I am confused.... You state in this post, "Keep in mind that I, like Reid and President Bush, am in favor of a guest worker program and a path to citizenship for the illegals already here", but you say in a previous post, "So, in a nutshell, people break our laws, and Hillary doesn't want them to be treated like criminals.. "

So which is it? Are they criminals or not? Are they here illegally or not? Should illegals/criminals really be given citizenship after breaking the law? Citizenship in the greatest nation on earth is a privelege. Some would saw granting citizenship is a reward. What other crimes do you think we should reward? Or better yet, what other crimes do you feel should be made legal in order to reduce the crime rate? I await your response.

Leaders lead. If you just follow the crowds, you shouldn't have run for the office in the first place. Or you will end up becoming another Hitler. I hope that America will never become another Nazi Germany which prosecuted illegal immigrants like Nazi Germany prosecuted Jews. And may I add that Jews were migrants as well. The prosecution of migrants is nothing new. I just regret that with all the high tech gadgets that Americans have, they are still embracing the same old hatred people have toward migrants.

Paolo,

Quite simple - the other article you refer to was written by a different person. We really do have differences of opinion here on the Republican side of the aisle...and we respect each others views.

I am one of those who don't view immigration as a bad thing - especially with native-born birthrates already at mere replacement level, and still falling. We don't want to wind up like Japan and Europe with an ageing population that has no children. Immigrants are that vital new blood for a society which would otherwise grow senile.

That said, we do need much stricter border controls - I want us to know precisely who comes in here and where they go and who they associate with. Once they legally become citizens we can leave them alone, but during that period from arrival to oath of citizenship, I want their movements tracked with great care. This is a mere security issue.

This will require that we punish businesses that employ illegals, and that we sanction the illegals themselves to discourage their illegal border crossings...and thus we need a guest worker program to lessen the need for illegal crossings.

As for the 11 million or so already here - well, they are here: I don't see a practical way of rounding them all up and sending them back to country of origin...so, better make a virtue out of a necessity and figure out a way to put them on a path to citizenship.

Do you think that a restaurant owner can afford to fly a cook from China to see if he is a good fit for the job opening he has and fly him back if he does not turn out to be a good fit?

There are jobs that can only be filled by people who are already here.

To eliminate illegal immigrations, you just need to provide legal means for them to do so. Let them come legally to look for jobs!

Right now, no one can come just to look for a job. You have to have a job before coming. But how do you get a job if you are not physically here?

 
Jane:

That's about the silliest thing I've read all week.

First, Nazi's KILLED millions of actual, legal citizens. We're talking about DEPORTING criminals who have entered this country illegally.

If you don't see a difference, then I realy hope that you haven't reproduced.

And we're not talking about "migrants" here. By definition, a "migrant" is someone who travels from place to place, not necessarily from one country to another.

A legal "immigrant" is one who came to this country through an official port, has registered, and has observed our rules regarding folks who wish to become citizens.

By *definition,* an "illegal" immigrant is one who did NOT follow these laws, and is therefore a criminal.

No rational American citizen "hates migrants." No rational American citizen condones illegal immigration.
 

hgstern,

What is the difference between migrants and illegal immigrants?

If there is no job here, will they come? If there are other places where they can find more jobs or better jobs, will they stay?

Do you think that they will stay here just to get your unemployment benefits? Can they live on your unemployment benefits?

If you just watch the movie "Nuremberg", you can see how all the false accusations against a people can drive you to become extremely cruel toward them.

I am not saying that you have already done the most heinous things to illegal immigrants. I am saying that if you continue down this path, you are heading toward the same direction as Nazi Germany was heading. Today you are prosecuting the illegal immigrants. Tomorrow you will turn your hatred toward legal immigrants. The day after that you will be hating gays and lesbians or whatever minority people you do not like. You won't rest until everyone you do not like is gone.

Okay, Jane, I officially invoke Godwin's Law on you.

That aside, let's deal with your "points" (such as they are):

You ask "What is the difference between migrants and illegal immigrants?"

One more time: a "migrant" is a person who frequently moves from place to place. Perhaps you mean "immigrant," which is a person who permanently moves to another country.

An immigraant can be "legal" (e.g. Irish fleeing the Potato Famine, and legally processed thru Ellis Island), or "illegal" (e.g. Mexicans sneaking across our border, who do not follow *the law* which requires them to do likewise).

By definition, then, and "illegal" immigrant is a "criminal." We punish criminals (e.g. bank robbers go to jail). The proscribed punishment for an "illegal" immigrant is to be expelled.

Is that clear enough?

No one is advocating that "illegal" immigrants be systematically rounded up and put to death in gas chambers.

So:

Illegal immigrant: expelled

Illegal immigrant: not murdered

BTW, your statement that my "hatred" (your word, not mine; I don't *hate* the bank robber, or the illegal immigrant, I merely want them to face the appropriate and legally mandated consequence) of "illegal" immigrants will inexorably lead to hatred of "legal" ones is silly.

Singing lessons are over.

Mark,

First, my apologies for not paying closer attention to the author of each article.

Second, I apprecitate your clear and concise explanation of your position.

Third, I'm not sure why you are so willing to give up your country to illegal invaders simply because you feel we can't round up all 11 million. Does that mean we shouldn't try? There are a lot of criminals in this country. None of them wear the scarlett letter, so should we just accept that they will commit crimes and let them all go free, or do we at least try to find and arrest them? I have no doubt that you know very well there is no such thing as a guest worker. Guests leave when the party's over. These people haven't left yet, even though they are surely aware their presence in this country is against this country's laws. So if Reid, McCain, and all the other sell outs try to push their guest worker scheme I have but one question: If we can't deport the 11 million here, how do you propose we round up the guests and their native born families when their time is up?

Thank you,
Paolo

Rosa Park was arrested for violating a segregation law at the time. But she became a hero in American history. Do not think that all people who have violated laws should be condemned.

Illegal immigrants violate immigration laws because there is no legal ways for them to pursue their dreams which they see no harm to others.