Why are people against illegal aliens?
I received a comment this morning from a reader on a post about illegal alien drivers licenses. "S.I" is an illegal alien in our country and doesn't understand why "people like me" would be against someone like him. Someone who is just here trying to raise their kids and work hard. He goes a little further than that though and gives us a history lesson on the United States and blames the United States for a lot of things -- including the plight of Mexico.
Below is his comment in full, followed up by my complete response and a long addendum on why "people like us" oppose illegal immigration.
The great country of The United States has been build over immigrants shoulders, since the first illegal immigrants came to this country, this nation has grown and expanded like the manifest destiny said.
The nationals were displaced by the new members of this nation, and eventually became part of this nation too. with time many races of human beigns had worked hard to build a strong country, African american people were slave and bring to this country to work in cotton industries, chinese people were in the midle of the deserts demolishing mountains and building train's rails to move the greatest economy in the world to the south, the west and the north. During the second world war, who do you think bring the victory over japan to the United States of america? wasn't he a immigrant? rigth he migth be a legal immigrants. but, do you think he was the only one trying to get to the U.S. Japanese people left behind after the war became part of this nation and many of them were ilegals, war prisoners and people looking for asilum. after the war that put japan in the ashes and and bad economy. maybe not just during war but since the begining of the United States many people has come illegaly to the U.S, look in your family's history for people with foreign languajes and ask yourself. Dothey came here legaly? If the United States close the doors to immigrations, ilegal or illegaly what will happen to this country?
Look in the streets and ask yourself, if the men sweeping of the street, if the cashier at your favorite restaurant, or the waytress with great legs is here ligaly or illegaly? We the illegal immigrants are here not just to work, not just to drink and have fun, or to think about destroy the city and the higgest skyscraper, we are here to help our familys, we are here because of the own United States politics against, or in our countries. We are here because we had no choice maybe you wont understand because you had always the necesary to live, even when you don't have luxurious things at you apartment. you may never had know wat's like wake up every morning and had to go get a vessel to go bring water from a place at half a mile from were you live, had to look for just a cup of cofee in the morning because there's nothing else to eat. and then had to work as hard as you can to get 68 cents per hour at you work place, and at the end of the day you have to think about bills, food at least for a good food a day, and eventually you get stole your wallet while ridding the bus home. Imposibble? no thats the reality of someone rigth now while you try to read this pretty bad english. We are human beigns. we do deserve education, work and oportunities like every human beign. of course you may never understand because for you we are not human beigns. thats why this post may not be read by someone like you and if it does, it wont change the way you think. I'm really sorry about the time I had took from you to read this post and I hope you never need to go overseas to look for a dream, a oportunity to live, and that you may never heard your sons asking you for food or shoes and you don't have the money to help them.
I really sorry not to be a United States citizen, because of my immigration status and people like you I migth never now how to bring a better oportunity to my daugther. It doesn't matter if I you don't care at least not all the immigrants are here to destroy we are here to build and rise your country.
I pay taxes everytime I get a bus, I pay taxes everytime i get gas for my car, I pay taxes everytime i go to the doctor, I pay taxes everytime I get six of coronas, I never get a refund for the taxes I have paid, If I get hurt no one is going to pay me insurance because I don't exist, I'm not a human before your eyes. but I do believe in jesus just like everyone else, I have dreams just like you, I fall in love, I'm loved, I will never compete against someone who works as hard as I do. If theres is a heaven and needs a VISA to get in, I migth croos the border illegaly just because I want to be someone. there are a few truths in the world and one of thats truth is this, when your sons are hungry you do wathever it take to bring them food and happines. and thats why we are here for.
My Response is below in full
"S.I",
I appreciate the time you took to write your thoughts and yes I read them all. Don't be ashamed of having bad English, I appreciate the fact that you took the time to learn to read, write and speak it. You should be proud of that accomplishment.
Not all of us in this country are super rich. Many of us are just struggling by and barely able to clothe and feed our kids as well. While the wage dollar amounts are greater here, so is the cost of all goods. Just comparing dollar amounts without factoring in the cost of living here doesn't work. We make more, but our bread costs more as does everything else.
The main complaint most of us against illegal immigration have isn't that we don't think you are humans, believe me. The main reasons are many including: seeing our own legal residents and citizens education system declining, congestion, health care declining and costs rising to the point where many here don't have it, public services costing everyone more through higher taxes, seeing what our parents and grandparents struggled for to give us a better life evaporating, a general dislike of our laws being broken and not being enforced.
Contrary to popular belief, the majority of our people here didn't oppress anyone, they worked jobs day to day to build a better country for their children. Now it is being eroded by others coming here illegally, running from their own countries rather than working to fix them.
You said:
we are here because of the own United States politics against, or in our countries.
This is always repeated over and over and for us citizens of America we find it absolutely insulting. How long has Mexico been around? Japan was bombed and burned into destruction and since 1945 rebuilt itself into a powerful worldwide economy. Ask yourself why Mexico hasn't done the same over the past 60 years?
You can continue to blame America or you can realize that people in your country will continue to suffer until your people stand up and fight the oppression and corruption brought on them by their corrupt politicians. Why do you think they want to force you to take the dangerous trek to the United States? It's not for your benefit, it is for their benefit because someone who normally would remain and get fed up with their corruption has been forced out. Someone who may start to question and demand a change to the corruption.
This continued blaming of America, a country that gives over $30 million dollars in official foreign aid a year, a country that in 1994 engineered a $50 billion multilateral bailout through the IMF of Mexico, a country that through it's private citizens and non-profit organizations sends untold millions and donates tons of food and supplies and provides humanitarian aid is somehow the reason that Mexico remains a third world country and the reason for your plight is simply absurd.
Where has all that money gone? It has gone into the pockets of your corrupt officials in your home country. Why did that happen? Because nobody stood up to them.
Now the citizens of Mexico sneak into our country and demand drivers licenses, education for their kids, food stamps, social services, health care and tons of other things and we're supposed to be happy and accepting about it?
Who paid for the street your bus runs on? Who pays for the electricity on the streets and the gas in the bus? Who pays the street sweeper? The taxpayers of America that's who. Services run by the government always run at a loss and the amount you pay in taxes is nowhere near enough to pay for all of these services.
We are supposed to sit back and be happy that we are paying for our kids education through our taxes, but yours as well? While the added amount of kids from the influx of illegal immigration are forcing class sizes to massive proportions.
In California in particular, where I lived just a year ago, my child's third grade class had 45 kids in it, a good portion not even speaking English. An average class is supposed to have maybe 20-25 kids at the most. Why is this? You're telling me that I should be happy that my child was ignored by the teacher because they had to take time to spend it on "the other kids" who didn't speak English and just crossed the border illegally?
I have nothing against immigration, but when half the country of Mexico is trying to flood into our country, that is not immigration that is an invasion.
I do see your plight. I understand your situation, but you fail to see our situation. You feel that we should pay and sacrifice even more than we already do. The job of a government is to protect its borders and provide law enforcement and basic services to its citizens, not be a charity to every country and its citizens because they have allowed themselves to be oppressed and forced out of their own country.
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End of comment.
I specifically addressed illegal workers above, but there are many other concerns regarding illegal immigration, one being our security. The citizens and legal residents of the United States should not have to put themselves at risk by issuing legal forms of identification to anyone who sneaks across our border. We should not have to put ourselves at risk by leaving our borders wide open because we may restrict some people who really just want to work in order to keep out people who wish to destroy.
We shouldn't have to sit back and allow our lower skilled workers to have to compete against those willing to break the law, work under the table and take advantage of unscrupulous employers.
Our businesses should not have to compete against businesses who are breaking the law in order to save a buck and therefore using unfair competition methods.
We should not have to sit back and watch our taxes increase and our social security system decimated by those here illegally.
We should not have to sit back and watch those dollars flow to a government who is allowing this to continue when we could be putting those dollars into our kids college fund or our own retirement plan.
Illegal immigration is only increasing year after year and the items mentioned above are only going to cost more and more and get worse and worse.
So now ask me again why I and "people like me" oppose illegal immigration.
Bravo!!!
I am forwarding this article to as many of my friends as I can find an e-mail address for.
You took the words right out of my Native American mouth. My Yaqui Indian grandmother migrated here in the early 1900's legally. I looked up her immigration records to prove it. My father was a janitor at a military academy and raised four of us without any aid or welfare from anyone. We were considered poor by today's standards but we were a family trying to do our best to add to the culture and economy of our country. We attended school and I was a straight A student all the way to graduation from high school.
I am 63 now and in those days we could still get a good education. If I had children in school now...I can guarantee you that I would be protesting all the way to the Capitol because of the conditions and lack of education for our legal residents. I have had three vehicles stolen by illegal aliens, one daughter attacked by an illegal alien, one son attacked by an illegal alien, my property (the first home I owned) destroyed by illegal aliens who were being harbored by the Mexicans next door to me.
They had dozens and dozens of illegals given safe haven in their home and when I tried to report them to authorities they did everything they could to run me out of my home. They threw feces in my yard and on my driveway, they threw rocks at my home...front and back...they threw every kind of trash you can imagine onto my property, they destroyed my fense, they entered my back yard every time I would leave my property and stold many things...including a park bench I had just purchased, they destroyed a brick wall in front of my home, they threw eggs at my car and on my home...front and back, they called me names and made obscene jesture at me every time I was out on my property. They had elaborate signals they would use to alert the illegals when I came out into my back yard. I finally sold my home to try to keep my sanity but I walked away with nothing.
I lost everything I put into my home...$25,000 worth of siding, all new doors and windows, etc., etc. I didn't get a dime in equity and I even told the new buyers EVERYTHING that happened the ten years I lived there. These Mexican neighbors paid cash for their home, paid cash for all the new vehicles they had and I am sure they did not report this illegal income to the IRS.
Now I live in another new home where illegals behind me are causing me problems on a daily basis. The law enforcement is more strict where I live now and, so far, I get good cooperation from the police to help me.
I joined the Army when I was 33 so I could help find my 18 year old brother who joined the Marine Corps when he was right out of high school. He is still Missing in Action in Vietnam...since May 23, 1969...but I was determined to find out what happened to him. I am now a 100 percent disabled veteran. My family has sacrificed a lot for this country and we did it legally.
When I think of all that our citizens have gone through for this country...and then illegals try to take credit for it...I want to get out of my motorized wheelchair and fight them all the way back to the border. They won't stand up for their own country of origin...why should we believe that they care anything about our country except for what they can get for free. It is as if Mexico flushed its toilet and this is what we get.
Mexico has always known this would happen to America and I'm sure they feel we are getting exactly what we deserve for not putting a stop to the illegals years and years ago.
What really hurts my heart, also, is the fact that these illegals want to fly their flag and show allegiance to Mexico while they are living on our soil and make no bones about rubbing it in our face that they are getting homes, cars, a free education for their children (who don't care about our history) free food and anything else they can get for free.
Our own citizens are suffering now but so many of our government offices (Social Security, Hud, Welfare, etc., etc.), are staffed by Hispanics who are sympathetic to the illegals and will help them any way they can to get benefits they don't qualify for.
I want to help and will be writing to anyone who will listen to me.
Keep up the good work!!!
Posted by: Mary E. Benton on September 12, 2006 01:09 PM
