“Alabama’s new law will require schools, businesses, and landlords to verify the immigration status of their students, employees and tenants, respectively,” Caroline May writes. “Police will be allowed to detain people on suspicion of being in the country illegally and it will be unlawful to give a ride to an undocumented immigrant.”
Yes, a simple ride in a car could be verboten.
These various burdens aren’t created equal. It is eminently reasonable for law enforcement to check the legal status of anyone it legitimately arrests and incarcerates. It isn’t as if doing so imposes an undue burden on criminals found to be here legally. In business, most employers already have a process for new hires. All are required to employ folks eligible to work here. And E-Verify isn’t particularly burdensome. It even helps some workers to efficiently prove their status.
But it makes little sense to force educators to collect data on undocumented students, especially since kids here illegally won’t be kicked out. Surely administrators, principals and teachers have more pressing tasks than collecting immigration statistics. A prohibition against renting to illegal immigrants also inserts the state into the daily life of Alabamans. It’s a role that should be resisted. Do we really want the act of renting out a room for a month — or subletting an apartment — to turn into a formal process with more red tape and barriers? Isn’t moving painful enough? Plus some landlords, fearing legal sanction, are inevitably going to error on the side of caution by turning down all prospective tenants who are Hispanic. And maybe get fined for that, too, if caught.
Hispanic American citizens are likely to bear the brunt of these immigration laws. How often are white Alabamans going to be forced to prove their citizenship? Nor does it end there. Think of a man, here on a work visa, who is dating an illegal immigrant woman — that is to say, someone whose parents brought her to this country when she was 7, and has lived in the United States for the last 20 years. Under this law, it is illegal for that man to drive his girlfriend to a doctor’s appointment!
There are countless real world examples as sympathetic. This is especially so in immigrant enclaves, where the documented and undocumented often live side by side in the same subculture. Even beyond those enclaves, the tens of thousands of illegal immigrants now living in Alabama have friends, colleagues, and even family members of various races who are here legally. It isn’t a crime to knowingly transport someone who smokes marijuana, or cheats on his taxes, or regularly drives drunk, or pirates Hollywood movies. Does it really make sense to criminalize the mere transport of an illegal immigrant? Or ponder this hypothetical. As a Birmingham church group prepares to depart on its annual bible retreat, should it exclude from the communal van the longtime parishioner who is known to her co-religionists to be in the country illegally? These are awful choices to force on people. When legislation results in law-abiding citizens having pangs of conscience, odds are the law is a bad one.
Training Tea Party Activists In Guerilla Internet Tactics - BUSTED!
A right-wing extremist details how to lower the ratings of books and movies with progressive themes.
Are u fucking kidding me
Many people may face problems with self-identity today in America. An example of this is how some people may have a “black” parent, but be white in color themselves. Who do they identify with? The black community holds something against them because their skin color isn’t black as theirs is, and the white community looks at her differently when they see her with her parents. Here’s what she goes through:
Recently I saw a comment on Yahoo.com by somebody with the username “moosehead.” I highly disagree with his comment’s, and will post a response to what he said. But first, here’s what “Moosehead” said:
“Listed below are several of the arguments that have been used by misguided people to try and justify illegal immigration. Next to each is the reason why these arguments are nonsense.
1) They are an economic necessity - Not true. The idea that a bunch of desperately poor, uneducated, unskilled, illegal foreigners are an economic necessity is ludicrous. In fact, when you compare cost vs. benefit, it is obvious that they are not only NOT a necessity, they are not even an asset. Rather, they are a liability and a huge one at that.
2) They do work Americans won’t do - Not true. They do work Americans won’t do for $7 an hour (especially if Americans can collect welfare and unemployment forever). Of course, if you got rid of the illegals, the jobs wouldn’t pay $7 an hour. The people who wanted the work done would have to pay a wage that was attractive enough to get Americans to do the work. And it might even be enough so Americans could support themselves and get off welfare and unemployment !!
3) They work & contribute to our society - So do I. And if I break the law and commit crimes, I can expect to pay a penalty of some kind. Anything from a small fine to the death penalty. I do not receive a reward. This argument makes no sense.
4) They are just trying to make better lives - Aren’t we all? The difference is that most of us understand that we don’t have a right to acquire by illegal means those things that we find difficult to acquire by legal means. And we certainly don’t have the right to do it in a foreign country. Mexico does not allow foreigners to enter their country illegally and break it’s laws. If you believe differently, go give it a try. Call me collect from the dungeon. Let me know how it went…..
5) It is impossible to round up and deport the illegals - We don’t have to. All we have to do is remove the incentives that brought them here in the first place. No jobs. No housing. No taxpayer financed services or benefits. Once we remove the incentives that brought them here, they will leave on their own.
6) It would be too expensive to round them up and deport them - See #5.
7) Immigration control is racist - This is just another play of the race card by people who have no other cards to play. Immigration control is the world-wide status quo. There is nothing racist about it. Furthermore, the USA welcomes LEGAL immigrants of all races and ethnicities from all over the world who have gone through the legal immigration process. This is not just a bad argument, it is an attempt to create racial hatred and division.
8) We are a nation of immigrants - Not true. I am not an immigrant. Nor were my parents or grandparents. We are, however, a nation that has, historically, allowed and even encouraged legal immigration. And we continue to do so. The issue at hand is illegal immigration, which has nothing to do with legal immigration. This argument is totally irrelevant to the issue at hand.
9) They are people. We must treat them humanely - Yes & yes. But lets not pretend like they are victims who were dragged here kicking and screaming against their will. Nothing could be further from the truth. They came of their own free will and for their own benefit and they broke the law to do it. People should not be rewarded for breaking laws and committing crimes. Sending them home is the right thing to do. There is nothing “draconian” about it.
10) It is wrong to break up families- Yes. Unfortunately, families are often broken up by criminal activity. If you don’t believe it, just drop by any prison or jail on visiting day. We can’t keep families together if some family members choose to participate in criminal activity.
No other country on Earth allows foreigners to come in illegally, work illegally, steal jobs from it’s citizens, break laws, commit crimes (serious crimes!), evade taxes, etc. etc. etc. And there are no rational reasons why.”
In response to Dickhead, err- Moosehead, here is why the truly misguided one’s are you anti-Illegal Immigration people:
1st. You say it is not true that they are an economic necessity? Well obviously you don’t know economics. Please tell me how you calculated cost vs benefit. Here’s how I calculated it:
Cost’s of Illegal Immigration:
- Border Patrol to prevent Illegal Immigration
- Public Education for Illegal Students (including the ones who came against their own will)
- Translation services for Illegal Immigrants by companies which wish to tend to a larger group of clients, or even for legal purposes (this doesn’t include the millions of LEGAL immigrants, or for businesspeople that don’t speak English which come to the United States to do business)
- Some Illegal Immigrants don’t pay income taxes
Benefits of Illegal Immigration:
- Jobs for Americans in protecting the border against Illegal Immigration
- Foreign Student’s introduce their culture to the American Culture, enriching it in the process (which, you have to admit, has become pretty dull since any of the great rock artists or important movements. Nowadays it seems all people here care about is making money. Also, in the article “Moosehead” replied to, it stated that Illegal Immigrants pay out-of-state tuition for college, which means they usually pay more than what their education is even worth.)
- Jobs in Translation Services that attend to the needs to those legal immigrants, or foreign tourists in the country.
- The availability of speakers of foreign languages to use in business negotiations as a way of better understanding the client/customer or the business which they are purchasing from
- People with different types of skills which they learned in their country introduce these skills to America, giving it more diversity and knowledge. (Contrary to your belief that illegal immigrants are “unskilled, uneducated, and desperately poor,” many are skilled, educated, and may have some money, but they don’t have the opportunity to become better in the country where they were born in, and believe they have a chance of pursing this in a foreign country. Many Illegal Immigrants come here because they have tried coming through the legal way, but were declined because of a limit which the United States sets to the amount of Illegal Immigrants from each country which can become Legal Citizens.)
- Cheap labor for companies, which is necessary because it also keeps the price of the products down as well. (Why do you think China is able to supply so many cheap goods? They have workers that accept being paid almost nothing for their work, and this gives Americans the ability to purchase their products for cheap.)
- Increase in the construction market, because when people move here, either illegally or legally, they must purchase a home. When this happens, there are less homes available, therefore more homes must be built. Not only does this mean more jobs for people who work in construction, but this also means that the illegal immigrants living here will also spend money here by buying food, clothes, and other consumer goods.
- Contrary to the popular belief that Illegal Immigrant’s don’t pay taxes, there is a form which any illegal immigrant can get called a Tax ID Card. Yes, not all Immigrants may chose to do this, but if they do, they benefit greatly from this card. Regardless, they don’t get any money back from these taxes which they pay, unlike the regular American which gets a tax rebate at the end of the year, providing that they qualify. Not every American declares their taxes truthfully either, because they know that they can get a larger rebate if they answer certain things a certain way. Therefore claims that Illegal Immigrants don’t pay taxes is not valid since many Citizens may not pay taxes, or may even benefit from taxes. Immigrants pay sales tax, and any other taxes applied by the state or government which is incurred when purchasing goods or services.
2. As I answered in number one, if the prices of labor went up, so would the price of the products. Therefore, if there were no illegal immigrants, the 7 dollar an hour jobs would become 15 dollar an hour jobs, but the cheap goods which us American Citizens are so happy with, would not be so cheap anymore. Increase in production cost = increase in sales price. This is basic business principal.
3. Illegal Immigrants pay for crimes the same way any citizen would. If you break the law and you are caught, then you go to jail. If an Illegal Immigrant is caught, they go to jail, and usually are deported within a time period decided by the judge. Illegal Immigrants don’t receive rewards for this, as a Citizen wouldn’t receive a reward for this either. I don’t know what point Moosehead was trying to prove with his statement in number 3, but I think this should answer it.
4. Yes, we all try making our lives better. In fact, it’s a constitutional right. As humans, we have the right of the pursuit of happiness. You think that Illegal Immigrants came here illegally because they didn’t want to come here legally? If you don’t know this yet, the United States has a limit on how many people can become legal citizens. Therefore those who really need to get away from their home country don’t do it because they are finding happiness in their own country, but rather because they are looking for happiness in the United States. Obviously if an Illegal Immigrant does a criminal act then they should be arrested and suffer the consequences. What makes you better than the Illegal Immigrants which allows you to pursue happiness and not them if they can’t find happiness in their own country?
5. and 6. Do what you feel is necessary, but you think the government hasn’t already analyzed doing this? You think they didn’t figure out that it’s better to have illegal immigrants in the country than legal citizens? The incentives that brings illegal immigrants here is the chance for a better life, and the pursuit of happiness. Let me ask you something though, aren’t we all humans living in the same world, growing and sustaining ourselves as well as our families from the same earth? Why do you feel the need to divide the world into political walls?
7. Immigration control is a form of racism. How? It discriminates against people of another race or ethnicity in allowing them to be legal citizens. This isn’t a way to create racial hatred or division, the people against illegal immigrants are the ones doing that. By the way, from personal experience I have noticed that many of those who are against illegal immigration are kind of racist or biased against people of other races/ethnicity’s.
8. We aren’t a nation of immigrants? How is that? Were the first ancestors that arrived here in the United States not Illegal Immigrants? Was this land not owned by Native Americans? If you are a Native American then I give you every right to say that you are not an immigrant. You might have been born here, and your grandparents might have been born here, but your first ancestor didn’t sprout up out of the ground here in America. Also, we are a nation of immigrants because the United States was made up of Immigrants during its first years as a nation, and as you say, we have historically allowed legal immigration. The Declaration of Independence was signed by Englishmen who wanted liberty from England. You think that these Englishmen were in their own country when they signed the declaration? No, They were actually in Indian Country, but they pushed the Indians out. In other words, they were not Americans, but they were illegal immigrants, until they signed that declaration. I hope you realize this.
9. Yes, the parent’s came on their own free will. Usually this was because they were kicking and screaming, or more likely, starving and oppressed, back in their own country, which is why they came to this country. Nobody SHOULD break the law, but your going to tell me you never speed on your way to work? You never did one single illegal thing? What makes it O.K. for you to do it, but not them? By the way, many of the children which came with the parents did not do so because they wanted to, but because they had no other choice. Home is the United States for them, because the place they were living before is not they, or even many other people, would consider a home.
10. Yes, it is wrong to break up families. And yes, the illegal immigrants suffer the consequences of coming here illegally because it is in fact illegal… but only because certain people decide that they can’t live here legally. Truth is though, we can make it legal. It doesn’t have to be illegal for an immigrant to wish to live in another country just because of a political border.
In your last statement you make it seem like Illegal Immigrants are evil people which come to the United States to destroy the economy, and make the citizens living here upset and poor. It’s actually the opposite. They come here because they want to become rich, and live a good life like many other Americans do.
Have you ever put yourself in their shoes? Have you ever thought of what it must be like to live in a country which you run the risk of getting killed for simply going to the bank, or having a nice car, or a nice job, or being a little bit wealthier, just because someone else wants to rob you? If you were living in a place like that wouldn’t you want to move somewhere else as well? Wouldn’t you get tired of all the political bullshit, the lawyer fees which are impossible to afford, the extremely long wait time to know if you are accepted into the country as a legal citizen, all the while your children are starving at home? or you yourself are being persecuted by the government for trying to make a change in the country for the good?
My father and my mother fled to the United States from Brazil about 30 years ago because they were being persecuted by the Brazilian government at the time because of public protests which my dad made against them. He, and my mom, came in through Mexico. Since my father moved here he has created a living for himself, and raised a family with My mother, which encountered cancer, a brain tumor, and passed away after about 15 years from when they originally came to live in peace in this great country in which I and my brother and sisters was born. God Bless the USA. And God Bless those Illegal Immigrants which are seeking a better life in this great country.
Here’s the link to the article in which the comment is under:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110511/ap_on_re_us/us_immigration_college_student#mwpphu-container
Here’s another very intresting response by somebody names “Alex” which I found that responded to “moosehead’s” comment as well:
I’m not sure what’s greater, the ignorance of your post, or the replies you’re post has generated.
1) They are an economic necessity - Not true - If you have any economic expertise you would know that our economy is a capitalist one. Among many other things, we capitalize (hence the name) on the rich and the poor. It is best for an economy to keep the poor, poor and the rich, wealthy. You also forget the fact that some illegals will outright purchase identities from the families of deceased individuals. They pay taxes, yet get nothing in return.
2) They do work Americans won’t do - Not true. They do work Americans won’t do for $7 an hour (especially if Americans can collect welfare and unemployment forever). - Don’t even know where to begin. Employers won’t offer “competitive wages” for unskilled jobs. Why should an employer pay $20 an hour for someone to mop? It’s that mentality that caused the United Auto Workers unions to be in the mess they are in. “Hey lets pay a high school graduate $30 dollars (which albeit competitive, grossly overpaid) to push this button all day long.
3) They work & contribute to our society - So do I. And if I break the law and commit crimes, I can expect to pay a penalty of some kind. - I’m sorry; I’ve missed the constitutional amendment forbidding states from prosecuting illegals. Maybe that just happens in your state, but nowhere else in the states are illegals excluded from the judicial system. If anything, they are treated worse than you or I, because of simple minded individuals like yourself that think “they have no rights.”
4) They are just trying to make better lives - Aren’t we all - Yes, we all are. Yet these illegals aren’t the ones lining up the unemployment office or the ones begging for change/food/shelter on the street corners. Sadly, those individuals can be claimed as 100% blooded Americans. What an accomplishment for your society.
5) It is impossible to round up and deport the illegals - Did you stop to think about the financial implications of this? Refer back to #2
7) Immigration control is racist - Stereotyping any ethnic minority is racist. Think how you’d feel if every time you were stopped for a traffic violation, an officer asked for your birth certificate, or your high school diploma. Implying that one had anything to do with another, and even less to do with the offense. You didn’t speed because you’re illegal or a high school dropout, respectively.
) We are a nation of immigrants - Not true. I am not an immigrant - Perhaps you are a high school dropout and missed the whole independence thing. Look up 4th of July.
9) They are people. We must treat them humanely- This argument is completely ludicrous. Did you think a 2 year old is asked how they’d feel about traveling to a foreign country where you’re clearly not welcomed, before they come out here?
10) It is wrong to break up families- Yes - Let’s break them. Clearly this makes the most sense. Let’s make the children wards of the state (taxpayer dollars) instead of allowing this family to stay together. Let’s break them up, because time and time again we’re shown how well the welfare system in this country works.
Your last comment is downright the most ignorant comment you’ve made (and considering your rant, quite an accomplishment). EVERY country has immigration problems. More advanced countries allow temporary visas, or even work visas. Look up Italy, Greece, Egypt, Russia, China, should I continue?
Lastly, keep in mind that historically, no oppressed ethnicity has remain oppressed for too long. Sooner or later change will come. You can quote me on this: the Hispanic community is here to stay. No anti-immigrant sentiment, no matter how ignorant it may be, will change this.
- Alejandro- A proud Mexican by birth, legal citizen for over 20 years, and now American by naturalization.
It seems like the only thing Republicans care about is taking President Obama down… Wait no, that’s not what it seems like, that’s what it is!
In an article by Yahoo.com the Senate GOP leader states that “his party’s (Republicans) main goal is denying Obama re-election.” As if it were a game, a competition of who has more power. It’s a shame that our nations “leaders” can’t stop the popularity contest and actually get some work done…
Recently, John Boehner, R-Ohio, stated that he was “doing everything in his power to stop the health care bill (CNN.com).” Why are people treating this bill as if it were something bad for the United States? If anything, it’s one of the best things Obama has done yet!
When are people going to understand that not EVERYTHING should be used as a way for people to make a profit! People’s lives are at stake here, this is not a game! We Americans believe, as it states in the constitution that all men (and women) are created equal, however, when it involves money or power people seem to forget that.
Health Insurance companies rake in HUGE profits off of the healthy, but when it comes to someone that is sick they seem to want to get rid of that person by any means necessary, either by finding a loophole in the system, or a rule unseen in the fine print (which nobody ever reads unless you’re a lawyer). This is exploitation is it not? Not to mention how these insurance companies reject thousands, if not millions, of people with preexisting conditions. These people most likely can’t afford paying all the absurd hospital bills, so they get stuck waiting to die… waiting to become so sick that they have a much smaller chance of living. Only when they can’t take the pain anymore does the hospital accept them but by that time they just want to die. You call this humane? Of course not, but this is business to insurance companies! Darwinism at its finest, survival of the fittest. Yet when a foreign country suffers an earthquake, such as Haiti, we rush over there, send millions of dollars worth of food, health care, and other necessities. Why don’t we let them die? Let them fend for themselves. Yes, it’s very nice of us to help them, but why don’t we help us first. Greedy? Maybe… nowhere close to being as greedy as these insurance companies are though. But I guess they have the right to be like that because or else they will go out of business, wont they!
Remind me again, why do we care if a business that is exploiting thousands of people goes out of business? Republicans want to protect these insurance companies rights to do just that. Doesn’t make much sense to me…
Americans need to look at the huge benefits of the Health Care Bill. This bill prohibits insurance companies from rejecting candidates because of previous health problems. This bill prohibits insurance companies from taking advantage of Americans and we oppose that? You want to argue that it’s too expensive? Expensive is the lives that are being lost because of the greed of these insurance companies. We are responsible for the deaths of those who can’t afford health care. We pay taxes for roads, for education, and for other basic obvious services which are necessary however we refuse to pay for our fellow citizens health.
With this bill, insurance companies will be required to accept all people. At first, this might seem expensive, however this will actually be cheaper because those people that couldn’t go to the hospital for a cheap and small health problem that has the potential of becoming a large and much more expensive health problem will now be able to take care of the small problem before it becomes large and expensive problem. Also, the medicare and medicaid programs - which seems to have been a target for criminals who steal approximately 60 billion a year from these programs - will be removed since everyone will have health insurance.
This bill will also help small companies that are stuck with paying health care for their employees when they can’t afford it. These companies will benefit because they will have more money to invest in the company rather than to spend on paying health care expenses for people.
There are many more other benefits to this bill, however I am not here to discuss only why Obama’s health care plan is good for the country. I am here to talk about how the Republicans don’t care about whats best for the country, but rather they care about who’s in power.
Not only do Republicans declare that this bill is not good for our country, but they oppose the bank bailouts bill or the financial reform bill which Obama, and his party, pushed for. Yes, It’s upsetting that we had to pay for the bailout of the banks that seem to love ripping us off with their overdraft fees, however, these loans that we have given the bank in order to boost the economy have already been paid back, with interest too. Therefore we, as a nation, have profited from this deal. Hard to believe isn’t it. Reuters.com states that “A government program to bail out banks at the height of the financial crisis has so far turned a profit, according to a report by investment bank Keefe, Bruyette & Woods Inc.”
So yes, this is great news! This same bill prohibits banks from charging overdraft fees, unless the customer ops for it, which means that if you don’t have the funds in your account, then your card wont allow you to purchase something you can’t afford. Such as a 2 dollar ice cream - that would end up costing you up to 30 dollars more with overdraft fees - just because you simply forgot that you didn’t have the proper funds in that account at the time being.
It’s no surprise that banks were strongly against this bill because they made very large profits off of ripping people off in this manner. However, it should come as a surprise that Republicans opposed this bill, and the health care bill, when these bills could do so much good for our country, and its citizens.
Why is it that Republicans were so adamant in rejecting this bill? Don’t ask me. They declared that it would cause us to go into even further debt. They state that we would go into another recession. This is all lies they spread. They try making us Americans scared, however they don’t offer any better alternatives to what Obama has proposed. They use these scare tactics to try getting us to put them back in power when last time they were in power… well… we all know how that ended. I’m glad the citizens of this country didn’t choose George Bush version 3 (McCain) and that crazy lady that was with him. We would REALLY be in trouble then!
That’s it for today… I hope to hear back on your opinions. Thanks for reading!
God Bless the U.S.A.
Sources and Interesting articles to read about:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/us_repeal_and_replace
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20101104/ap_on_re_us/us_bipartisan_challenge
http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE66655P20100707
http://washingtonindependent.com/38975/house-dems-eye-overdraft-reform
