VivirLatino

It's about time that small towns start placing the interests of the safety, health and welfare of their law-abiding citizens and legal residents above those of illegal aliens, their employers, and beneficiaries and profiteers ofillegal immigration. No one believes the false myth that combatting illegal immigration anarchy in this country is "racially motivated" except the illegal aliens who have been taught by their handlers (like La Raza, MECHA, MEXICA, MALDEF,the MExican Consulates, the National Lawyers's Guild, etc.) to use the race card anytime they get in trouble with the law or don't like a particular law that applies to them. Not one of those illegal aliens would dare behave that way in their own countries nor take to the streets there either. They sure have gained an unbelievably great false sense of entitlement here while working and living illegally inthe U.s. Enough is enough.

A Mexican American's opinion on illegal immigration:

The negative effects of rampant illegal immigration into the United States
Article by Waldo Benavidez
At the risk of being called a traitor and immigrant basher I must speak out or at least attempt to express a point of view that I believe has not been even a small part of the debate about illegal immigration, and that issue is the impact illegal immigration has on the working poor of this country; and the political impotence it has injected into the Chicano community. Primarily, the debate has focused on the drain illegal immigration has on institutions such as school systems, health care, jobs and the depression of wages, law enforcement and the criminal justice system. All this is true and the taxpayer funded institutions that are reeling from this huge migration into the United States are the ones that are primarily suppose to be servicing the low income people of this country. In turn, causing low income families to compete for increasingly limited funds, resources and basic survival necessities.

The proponents of open borders or at least unlimited immigration argue that these people are not harming anyone”all they want is work”, ”they do not bother anyone” and “they only take jobs not one else wants”, this naive and simplistic rational for illegal immigration fails to acknowledge the far reaching and critical impact on the low income people. The competition for low income housing is a primary example of how those that advocate for immigrants ignore the working families that cannot compete for the high rents landlords are demanding for their rental units. Whereas a family of four with one bread winner has a difficult time meeting the inflated rents being asked for housing, often substandard, plus the high cost of energy bills plus feed and cloth the family on seven, eight or nine dollars per hour. Immigrants can pay whatever is asked by landlords because they pack four and five, often times more working individuals into the unit and by pooling their resources easily manage rent. The result is that rents are inflated because a group of working adults can always outbid one working individual with a family, so the bottom line becomes inflated rents, increasing the cost of living and depressed wages, putting the working class citizen at a distinct disadvantage.

Now the elitist professional poverty pros, Chicano studies folks, and immigration advocates such as Mexican American Legal Defense, La Raza, etc. have become pro-Mexico and open border advocates, focusing their attention on immigration advocacy, again, at the expense of the Latino U.S. citizens.

The first challenge to this statement is how does advocating for immigrants harm Latino American citizens here? The answer is that this love affair with Mexico and all things Mexican cloud their judgment and instead of looking out for the minority working class citizens are using their legalistic positions to file lawsuits to overturn the majority vote of state initiatives and referendums regarding illegal immigration such as the recently passed referendum 120 in Arizona. Organizations such as Mexican American defense fund (MALDF). They should drop the American in their name because they are not rising to the challenges of combating the social ills the lower class lives with. Education in the country is in crisis, the education statistics for Latinos is appalling in most cities throughout the country and low achievement is spreading at an alarming rate. The graduation rate for Latinos is 20% or in some cases less. Higher education is not even a consideration for many young Latinos yet MALDF and others choose to take policy positions of increasing and packing more into the already over overloaded school systems by encouraging more immigration from Mexico and other third world countries. They do a disservice to this country by overloading the system to the point where the quality of education suffers and instead, schools become warehouses, overcrowded schools lead to more failure and the cycle continues. Instead of holding Mexico accountable for its immigration policies they pander and collaborate with a country that uses this country to abdicate their responsibility to their citizens, at the same time enhancing their economy with the money immigrants send to Mexico, which is considerable, anywhere between fifteen to thirty billion dollars per year. That together with the untold billions of dollars of drug trafficking money Mexico benefits from. At the same time, unloading their poor on the U.S. relieving Mexico of the burden of educating, providing health care and other responsibilities they owe their citizens. Is it any wonder that Mexico has positioned it self in a win, win situation.

Speaking of drugs, the advocates of illegal immigration would have everyone believe that illegal immigration and illegal drug trafficking are two separate issues is "BULL". Besides the fact that Mexico benefits from both illegal activities, both activities impact minority communities in profoundly negative ways. One, by competition for jobs, housing, government services, etc., the other, is the flood of drugs entering the U.S. through the U.S. Mexican border. If anyone believes that this is not so, than please tell me where the tons of drugs go? I maintain that a large amount end up in minority communities mainly in urban centers but also spread throughout the country where it becomes an epidemic in many communities. There are no questions that there is a Mexican mafia, that there are Mexican drug cartels, that there is an underground established to distribute the drugs, that a certain amount of illegal immigrants crossing the border are carrying drugs. "They are called mules" and manage to smuggle a fairly large amount of drugs into this country that "coyotes" smuggling people also handle drugs after all if persons are consistently breaking the law one way, why not double your fun and triple your profit?

Ever since 9/11 there is increased attention to the Paris borders because of the possibility of terrorists crossing into the United States, especially the southern border. One can only wonder that if drugs and people can be smuggled at will, why not terrorists, especially when the policy is catch and release. Where many persons caught entering this country illegally are given a court date and asked to appear in court at a future date for immigration violations. They then are released into this country and disappear. The fact is that eighty percent or more fail to appear at their court date. So much for catch and release!!! Another problem is identity theft. This is not a problem that gets much attention in relation to illegal immigration, but the reality is that thousands of false social security cards, birth certificates, baptismal certificates and any documentation that can be used for identification is used, causing great hardship to the person whose identity is used. Most often the working poor and Latino middle class are the victims simply because U.S. Latinos have the same surnames and are easier to assume. There is also an underground industry printing some form of ID in just about every major city particularly in the southwest. Many social security cards are printed with the illegal immigrant's real name and random social security numbers - more government laws broken. Another argument broken border advocates make is the one that goes like this... "They only take jobs Americans won't do", this is more "BULL".

Anyone with have a brain knows that the reality is that many illegal immigrants with fake social security cards are working in just about every kind of employment there is. They are not just picking sugar beets and cleaning toilet bowls, they are in state jobs, public school systems, fast food industry, construction, building trades restaurant and hotel industry, college, universities and factories, the list is endless. These are not jobs U.S. citizens do not want! Take McDonalds, the mega hamburger corporation that employs thousands of people, instead of employing so many immigrants McDonalds could set up an after school or summer training program for our youth in high school who in turn receive valuable training and earn money teenagers badly need. Perhaps, at least some youth would take more interest in graduating if they had more support from the business community!!!

That is just one example of how certain members of the business community put the dollar ahead of the greater good. Unfortunately, many politicians in Congress and the State Legislature's throughout the country either just don't get it or just don't want to, preferring to pander to the immigration lobby. Latino elected officials in particular are automatically expected to support pro-immigration issues such as drivers licenses for persons illegally in this country. Any Latino legislator not doing so would be considered a traitor even though they were elected by U.S. citizens and have sworn to uphold the laws of this country. Liberal Democrats are the worst sort of panderers on this immigration issues, they are more then willing to give away the country piece by piece and entitlement by entitlement. Twenty million illegal immigrants in this country add up to a lot of entitlements, even if it is just in the public school system with their free lunch programs.

The liberal politicians worn out rational goes like this... "We have to understand that this is a nation of immigrants". "My grandparents emigrated from Ireland during the Irish potato famine in the middle nineteen hundreds and endured great hardships and discrimination to succeed" and blah, blah and so on and so forth. This is just more double talk and pandering by mostly Democratic politicians who are always willing to hand out government taxpayer funded entitlements for votes, but ignore sharing political power by conspiring against us when gerrymandering our Latino communities there by disenfranchising Latino from the political process rendering our communities politically powerless.

As for the early nineteenth century immigrants, they came at a time when the population of the U.S. was one fifth of what it is today. Most were processed through Ellis Island in New York and were at least checked for diseases to some degree. There is no comparison to the twenty million illegal immigrants in this country today, not only taking jobs, but also taking advantage of and demanding more services and rights. The open border advocates and pandering politicians have no regard for the millions through out the world who have applied through legal means and have to wait indefinitely, jump through hoops and pay fees on top of fees and then wait some more, sometimes for years because they choose to abide by the laws of this country while other choose to break them and are rewarded generously once they get past the border and into the cities.

Meanwhile, Mexico continues to spin President Bush who doesn't seem to have a clue nor is supportive of the continued assault on the working man. The U.S. out-sourcing of jobs to foreign companies mostly to Southeast Asia and more and more U.S. companies are moving to foreign countries including Mexico. Even the Ford Motor Company recently announced that they will build a new line of cars in Mexico causing the loss of two thousand jobs in the U.S. The reason for this is mainly for lower wages, to avoid U.S. taxes, and minimize employee benefit packages. And, if that were not enough, our politicians are insistent on importing labor into the U.S. on the grounds that Americans will not work. Meanwhile, the minimum wage in the U.S. remains at a stagnant $5.15 per hour and the middle class continues to shrink, the fabric of our society continues to unravel, while President Bush fiddles while Rome burn. By the President's continued support of amnesty and legalization, he does a disservice to the country. But the pandering liberals are not without blame. They continually vote against the interest of the ninety-five percent of their constituents who want some kind of border controls and sensible immigration policy. In the coming 2006 elections all candidates for office should be voted on based on their position on immigration. There is a crisis facing the U.S. and it is about time politicos are held accountable. As far as accountability from Mexico, it seems to be a country out of control. The drug cartels seem to be in control. The fairness of political elections is always in doubt, the mordida is alive and well, and incompetent law enforcement is the order of the day.

To make a point of the preceding statement, according to news accounts, there have been over seven hundred to one thousand young women murdered and mutilated in and around the border of Juarez Mexico within the last decade with very little progress in solving these crimes. That should tell you something about the regard Mexico has for its citizens. I see it as either disregard for human life or just plain old incompetence, but perhaps both.

How all this affects Hispanic citizens politically at least in New Mexico and Colorado although many other parts of the country are also affected, is the fact that illegal immigrants cannot register to vote. Yet in spite of this fact, they are still included in the census when calculating and drawing house and senate districts. This alone cuts our overall voting strength by fifty percent in some communities!

In summary, the intent of this article is not to immigrant bash, but a plea to the decision makers that the time for political correctness and pandering is not longer an option. Recent scandals regarding the sale of drivers licenses by the thousands and the fake document industry that has exploded on to the scene only reinforces the argument that the very fabric of this society is in serious jeopardy and we can no longer wait while pandering politicians play the political correctness game. This is not a game. The very future of this country is at stake!

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Rene Guerra writes:
What I Learned About Mexico, in Mexico
World Rene Guerra
May 13, 2006
The other day I received an email from someone whose identified himself as Footsoldier-Aztlán, and who in a subsequent email confided being a former Marine, contesting an article I recently wrote about how phony Cinco de Mayo is; he contemptuously asked me if I had been taught that in El Salvador, where I was born.

(Aztlanistas are Chicano irredentists who seek to re-populate with Mexicans a vast region of the United States, secede it, some through ballots other through bullets, under the name of Aztlán, and then annex it to Mexico; Aztlán would encompass California, Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, Colorado, Nevada, Wyoming and Utah. Prominent Chicano California Democrat politicians, such as Lt. Governor Cruz Bustamante and Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, militated in MEChA, which stands for Movimiento Estudiantil Chicano de Aztlán, the epitome of all Aztlanista organizations; the two never repudiated it, and support illegal immigration.)

I answered Footsoldier-Aztlán that I learned it in Mexico, where I lived for two years when an American electronics firm sent me there to help upgrade the engineering capabilities of its local plant in Mexico City, becoming familiar with, among other things, Mexico’s civic festivities and history.

And I told him that I had learned much more in Mexico.

I told him I learned that the problem of illegal immigration stems mostly from the fact that Mexico has conveniently decided to use the U.S. as its dump for those Mexicans it rejects as -in the words of a cynical Mexican politician- "social refuse", and then uses them not only to generate national revenue from remittances, but also to attempt to cause menacing disruptions in the American fabric. (Mexican president Vicente Fox has publicly boasted “...I am the President of 100 million Mexicans in Mexico and 20 millions Mexicans in the U.S.”. Then Mexico uses LULAC, La Raza, MEChA, the Mexica Movement and other racist and irredentist entities operating within the Chicano community to in effect control those of Mexican descent in the U.S.)

I learned as well that Mexico is potentially rich for it has vast resources in the form of petroleum, natural gas, coal, iron ore, silver, copper and other minerals, as well as vast arable lands in the center and south of the country, plus a climate that could allow to plant and harvest multiple crops per year, it has sea ports on the Pacific and the Atlantic, it has a massive population that –if educated and skilled- could sustain a thriving internal market for durable and non-durable goods...and it is a next-door neighbor to the U.S., a most technologically advanced society and the most powerful economy in the world, from which Mexico could have absorbed since decades ago, by osmosis, capillarity or simple emulation, the many U.S. advancements as, wisely, Canada has.

I furthermore learned that the main problem of Mexico is that it wasted 71 years under the boot of the infamous PRI (Partido Revolucionario Institucional) flirting with socialistoid policies, in part to blackmail the U.S. during the Cold War with the threat of supporting the Soviet Union if not left alone looting the country, and in part to co-opt its own arch-corrupt Left and cover up for the endemic, pervasive and intense corruption at all levels of government -which is practically an apparatus of systemic venality and peculation gone wild- and society in general -which is practically a kleptocracy where every body cheats, and steals from, everybody. (When paying for something in Mexico, always watch for your change!)

I learned besides, that there is the prevalent surrealistic and bizarre notion in Mexico that if one gets cheated it is only because one deserves it, out of one’s ingenuousness and candidness, virtues that the average Mexican considers stupidity and imbecility. As an example of the cynicism of Mexicans regarding honesty in government, they recur to poetic rime when referring to the last year of a presidential term, of which they say:

“Este es el año de Hidalgo...pendejo el que deje algo”

“This is the year of Hidalgo...an a@#hole is he who leaves anything behind,” referring to the last chance that public functionaries and employees have to loot the public coffers. Miguel Hidalgo (y Costilla) was one of the founding fathers of Mexico, but Mexicans don’t hesitate to profane his sacred name in cynical lyrics celebrating venality.

Moreover, I learned during my stay in Mexico, that in that climate of rampant systemic and systematic corruption, with its logical destructive consequences on society and the economy, the PRI, along with the Left, systematically promoted and used hatred of America among the populace to distract it from the real causes of the misery that the vast majority of pauper Mexicans live in: socialistoid policies and pervasive, endemic, systemic and systematic corruption.

As a consequence, America was, and still is, the favorite bogeyman and punching bag of the average Mexican. In a nutshell, Mexico is no friend of the U.S.; when given the slightest chance, and if it can get away with it, Mexico is always ready to hurt us.

I additionally learned that, not fearing any significant pressure from its duped masses, the shameful ruling elites in Mexico just keep looting the country, and do practically nothing to incorporate the majority of the population soundly into the economy. Thus, the Mexican ruling elites keep their masses uneducated and unskilled, constituting an annoying burden that can be easily disposed of by dumping them on America.

I lived in Japan for year and a half when a telecommunications company sent me there along with other American engineers at the time when that company was considering partnering with a Japanese counterpart in the early 1980s, and the Japanese -who don't have natural resources at all, except for a very highly skilled, educated, and even cultured, population- used to tell me how they wished it was them and not the Mexicans who lived in Mexico; they used to say, sighing, that with the natural resources Mexico has, and being coterminous with the U.S., they would easily surpass America as the most powerful nation on earth.

I then told Footsoldier-Aztlán that, instead, shamefully, Mexico largely relegates itself to mainly running maquiladoras, exporting hydrocarbons, exploiting tourism, sucking remittances from illegal immigrants in the U.S.…and, particularly, dumping its indigent and unskilled masses on America.

I then turned the tables on Footsoldier-Aztlán, and asked him: “Is that the country that you Aztlán people want to annex a vast part of America to?”

Finally, I said to him: “The First Amendment giving you the right to have any opinion on any matter, even such a zany but dangerous one, I wholly respect such sacred right to the point that I would fight to the death for you to enjoy it...despite that I entirely despise such Aztlanista opinion of yours.”

I got a reply from Footsoldier-Aztlán assuring me that he loves the First Amendment too, but he didn’t retreat an inch; he’s an Aztlán true believer and will use the First Amendment to help undo America.

How many millions more of them will we get from the amnesty-like bill that the Senate is toying with?

Rene Guerra is a Silicon Valley Software Engineer, with graduate and undergraduate engineering degrees from The Ohio State University, native from El Salvador where, as a Lt.Col. in the Salvadoran army, and at the time secretly a democratic-socialist, organized and directed the bloodless overthrow of the military dictatorship in power in El Salvador, on October 15, 1979, to preempt the takeover of El Salvador by Marxist-Leninists encouraged by the irresponsible leftist foreign policies of the Carter administration, which by that time had facilitated already the Marxist-Leninist (a.k.a. Sandinista) takeover of Nicaragua, the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, and the overthrow of the Sha of Iran by Khomeini.

Former Assistan Secretary to the Treasury, Pete Nunez:

These facts reflect the position of many Hispanic-Americans -- citizens, legal immigrants and the children of immigrants -- who strongly oppose amnesty for illegal aliens and support enforcement of US immigration laws.

In response to the hundreds of thousands of illegal aliens who have been marching under the Mexican flag demanding to be rewarded for having violated US immigration law, a new coalition has been formed to accurately represent Hispanics in the US who work hard, play by the rules and want the opportunity to see their own kids get ahead. Known as "You Don't Speak for Me," the coalition aims to dispel the impression that the people out on the streets represent the views of all Hispanic-Americans.

"Politicians and the media seem to believe that Hispanic-Americans hold a monolithic view on the subject of immigration," said Peter Nunez, a former Assistant Secretary of the Treasury and a spokesman for the group.

"In fact, millions of Hispanic-Americans -- including many who have gone through the immigration process the right way -- are offended by the demands being made by people who have broken our nation's laws. We are even more offended that the views of Hispanic citizens are not being accurately portrayed," he said.

Unbelievable! "Latino immigrants", the author is quoted are being discriminated against. LOL Another open borders advocate who tries to blur the distinction between legal and illegal immigrants by combining them altogether under the warm and fuzzy term "immigrants". We know where your allegiance lies and it's not with Uncle Sam! Build the fence pass the damn law.

What you don't seem to understand, Tom, is that undocumented immigrants don't wear a stamp on their heads labeling their status. So these policies end up impacting all Latinos and all immigrants.

Maegan, I am very sorry that some people blur the differences. Legal immigrants and American citizens should not be impacted. But maybe part of that is because illegal immigrant advocates don't make the distinction. If they don't make that distinction then that makes it even more difficult for those like me that prefer to make that distinction. Also if illegal immigrants did not break the law and come here then that impact would never have happened. I embrace the 1 million legal immigrants that come into my country. More then any other country on earth. But I reject millions of foreigners illegally crossing into my country, uninvited and demanding rights they have no right to demand.

Maegan, I am very sorry that some people blur the differences. Legal immigrants and American citizens should not be impacted. But maybe part of that is because illegal immigrant advocates don't make the distinction. If they don't make that distinction then that makes it even more difficult for those like me that prefer to make that distinction. Also if illegal immigrants did not break the law and come here then that impact would never have happened. I embrace the 1 million legal immigrants that come into my country. More then any other country on earth. But I reject millions of foreigners illegally crossing into my country, uninvited and demanding rights they have no right to demand.

Maegan, I am very sorry that some people blur the differences. Legal immigrants and American citizens should not be impacted. But maybe part of that is because illegal immigrant advocates don't make the distinction. If they don't make that distinction then that makes it even more difficult for those like me that prefer to make that distinction. Also if illegal immigrants did not break the law and come here then that impact would never have happened. I embrace the 1 million legal immigrants that come into my country. More then any other country on earth. But I reject millions of foreigners illegally crossing into my country, uninvited and demanding rights they have no right to demand.

I reject your idea that the country "belongs" to anyone. The fact that so many people are coming into the United States is a direct result of U.S. policy that has helped to foster poverty in Latin America. Unless you are a first nations person, our ancestors also came here illegally, in violation of treaties. It's a complicated issue so let's not muddle it with false arguments about who belongs and who doesn't belong.

Additionally , no person is illegal, so using that word as an adjective is just incorrect. actions can be illegal.

Dear Maegan “the Bad”

I am “Rodolfo the LEGAL CITIZEN WHO STOOD IN LINE”. See that I that I have a LATINO name? Maegan la Mala, know that my skin is as brown as yours and that I am multilingual. My hair is black, my eyes are almond shaped, and my lips are thick. I vote liberally and I am also gay. I am everything that you would think no country would want.

But not one of the immigration housing laws, hostilities from legal citizens, fear from deportation, the hiding from the I.N.S., etc. that threaten illegals apply to me. As a citizen, I go about my business in my cherished U.S.A. without problems because I am 100% LEGAL and that is all that the Minutemen, Grassfire, all the other patriots, and I included want. If you are going to permanently reside and raise your family in the U.S., then respect our laws and stop circumventing the system that we set up to welcome immigrants. U.S. citizenship has always been and will forever continue to be a privilege. It will never be a right to be demanded by illegal mobs under the threat of anarchy. Regardless of skin color, religion, nationality, culture, language, or sexual orientation, Americans have always welcomed those who have been naturalized or are currently in the system being processed for citizenship. My goodness, we don’t even ask you for immediate legality because we know and appreciate that the process is difficult. It takes a long time and to many is impossible. But what gives you the right to 1) walk across the border, 2) not bother to apply for citizenship, 3) fake a S.S. number, 4) ship the money back to wherever, and then 5) have the nerve to say that you have the right to be here, work, and BENEFIT FROM OUR SYSTEM? As if that wasn’t enough, illegals slap us in the face by demanding that we change our laws to accommodate them?!? Had most illegals even tried to apply for citizenship instead of completely circumventing the system, we citizens would have had more patience. Americans are patient, too patient if you ask me, which is how 11 million people managed to sneak in and set themselves up with no respect for those for us who went through the process.

As you claim segregation with your mouths, with your hands you simultaneously raise your foreign flags on U.S. soil above our cherished Red, White, and Blue hung upside down. You defiantly waive your flags in the faces of us who were born here, were naturalized, or are currently in the process of proudly becoming citizens. As you claim racism with your mouths, you celebrate “Whatever-Nationality-You-Are-Pride” rallies, never acknowledging that we Americans pass and enforce laws that not only prohibit, but also punish even our own citizens who discriminate based on color, creed, national origin, and sexual orientation. As you claim prejudice with your mouths, you never acknowledge that in our institutions we design, adopt, and enforce policies of nondiscrimination, policies that we enforce with employment termination if transgressed.

I stand shoulder to shoulder with Tom and all the others who seek to enforce our immigration laws. I understand that there are many who do not agree with my color, creed, and lifestyle but I know that as a citizen, I have my rights that the courts will uphold. So, c’mon Maegan la Mala ... let’s test the illegal community’s theory of racism: I invite everyone to recommend whether or not I should be deported based on my orientation and ethnicity.

“Legal is LEGAL– period.”

Rodolfo the LEGAL CITIZEN WHO STOOD IN LINE

Ay Rodolfo. Me das pena, really. First off because you have decided to personalize the issue using me as an example, as if you knew who I am and where I come from. Because I have chosen to write about the immigration has human rights issue and question it and call it out for its racism, you assume who I am and where I come from. Guess what I'm a citizen. I was born one as were my parents and well my grandparents woke up one morning and were told they were citizens. Gotta love that colonialism. My citzenship , yes has it's privlages. But how sad that you a gay brown man can't make the connection between national privlages and white skinned privilage, and hetero privilage and all the other systems that seek to oppress. How sad that instead of using your privilage as a chance to be an ally you choose to become an enemy against your own human citizen and refuse to look into how the immigration issue has become what it is today, Instead you've fallen into the divide and conquer trap that the labels illegal vs. illegal offer.

I don't want to stand in your line.

Right on Rodolfo. Of course Meaghan w/n stand in our line, she advocates open borders and advocates for those who have no respect for our laws. No country in Latin America, the Caribbean, nor Mexico itself would allow the illegal alien anarchy to occur w/in their borders as is occurring here in the U.S. Look at how Mexico's laws treat illegal aliens. And, yes, Meaghan, they are called that under Mexican law. That is the correct legal term under our law. If you've entered this country w/o permission through our borders, or overstayed your visa, you are "an illegal alien". Don't like it? Play by the rules then.

As U.S. Ambassador Anthony Garza recently told the Mexican press: "no human right exists to enter another country in violation of its laws". Period.

The inhumanity of this issue lies with Mexico's government who fails to deal with the education, employment etc. of its underclass. They don't take care of their own and have purposefully taken advantage of our own generous and welcoming nature to our own detriment. Enough is enough.

During the busy holiday season, how would one feel if after a long, exhausting day of shopping; standing at the long checkout counter, someone cut in front of you!

Well that's what illegal immigration is all about.

Amnesty is no different than if you complain to the store manager, "those people just cut in front of me!" Manager’s response, "there's nothing I can do, why don't you just kindly continue to wait on line."

True story, I'll make it short: Several of my related family members wanted to immigrate to the US. This was a family of four (dad-mom-daughter-daughter); white, middle age, well educated, no criminal history, money, etc.

Our family in America sponsored them; they would never be a drain on US tax dollars.

AFTER 17 years, we got the good news from I.N.S. that they were approved. Too late! Their daughters had grown up and become medical physicians in their own country.

They followed the LAW. Should they have cut the line, live as an illegal family; reaping the stolen benefits of this great country or wait 17 long years to immigrate legally by respecting OUR laws?

It seems as if those who follow and respect US laws are punished and those who break OUR laws are rewarded...

One final observation: Wouldn't common sense suggest that those who wish to enter the US legally; might be better suited in contributing to our economy. Most likely these potential immigrants are literate, capable of competing in our high tech environment and willing to assimilate to our English speaking culture and way of life!

By no means does this mean they would reject and forget their native culture. But on the scale of compatibility, these educated immigrants would embrace the American way of life...