The mexican government has absolutely no shame.

Left by kma on August 23rd, 2007 at 1:50 pm

And, she’s probably still getting medicaid for the kid….paid for by what…our tax dollars!

And hasn’t even bothered to learn English !

Left by Dianne on August 23rd, 2007 at 2:26 pm

When I first heard about this woman and her plight I could not believe how far this country has fallen, and the shear idiocy of our government for allowing this country to get in this situation. My view on this whole illegal immigration thing is very black and white: if I ran the country we would immediately change the 14th amendment and no longer would a child born on this soil be American. It would take at least one parent and preferably two for the child to be American. All benefits like drivers license, social security, being educated in our schools on our dime, voting, etc…it would all stop. Further, all jobs would be required by law to check a persons social security number and if it was not valid and they hired them anyway they would be fined 250,000 for every person they hired. All police would be required to check the status of any person they pull over and if not here legally, they would be arrested and put on next bus or plane. All money transfers from America to mexico which happens every Friday or payday to the tune of billions a year would have 40% fee attached so America would be able to at least get a piece of the money that is flowing out of this economy each year back to mexico or where ever. There would be no sanctuary cities, that would be eliminated. And finally a wall would be built and armed guards would patrol this 24/7….of course this is all fantasy land, I realize that. this country has already lost the immigration battle, we just don’t realize it. because of political correctness which puts a stranglehold on speech that is in anyway pro America, has brought us to our knees. every time someone speaks up and says any of the above they are labeled a racists or not compassionate…who wants to be called that? that has become the ultimate insult. the result? No one does anything, least of all our politicians..they have caused all this by feeding at the trough of cheap labor and political correctness. yeah I don’t have much hope for the future. in 50 years America will be mainly hispanic and this will be a country that used to be a shining star and someplace you wanted to live. in 50-100 years America will be just another country with a mainly 3rd world population and all the problems that come along with it. I know this sound negative, but I am a realist. I don’t see how someone can look around with open eyes and see it any other way. America as it was with our grandparents is over. we are now just running on the fumes of former greatness, unless someone has the strength to stand up and say the gravy train stops now. but with the weak nature of our leaders the chance of that happening is about 1 in a million. that is why I think the battle over the future dominant culture is over. not because I think most patriotic Americans have given up, but where do we turn when every leader, judge, lawyer, politician is running as fast as they can to turn the country completely over to people that have literally invaded us.? whats different about this current invasion over past waves is, this new wave of immigrants have no interest in Americas history, culture, customs, or even the very language we speak..!! press 1 for english anyone…??? correct me if I am wrong but what other past wave of immigrants did we do this much bending over for…?? umm, let me answer that….no one.!! you came here and became Americans and shed your past. but for some reason I can’t fathom we no longer do this…sad thing is they invaded us and did it without a fight. most American are too busy shopping, or watching American Idol to be bothered with the fact that the very fabric of America has begun to unravel right beneath us.
hey i prefer not to think about this stuff too, I much prefer to keep my head buried in the sand, much happier that way…all I can say is vote against anyone who supports benefits for illegals….. vote, vote, vote. I guess its the only thing we can do without being labeled or called haters.

Left by Confused Tax payer on August 26th, 2007 at 4:49 pm

whats different about this current invasion over past waves is, this new wave of immigrants have no interest in Americas history, culture, customs, or even the very language we speak

Confused:
With all due respect you have a misunderstanding of the history of American immigration. Immigrants have clung to their cultures and languages since the English first established colonies on this continent and- guess what- kept their own language and culture.

Foreign language newspapers numbered in the dozens following the waves of immigration up to the 1920’s. The grandmother of a friend of mine in Indiana speaks German as her primary language despite having lived here her whole life.

Despite your pessimism I see hispanic kids all around who either speak English primarily or jump from language to language as the situation requires. This may seem paradoxical but if you want people to adopt the language and the culture more readily they need to believe that their is a reason. If they don’t see a future in this country they would be foolish to waste time learning English or the rules to baseball rather than just making the money that they came to this country for.

Left by Preston on August 26th, 2007 at 8:45 pm

Ok, I completely hear what you are saying thanks. and of course other waves have held on to their culture and ways, I have that too in my family’s distant past..there is nothing wrong with celebrating where you came from. but don’t ask the country that has taken you in to become where you left..the obvious question is then why did you leave.?? and yes in the past the Italians, Polish, Germans, Irish, etc. had their communities and enclaves…perfectly acceptable. but in the past they also wanted to meld in and become Americans. in most cases they totally shed their old country ways. it is a myth to think that all the former waves held on tightly to their culture. most people got off the boats and did not even keep their old world names…they became “John Smith” instead of “Hans Uberhoff” and willingly thru themselves into Americas embrace and worked hard to be just an American…and yes they might have privately celebrated their culture with their family and friends…but first and foremost they fit in with the idea of “American” first, old world ways second. they did not shove where they came from down the throats of everyone in society. they did not ask the school system to teach their kids in their language, they did not ask for government documents to be in their language and when it was not demand to have 5 translators on the spot or a law suit will ensue…America can only survive if we have something that unifies us all together like say a language and history…we are losing that quickly. what I see about this current wave is its the exact opposite of the past. they are “whatever else” first then maybe American after if they get around to it..almost with contempt that the “American” is pushing it’s culture on them…what the heck is that?? I truly don’t get it. If you are so darn proud of your culture then how could you just leave your country behind..hey why not fix whats wrong in your country and then everyone is happy..not just high tail it to America and bleed our hospitals and schools dry.. in my family we don’t celebrate any other culture..it is just America. it was never even talked about and I am like everyone else from somewhere else. and you have to be honest, when in the past has one culture come over in such vast numbers in such a short time??? answer: never. we can’t absorb 20-40 million people in a couple of decades. of course they are not melding, we Americans are not making them. that is the problem…also no other country on the planet lets a baby be born with neither parent being native and the child automatically becomes a citizen..that’s crazy…that might have once been useful for population reasons but it has now become a noose around our necks. so many women on the border wait until their baby is about to be born, then pay someone to drive them to the nearest American hospital so the baby, along with mom and dad, can get all the benefits….have we lost our minds as a country???? judging if by nothing other than this…I say YES!!!
I completely blame the rudderless ship America has become on our lack of leaders with backbone. our elected leaders are weak and corrupt, both parties, completely and to the bone. what we need is new blood and someone who is independent who will do the right thing simply because it is the right thing..here again I have to be a realist….not gonna happen. the very process a person has to go thru to become an elected leader strips away all common sense out of that person. the money and power makes them drunk for more and it becomes all they stay in office for. believe me I wish I was wrong. but I honestly think this is the way things are. and unless by some miracle a person with a TRUE patriotic backbone comes along and very soon, you can say goodbye to the old ideal of America.

Left by Confused Tax payer on August 26th, 2007 at 10:30 pm

Confused-
I agree that we need to reduce the numbers of illegal immigrants (though I would increase legal immigration)- I agree that the enclaves of one immigrant culture makes it harder for them to learn English and thus get the best jobs they can.

However, I’m less worried about the rates of assimilation. You might not know that the most popular names for Hispanic babies in New York are Justin and Ashley. Yet, does it really make a difference? All I demand is an acceptance of the Constitution as the rule of the land- if they prefer to name their children Pedro and Elena or eat tacos and enchilladas that’s their business. Despite the fears of the anti-immigration lobby it defies belief that someone willing to rip themselves from their homes and drop themselves into a new country for the benefit of their families wouldn’t fully understand that knowing English is a financial benefit.

Regarding the citizenship for children of immigrants: I think it would be a shame if we started removing rights from the Constitution- we experience the feeling often enough these days even without Amendments.

Left by Preston on August 27th, 2007 at 6:23 am

Preston, if your theory is correct, why didn’t Elvira bother to learn English after 10 years in this country? Surely during the last year she holed up in that church sanctuary you would have thought she would have plenty of time on her hands to learn at least a bit of the language, especially since she fancied herself as a spokesperson for the cause.

As a descendant of late 1800’s Norwegian Americans from an area of the country filled with same, I can assure you that one of their first priorities was to learn the English language and assimilate. Up until my generation, they were all bilingual. My parents could speak Norwegian as could my grandparents, but they reserved that for private conversations. They didn’t speak it in school or use it in business. One side of the family did indeed change their name as Confused Taxpayer noted. Yes, they were proud of their heritage, but they were Americans first and forever.

My theory is that if most illegal immigrants of today were given a choice between becoming an American citizen and given temporary worker status while retaining their home country citizenship (with all the benefits of green card holders), they would choose the latter. I believe their ultimate dream is to make enough money, gain enough education, get medical care, etc. and then move back to where they came from based on the wealth of living in this country. And, that is the difference between immigrants of today vs those of yesteryear.

Left by Dianne on August 27th, 2007 at 8:28 am

Dianne-

Can you point to a link to a news article that discusses her ability/ inability to speak English? I’ve looked at Wikipedia and some other links and there was no mention of it. I see she has spoken in Spanish in public regularly but that only suggests that she is more comfortable speaking Spanish not that she is incapable of speaking English.

In any case, I think it is a problem with the romanticization of American history to believe that previous waves of immigrants to this country weren’t similarly motivated by extreme political or economic conditions in their homeland as much as their aspirations in America. Obviously most Irish didn’t return to Ireland after immigrating here- but your explanation for that phenomenon is pure speculation. As it happens, many Irish are returning to their homeland now that the economic situation is so much improved. On the other hand many people who came here hoping to return grow to prefer life here.

Just to say, that it seems like a false distinction to me.

Left by Preston on August 29th, 2007 at 6:09 am

Preston I can’t quite get what your main point is.

Do you think us not having and enforcing a language we all speak is necessary? Do you think it is OK for millions to come over and not assimilate? Do you think it is OK for us to bend to the immigrants and require very little from them as far as adopting our ways?

Do you like what is happening to this country? If you do that’s fine. But I don’t and I think most people, if they were not afraid to be called names would say the same. I know you feel compassion for this woman’s plight but who cares what language she speaks, she should have learned some English by now…that is if she wanted to. that’s the point she has no desire at all to meld in. if she did she would have applied for citizenship and done things the right way…no one is romanticizing American history. people did come over here and completely throw off the old world ways and wanted nothing more than to forget about the hellish place they left. not all, but many. and the difference is those people were stuck here no choice but to assimilate.

This new wave has the choice to go back…that is why it is even more important to make them assimilate, speak English, adopt our ways…if we don’t they have no reason what so ever to do it…things get too bad they just go back..and we already have everything set up for them in Spanish..man we have lost our minds

Left by Marc on August 29th, 2007 at 12:12 pm

Can you point to a link to a news article that discusses her ability/ inability to speak English?

I’ve heard her interviewed. She struggled to respond briefly in English and then switched to Spanish in mid sentence. What she was trying to convey wasn’t complicated but it was evident that her abiltiy to speak English was extremely poor. It surprised me. Too much Telemundo, Elvira!

Left by kma on August 30th, 2007 at 8:45 am

Marc-
Of course I believe that immigrants need to learn English to succeed. I wish that the government would clamp down on illegal immigration but increase legal immigration in part because I think leagal immigrants are better able to succeed. However I believe that anti-immigration advocates overestimate the abilities of previous waves of immigrants and underestimate the current wave.

As far as ‘assimilation’ I have less of a need for it. I believe that anyone becoming a citizen must accept our constitution and the basic premises of our political traditions. But do I require that my Indian immigrant friends from high school become Christians? Or my Brazilian friends to enjoy peanut butter and jelly? Not so much.

I live in a city where at least a quarter of the population is foreign born and I love that.

Thanks, KMA. I’ll take your word, but reiterate that the amount of English that someone knows and the amount that someone feels comfortable using in public may be different. My wife knows a bit of French but she’s too shy to risk it in conversation with a Francophone.

Left by Preston on August 30th, 2007 at 9:29 pm

Preston, well as far as overestimating the abilities of prior immigrants…take a look around you…this was all built by them. I would say that is impressive, don’t you? all the people that came here 200 years ago built everything we have from nothing but dirt, hard work, smarts and inventiveness. there was nothing here 300 years ago in the way of technological ability or sophisticated knowledge of metallurgy. in a way we are a victim of how brilliant our forefathers were. we have it so much better than most of the world people are killing themselves to get here. I don’t think that is overestimation at all. In fact we should be in awe of what those people did and built. in about 200 years we went from almost nothing to the world most powerful country. that is not boasting at all, but hard cold facts. now of course America is hardly perfect but tell what other place is? nowhere, there is no such thing. but we do the best we can to correct our past misjudgments and that is more than a lot of other places. so you tell me, what does this current wave bring us that is so vital and important that we don’t already have.? what can people from basically 3rd world environments bring us? I know this sounds harsh to some, but that is a very serious and honest question. what technological things can we gain from them, what new medical advances can we learn, what new engineering techniques can we glean, what new advances in electronics are these people bringing..? if you are honest about it, most of this current flood of immigrants are not bringing much if any of that. what I mean by this is: we are at a point in our society that we don’t just need bodies like we did 200 years ago.. we have that. what we need are people coming here that can advance us, lift us up, show us things to make us better and stronger. we are not getting that. we are getting for the most part the uneducated that the countries they come don’t even want. heck if these people were so important to their home countries don’t you think they would try an keep them by giving them incentives or reasons to stay? they are not doing that. we have become the safety valve for other countries lower tier of citizens. sounds harsh, but the truth always is. it is a fact that most of the 20-30 million illegals are not educated and don’t bring any really valuable skill sets with them other than of course hard work and the willingness to do hard work. I am not knocking that at all..but like I said the need for strong backs is over…..we need new strong minds. that is how a country moves forward and competes in the 21st century.
lastly I do care that people assimilate. that too me is of utmost importance…otherwise you wind up a splintered and divided country..hear of the former Yugoslavia ? prime example of different people forced to live together, and eventually split apart. 100 years from now the US will do the same thing if we don’t all adopt the same language and basic culture..that to me seems like such common sense. can’t understand why some people find that just so hard to digest or understand.

Left by Marc on September 1st, 2007 at 10:18 pm

all you people who talk trash dont even know how does it feels to be on another country whith out seen your family you are the ones who should be ashame

Left by itachi on July 15th, 2008 at 11:48 am

you people dont even know how it feels to be in another country with out your entire family

Left by sane on July 15th, 2008 at 11:50 am