Featured An Immigration Story

What part of "illegal" did you not understand?

No. Illegal.

No. Illegal.

Nobody. Time to hang out the "No Vacancy" sign.

First of all, if you were interested in morality, then you would not want to support people breaking the law.

Second, I believe I can have mercy, sympathy, and empathy without enabling border criminals.

Yes, that's precisely why we operate three rescue missions and send missionaries to five different countries.

If they're Christians, then they have an even greater obligation to follow the law.

My brother was a drug dealer, con man, and thief. Friendliest guy you ever met.

 

What part of morality, mercy, sympathy, empathy do you not understand?

In my area the immigrant churches are booming and as far as I can tell the by what I see in our area men and women are working hard, paying taxes and being good citizens. I have yet to talk to an immigrant who has not been friendly. I cannot say that for all the good legally native born folk I've met and talked to around town.

 

I've known several illegal immigrants. Before my gambling problems, I was a home builder. A lot of illegals work in that industry. And as Gina said, they are some of the nicest people in the world. There is no doubt that among drywallers, stucco installers, carpenters and roofers, you can't find a harder-working bunch than the Hispanics who populate those trades in the Kansas City area, and across the nation, for that matter. You wouldn't trade some of these crews for gold, they are that good.

That doesn't give them the right to violate immigration laws, jump the line ahead of legal immigrants who go through the visa application process, and wait years to get into the U.S. They are breaking the law. That was their choice.

This family in the story Gina linked is typical. Wonderful people. Good people. Hard workers. But they did this to themselves, and worst of all, they did this to their kids. The parents knew the consequences, and now they're crying "foul" because they got caught.

Sorry. They have no one to blame but themselves. Don't do the crime if you can't do the time.

 

Want to explain exactly what that means, Gina? It's nice rhetoric, but what does it have to do with legal vs. illegal status? Illegal is illegal, whether one beats up his wife, or enters the country without a visa.

 

I'm a farmer living in a rural farming community. We have more border criminals here than you can swing a piñata stick at. At a recent 9/12 group meeting, a state trooper gave a presentation about the dangers we now face in our state from Mexican gangs who come here illegally.

I agree. Like I said, my brother was a drug dealer, con man, and a thief. Great guy. Friendly, polite, hard worker. Funny, but the various judges he stood before still insisted on holding him to the law.

If this was one of those boards where you could give rep points, I'd give you reps for that.

But it is an apt description of an act that violates the law.

Actually, if they've applied for asylum, they're not illegal. They're here on a provisional basis.

What, specifically?

You mean the New Colossus that sits next to Ellis Island where people came to enter the country legally?

To use your own logic, what is the point of having laws if we're not going to hold people to them?

I have no problem with people who want to work and do better for themselves. My problem is with people who have no respect for our laws or our culture, people who come to take and not give back.

If they're here illegally, then they are, by definition, committing a crime. What's more, if they're here illegally, then they are taking a handout at least in the sense that they're using resources paid for by others, never mind that they're still eligible for God-knows-what reason for welfare.

I get it: life in Nicaragua sucks. I'm not unsympathetic, but I'm also sympathetic to my neighbors and my fellow Americans and I believe my first loyalty lies with them.

If they're really the kind of people you insist we want here, then let them prove it. Let them go back to Nicaragua and begin the process to come here legally.

 

What you fail to understand, Gina, is that being here illegally makes them criminals. Whether they're working hard at legitimate jobs or running drugs, their lack of legal status in the U.S. makes them criminals, and they have to face the consequences for choosing to be illegal. The worst thing is, as I said, they did this to their kids, and we're not responsible for their plight, nor are the laws that were enforced against them.

 

And what you said about "giving reps" -- this would get you a bunch from me right about now. :thumbsup:

 

To rules, yes. Not to laws. We cannot make exceptions to the law, or we have nothing but anarchy.

And nonetheless, if those actions violate the law, that person is subject to the punishments of the law, if proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

And again, that's anarchy. There were a lot of people who thought Matthew Cordle, the young man who confessed on Facebook that he was guilty of vehicular homicide in Columbus, Ohio, should be given leniency for his honesty. If that's the criteria for leniency, then anyone who confesses to a crime should be given leniency. That's not how the law works, though. It is particularly troublesome that someone would just let an illegal immigrant family stay because they're nicer than most. Every illegal immigrant family could tell very much the same story as these folks. That's beside the point.

 

Have been wondering of late if all these wonderful, talented and "honest working folks" had stayed home and changed their country if Mexico and south wouldn't be a much nicer set of countries.

 

If nobody was ever allowed citizenship here you would have a point. Our nation has refugees everywhere. From all sorts of places.

 

Our country was founded on making changes and standing against the laws of the days created by tyrants. But the truth is the illegals coming from Mexico are doing so because they believe we stole their land and they want to get it back.

If they want something better they need to make it better for themselves rather than sponging off of someone else. Rather than arrogantly coming here and demanding that they have a right to become citizens. Quite the hutzpa.

 

as little as I know about the law, it is not hard to understand that the law cannot set precedents it will have to run away from in the future.
if the law gave favorable rulings to somebody because he is nice, industrious, affable, easy to get along with, and feels America is his home more than his country of origin, then everyone who comes along with the same qualifications should be treated favorably.
The best way is to change the law, a promise which Barack Obama broke along with many other promises he broke and which he will break, and I'm sure these nice people in the story campaigned, if not voted, for the great Liar in the White House.

 

Seems you answered your own objection they should stay and help change the laws they flee.