tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19954943.post114762984266631731..comments2023-05-15T10:04:34.219-04:00Comments on News/ Irish Lobby for Immigration Reform: Peter King in The New York TimesKelly Finchamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00446261076874445709noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19954943.post-1150841865782347682006-06-20T18:17:00.000-04:002006-06-20T18:17:00.000-04:00anonymous; would you give your blood?anonymous;<BR/> would you give your blood?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19954943.post-1149223013590134122006-06-02T00:36:00.000-04:002006-06-02T00:36:00.000-04:00To ajarend:If you give these people the chance to ...To ajarend:<BR/><BR/>If you give these people the chance to have a real stake in this country and not be worried about getting scooped up and shipped out, they will become proud Americans. If you treat them like criminals who belong in jail they will continue to hide and speak their native language and fail to contribute their all to our nation. I am Irish. I love this country. Please give me a chance to stay here and give my all to America. Support an earned path to legalization. Support the ILIR. Thank you.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19954943.post-1149115832655848982006-05-31T18:50:00.000-04:002006-05-31T18:50:00.000-04:00ajarend; Great comments, and you frame the deba...ajarend;<BR/> Great comments, and you frame the debate very nicely. The immigration bill out of the Senate (S 2611) would be a disaster for the country. I find it appalling that supposedly sympathetic Irish can not be so brazenly opposed to the interests of ordinary middle class Americans. <BR/> America does not need any more people. We are already the 3rd most populous nation at 300 million, after China and India. We have an annual population growth rate of 1.1%, which, as the highest population growth rate of the industrialized nations, is far greater than the more stabilized population growth rate of the EU at .1% (point one percent). Plus we acccept more immigrants than any other nation.<BR/> Solutions which worked in the past, do not necessarily apply to the future. We should be reducing immigration, rather than increasing it. Besides the amnesty and guestworker program, this Senate bill greatly increases the green card quota as well. This enchilada is just too big to swallow.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19954943.post-1148865922707038752006-05-28T21:25:00.000-04:002006-05-28T21:25:00.000-04:00If it were only a matter of legalizing 50,000 peop...If it were only a matter of legalizing 50,000 people, I would have no problem with legalizing them. My problem is that we're talking about anywhere from 12 to 20 million! As it is currently worded, this bill will not only legalize most if not all of those people, it will up the quota of legal immigration which would ensure that the numbers of immigrants flooding into this country will reach 100 to 200 million in just 20 years. We are already in debt by trillions in this country. Our numbers are already a bloated 300 million. And we want to bring in another 100 to 200 million in 20 years?? We just can't do it. Again, if it were only a matter of upping numbers from 50,000 to 100,000, that wouldn't be a problem. 100 Million is a problem.<BR/><BR/>Being of Irish decent myself, I really wish I could support the current Immigration bill to help fellow Irishmen stay in the country, but I can't. Because every day, here in Southern California, I see the negative effects of illegal immigration. Our cities are overcrowded. Our freeways are overcrowded. We have severe overcrowding of schools. Kids who are having a hard time learning because they either can't speak English, or are in an entire class of non-English speakers. We're spending billions on Spanish language learning programs, and kids are still not able to pass a simple high school exit exam. Emergency rooms are closing because they can't continue to function when they're overcrowded with Illegal immigrants who cannot pay. We're giving away billions in welfare programs to illegal families. The small amount of taxes they some of these people pay do not pay for these programs, despite what Hispanic activists want everyone to believe. Many do not pay taxes at all, or make such a meager income, they qualify for earned income tax credits! Meanwhile, they send millions of dollars back to Mexico. Dollars that could have been used to pay for their medical bills, pay for their education bills...are one of Mexico's biggest sources of income. <BR/><BR/>Yes, I've seen many good Mexican workers doing jobs that I'm sure many American workers wouldn't do for the same pay. But that doesn't mean that American workers wouldn't do the job at all. Only that we require a decent wage and decent benefits, which is not being offered. Up until recently, American men and women wanted to do yardwork, wanted to do construction...many still do, but can not live on the wage they're being offered. Many are being told, "I can hire TWO Mexicans for the price you charge." Or, "I can't hire you because you don't speak Spanish." That's the reality of what's happening in the border states, and it's wrong.<BR/><BR/>I understand some jobs are vital to our economy. But I can't begin to tell you how many people I see doing jobs that are not "vital" to our economy. How many Mexican restaurants or corner markets do we need? How many people standing on street corners selling flowers or fruit do we need? How many day laborers do we need? I'm betting we don't need as many as we currently have, yet we're proposing to bring in even more.<BR/><BR/>And, as the numbers of Spanish speaking people grow, the less likely it's going to be to get them to learn English because right now, they simply don't have to. Right now, it is possible to live every day here in California without knowing one word of English. All government forms are offered in Spanish, including voting forms. Businesses all have "Press 2 for Spanish" options on their phone systems. Spanish language radio and television is exploding. Many businesses won't hire you unless you speak Spanish. (I witnessed this many times at my own place of business). The Bank of America chain of banks accomodate Spanish speakers so much so that the last time I was in our local branch, fully 90% of all business was being conducted in Spanish. Every sign, brochure, form...was in Spanish.<BR/><BR/>I truly believe we cannot be a United States unless we all speak a common language, and I really feel that is becoming less and less important to Spanish speakers as their numbers grow.<BR/><BR/>I would like to think that most if not all of the illegal Irish in this country are not like that. I would like to think that most already speak English, thereby not putting an undue burdon on schools. Most, I'd like to think, pay their medical bills. Most, I'd like to think, pay their taxes. Most have already assimilated into American culture.<BR/><BR/>However, we cannot play favorites in this debate. The fact is that passage of this bill will only encourage more illegal immigration, mostly from south of the border, and my state and other border states simply cannot handle any more. <BR/><BR/>Because of what happened when Regan passed his Amnesty bill...where he promised to secure the border, but never did...I have no faith that our current politicians will follow through with their pledge to secure the border. <BR/><BR/>If the "prove it to me" (or the enforcement first) amendment of this bill had passed, I may have been more in favor of it. We in California need to be shown that our government can actually do what they say and seal our borders before they start giving out amnesty. If we (those opposed to this bill) can be shown that this really will be the end of the illegal immigrant flood from south of the border, I have a feeling that more of us would be in favor of it. As it is, unfortunately, as in most things, there is one group of people who is ruining things for the others. Sorry to say that with what I have witnessed in my state, as much as I'd like to see Irish Immigrants legalized in this country, I just can't support illegal immigration. It sends the wrong message to those countries south of the border.AJArendhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03117369586961867259noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19954943.post-1147733286832105082006-05-15T18:48:00.000-04:002006-05-15T18:48:00.000-04:00Sure you can earn more money in the US. But it co...Sure you can earn more money in the US. But it costs a whole lot more to live. Duh!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com