Tuesday, November 08, 2005

Immigration Rears its Ugly Head

The question is, why hasn't Tom Tancredo visited Georgia yet? Surely he would find this to be a fertile ground for votes and money. Tancredo, for the non political junkies out there, is a Republican Congressman from Colorado, who is engaging in an as-yet unannounced and quixotic run for President. He's also probably the most xenophobic person in Congress, as evidenced by his hard line views on immigration.
Tom Tancredo would love Georgia right now, especially if he got to spend a few minutes with certain Republicans in the state legislature. We say all of that, because of this letter, which was in turn inspired by a rash of anti-immigrant bills (which probably won't be more than a panacea) that we'll be seeing under the Dome of Gold next year.
Look, it's easy to hate on illegal immigrants. The GOP (as well as more than a few folks in the other party) have done a good job of demonizing them. But that day laborer hanging out at Home Depot, or the mother of two who is cleaning chickens or cleaning hotel rooms is not the cause of our state's budget problems, and that's clear.
Just something to think about. Another thing to think about is this. We don't want to rehash the whole "We're all immigrants" rhetoric, because it's stale and getting hackneyed. But we would mention that we should be making it easier for people to become citizens, not harder.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Question: Why are there so many ILLEGAL immigrants? Who is making it hard for them to get here legally? Is it us or their countries? Has anyone considered this aspect of the problem?

Jmac said...

Exactly DiDDY.

It's our immigration system itself which is outdated and in need of reform. These are folks who are coming here to make a better life for themselves, fleeing from poverty of the worst kind in order to get a little opportunity.

Granted, the influx of illegal immigrants is something we've got to confront ... but it's hard to hate on people who risk life and limb - and, in many cases, are leaving family members behind - so they can come here and make $3 to $4 an hour.

Anonymous said...

Sorry, folks, I'm not buying it, not any of it.
We don't owe any of them anything. Not a cent, not a visit to the emergency room, not a day in our schools. It's not our fault they made the decision to become criminals, and to enter into the economy as illegal participants.
If they weren't here doing the jobs that "nobody here wants" (what a load of crap) then the employers who are exploiting these criminals would HAVE to pay competitve wages, and then Americans Would Want those Jobs, wouldn't they?
These bleeding heart liberals on this issue are doing nothing more than contributing to the ability of right wing felons to continue to exploit an entire class of people, in economic slavery. And they facilitate the ripping off of the American People.
I tell you what, when we have healthcare and equal educational opportunities for everyone who is entitled to it here in our country, then I'll think about supporting the criminals who have trespassed on our resources long enough. They should go home and apply all that "initiative" they bring to our country to their own economies. Then they wouldn't be lying and cheating to take advantage of us.
I have no sympathy, poverty is poverty, and we've got one of the highest WORKING poor poverty rates in the country, right here. I remember a recent post where some right wing exploiter of the workers tried to say it had something to do with the students who work here for low wages, and that's bullshit. Nice try, but not true.
We've got to keep this issue from becoming a left and right issue and make it about holding the American employers accountable for the way they treat their workers.
Illegal immigrants are economic fodder for these pigs, that's why the Bushipoos support amnesty, a guest worker program, etc. It's all about the money, stupid!

whew, I feel better now!

aquariusrizing

Anonymous said...

Talk about big corporations' interests, what about outsourcing? Now you can screw the American Worker without ever leaving home.