One thing you didn't address was that when Arizona businesses begin to feel the pressure, they're going to leave Arizona. How's that going to help your state economy? Alternatively, I could sit here in San Diego, create a corporation that employs hundreds of illegal workers from Yuma to Tucson, and presumably (I haven't read the law you're referring to), my corporation would be immune. Sounds fair? Definitely not.

One thing I have never understood, and I never stood for, is citizenship by inheritance. I believe that everyone, even those of us who are born in the US, should have some sort of citizenship requirements beyond simply where or to whom we are born. But then, like John Lennon, what I'd really like to see is an end to borders entirely.

Just like any other class of people (widowers, Republicans, those with HIV, or atheists), you can't tell by looking whether someone is a permanent resident, natural-born citizen, holder of a temporary work or student visa, or a completely undocumented alien. That goes for Mexicans and other Latinos as well as people of other nationalities; while most people would argue that “Mexicans are the problem,” let's not forget that people from every country come to the US, and Latinos aren't the only ones who do so illegally. But who ever suspects an illegal French family? Meanwhile, the guy at the corner taco shop catches hell all the time, even though he was born and grew up in Orange County.

Last thought: It was their country first, just like the Indians. I live in San Diego, you live in Phoenix. Wait — weren't those part of Mexico before we went to war over Texas? New Mexico, Nevada, Utah, and parts of Colorado and Wyoming, too. Or have we forgotten that, like we've forgotten the Native Americans?

That statement rings with the “us and them” mentality that permeates everything about immigration from Mexico.

Take a hint. When tomatoes are $5.00/lb, people will eat potatoes or chicken. Mexico just isn’t that important. Not to the United States, not to the world – and probably most sadly of all, not to itself.

Let Mexicans stay home and fix Mexico first and then teach American immigrants a better way.

Mexico has burnt us to many times for me to want to be first in line, however if that day were to ever come in my lifetime, I might give it a try.

It’s really not about nationality or skin color, language or culture: it’s about behaviour. One wrotten apple doesn’t spoil the bunch. More than a few wrotten apples have fucked it up for everyone.

For a variety of reasons that hasn’t happened, but what makes me sad is how hate-filled many of my descendent of immigrant family fellow Americans have become…and how unappreciative we all are for the workers who pick almost all of our crops (fruits and vegetables), clean our hotels, houses and offices and serve us food every day (and MUCH more)…GLAD for the opportunity for a brighter tomorrow…just like our families felt several generations ago.

Yes, immigration law should have kept pace, but I won’t become hate filled because that didn’t happen.

In actuality I think it’s more that Americans can’t afford to do those jobs. Most of us aren’t too good to pick fruit or do landscaping, we just can’t afford to work for $5.00 an hour.

When our government ignores border security and overlooks American companies hiring millions of illegal aliens it actually drives wages down. Why hire a legal American if an illegal will do the the same work for much less than a decent living wage and no benefits?

Other state that they “pay tax”, so they’re good for the economy. Many are paid under the table (cash, as one earlier commenter admits), and those that do actually have tax withheld don’t pay much at all. How much tax do you suppose the average illegal contributes working for $5.00 per hour?

If an illegal alien sends his two children to school it costs somewhere around $50/day from tax dollars. So on his $5.00/hour income he’s not paying in even remotely close to what he’s taking out. Since his “cash only” employer isn’t providing him and his family medical benefits we also get to subsidize the emergency room visits when the kids come down the flu or he is injured on the job.

Millions immigrate legally from all over the world, there is no good reason to just leave the borders wide open. It’s a huge security risk too.

;)

While I disagree with this blog entry – I do have to say the way it compared illegal immigrants to early Americans was interesting and gave me something to think about.

They’re different.

Note to Encouraged: I don’t think most people will realize you were being satirical.