So you believe it’s fair for people who “hopped the border” or overstayed their visas to have the same rights as people, such as my parents, who worked hard and spent a lot of money to get their green cards to come here to have the same rights? I think such a move would anger thousands of people in this country.
I am not sure if you know much about the Reagan Amnesty, or what was involved. There were 4 main componants though in order to be considered:
1. You had to have been living in the US for 5 years or more.
2. You must not have a criminal record.
3. You must have either been a student in school, or had a job and payed taxes.
4. YOu must go to the INS and apply for Naturalization, like any other Resident Alien.
And in reality, the program has never really gone away. I do not really care how a person enters the country. However, I care about how they behave once they are here. And today, most illegals would never qualify for such an amnesty.
Either they develop criminal records, or they refuse to go to the INS and try to legalize their status. I in no way propose a "blanket amnesty", but as was seen in the 1980's, most illegals do not care about becomming Residents, they simply want the free ride and benefits before they go home.
And those are more then welcome to go home, immediately.
Second, you do not care about the economy? If the citizens were granted a vote in this matter don’t you think it would be important for everyone to be aware of the effects of granting amnesty to 12 million illegal immigrants. Speaking of the 1986 Immigration Reform and Control Act, you mentioned how 3 million illegal immigrants became legal. Well, did you know that these immigrants brought over 142,000 dependants. If we could make an estimate, imagine that number times 4? The population of this country would immediately increase, taking away jobs from people who are here legally. The amnesty President Regan granted also created a lot of trouble. People went to dangerous ways to try to sneak into the country to be a part of this amnesty.
OK, now to try and make some sense of this massive paragraph.
I see you are one that believes the coprolite that Roy Beck spews out. Because so much of what you just said is just like the things he says. About the only thing you left out was calling them "Anchor Babies".
OK, you have to realize first off that when somebody becomes a Resident Alien, they still can't vote. They are not Citizens. All they have is the right to live and work here.
And many will not become Citizens. Some will return to their home countries, or on to other countries. Others will live out their lives as Resident Aliens. And yes, others will become Citizens later on, normally 5-10 years later.
And that 142,000 number is so inflated and misrepresented it is a joke. And I take it that you want those children of immigrants thrown out. Well, you will do so over my dead body, because 2 of them happen to be my children. They are both US Citizens, and this always has and always will be their home. And if they were brought over and not born here, then they have to go through the same process of becomming citizens as their parents do.
Oh, and those people you talk about that tried to sneak into the country? Well, tough luck, but they did not qualify for the amnesty in 1976. Unless you could prove 5+ years of continuous employment or school in the US, you simply did not qualify. Tough luck, go home.
If the whole world knew that our country was trying to bring about this amnesty there would be a lot of commotion, and the number of illegals would increase significantly. You also mention that the unemployment rate would not change because 12 million is not a large number compared to the population of America.
No, because you do it like the one done in the 1980's. You must have lived here for a period of time (5+ years), have worked and paid taxes, no criminal offenses, and be willing to go through the entire immigration process. Just those qualifications alone will eliminate probably 75% or more of the illegals in the country already.
And obviously prohibit any new ones from entering to try and take advantage of the program.
Remember, I do not believe in any kind of "Blanket Amnesty" like President Obama does. I think that is wrong, and a slap in the face of those that come here legally. And I do not think it should be a gift, to be handed to those that came in. But for those that are illegal in one way or another, I believe in giving them a chance. But it is up to them to take it.
And FYI, my wife is an immigrant. She was 16 when her family entered the country legally in 1979. They were from Argentina, and were fleeing the "Drity Wars", where they all were under a death sentence. Her father collected their paperwork, and later gave them social security cards. Her, her sister and their mother were all told that they were there legally.
However, only the father had a legal work visa. The rest were on 6 month tourist visas. I met her 2 years later, and in 1985 we got engaged. Her and her sister had both finished school in the US, and had been working for several years. It was the prompting by my wife that finallly got her father to admit the truth.
Within 1 year, my wife, sister and mother were all legal Resident Aliens. And it did not even take the Amnesty to do so. They simply applied at INS, and they waived the technicality of their entry. They do this all the time. If you overstay your visa, if you fail to apply for the Perminant Resident card, if you leave the country for a prolonged period of time then come back, there are thousands of ways to enter legally, then become illegal.
And the INS waives these cases all the time, as long as the person is willing to go to them, apply to fix the problem, and do what is needed. The problem is that most never even bother until they are caught. And to those, I say "Enjoy life back home where you came from".
And BTW, my wife is still not a US citizen. Next week will be our 25th anniversary, and we are still happily married. She is a nurse, and other then the last 2 years has worked steadily since 1981 (sometimes holding down 2-3 jobs at once). We are planning on finalizing her Citizenship within the next few years. But because of the cost and hastle, it has not been a big priority. About the only difference between her and a Citizen is the right to vote.
