’t belong in than any of us do. </p>
<p>Let me get this straight. A Korean engineer who was a graduate student a Berkeley goes to work for an internet startup in Silicon Valley on an H1B visa in 1997. Living with him are his wife and their 3 year old. Fearing never ending home price increases, he buys a small 2 bedroom condo in say Milpitas. His internet startup goes belly up in 2001 before he can get his green card and he doesn’t leave. Instead, he starts another internet business own his own or with some colleagues, but his H1B expires and can’t get another one. But business is ok, and he somehow eeks out a living. His daughter, an amazingly brilliant kid, excels in school, makes lots of friends, but has this secret. She’s undocumented. She’s not eligible for financial aid, and though she gets accepted to Berkeley, cannot attend. Even if she graduates, she can’t work. </p>
<p>What exactly is she supposed to do? She did nothing wrong. She’s never been to Korea. As far as she’s concerned, California is all she knows, and she feels as American as her next door neighbor. </p>
<p>This kids need a path to naturalization. None of the other stuff your taking about has anything to do with this.</p>
<p>Since we “can’t hold the sins of the parents against the children”, maybe we should provide similar scholarships to everybody, not just illegals, as USA citizens’ kids should not be punished for the mere fact that they were born to the US citizens, correct?
Just trying to implement your logic across the board and NOT use it selectively only for illegals, because as you said, it means “punishment of kids for parents’ sins”.</p>
<p>I agree that the kid needs a path to citizenship, absolutely.</p>
<p>But, I have seen your more fluent thinking on other subjects and in other posts, and I know you don’t think that is true. You’re far too balanced a thinker to not see we need to find solutions to the illegal border crossings even as we attempt to find ways to take care of these kids.</p>
Are you missing the part where I talked about the fact that current laws created the situation?</p>
<p>
It has EVERYTHING to do with the totality of the immigration issue. But you just keep pretending that doing what makes you feel good about yourself will solve a complex global problem.</p>
<p>“If you say so. Do children come here to get free K-12, which is not free in their home country?”</p>
<p>NO children come here to get free K-12; whether their parents bring them here for that purpose is another question entirely. Most parents come here for the same reasons my grandparents came here (as previously noted, one of them as a Canadian! which he wasn’t): to escape persecution, to escape violence, and to find opportunities. With the economic collapse in 2008, many of them went home - voluntarily. </p>
<p>Having regulated farmworker housing for a decade (and hence having worked with migrant workers), I can tell you with certainty that I have NEVER met an undocumented or documented worker who came so their kids could get a free education. Not a single one.</p>
<p>Have you? (That’s not meant rhetorically; I’d really like to know.)</p>
<p>"This kids need a path to naturalization. "</p>
<p>-Kids get naturalized AUTOMATICALLY when parents get their citizenship. They do not need to pass any exams or go to any events. It is part of the system created fo LEGAL immigrants. There is no procedure for illegal immigrants to naturalize their kids who came with them illegally, they have to go back home, wait in line and re-enter USA as legal immigrants. They jumped this process and took their kids with them knowing that stupidity will cover their obvious illegal intend, whole world knows what is expected here and they abuse it, except for people (and their kids) who are patiently waiting in lines to come here legally, but instead they are the ones who get punished because they are following all the rules. But this is not any news, it applies to USA citizens and everybody else, if you contributing, law obeying person, you have to be punished for that…apparently…</p>
<p>I hate it that this girl’s father put his daughter in this position. What did he expect would happen to her? Its not like he was ignorant - the guy has a graduate degree from Berkeley.</p>
<p>Being brilliant, she does have options, even in her imperfect situation. None of the CA colleges cares about legal status, and the undocumented are now eligible for FA, so she should be fine. Even if she doesn’t qualify for FA, California cc’s are about $36 per unit, and there are some good CSUs within driving distance of Milpitas that cost about $5k-$6k per year. Her only issue will be finding a job, but as you pointed out (altho I don’t know the statistics on this), she has a good chance of marrying a US citizen.</p>
Yep. For the exact reason I stated. And also because there is racism involved, and it’s not just coming from the “kick them out” crowd. There are a lot of competing interests who want a piece of the illegal immigrant action.</p>
<p>Oh, I don’t think there is an easy way; especially since the results (not necessarily the intent, but the results) of the collusion between the U.S. government and the drug cartels drives up drug prices and profits.</p>
<p>…and get rid of prison population, everything should be legal, killers should not be prosecuted…we just simply do not have money for that and it will be less of us, since more will be murdered…decriminalization is a perfect solution for many current problems…</p>