posted on November 10, 2003 05:00:06 PM new
Of course not, Helen. But, at the same time allowing illegal immigrants the right to sue for wages due won't stop it either. It really proves the point that America is the land of opportunity and you don't even have to be here legally to enjoy it. It will be interesting to see how many lawsuits by illegal aliens follow this one. The corporations deserve to be punished finacially for this. I don't think that money should go to the illegals. Maybe it's best used to better protect our borders.
A line from my boss (so don't yell at me for it - I don't necessarily agree): We should bring our soldiers home from Iraq. If they still feel the need to take aim and shoot, put them at our borders and let them fire away. Maybe then people will get the message. (Oh brother, and I have to work with this guy day in and day out.)
That is what the influx of illegal aliens into this country is doing to a lot of people's thinking.
posted on November 10, 2003 05:16:30 PM new
12, try pulling your nose out of where it's stuck some time.
CBlev65252,
Idon’t think I had misunderstood you,
But, I was just trying to point out to you that your comment came out as harsh and unsympathetic of struggling people that are only being driven by necessity.
Your observations of Tax obligations make sense to me; How could the employer not have known.
Didn’t Wal-Mart management think anything of the (I’m assuming) high ratio of Mexican contract cleaners.
US Gov. getting ‘heavy handed’ with illegal employers (ie. employers who are illegal) will remove incentive for illegal immigrants.
Hungry people will do almost anything to escape their squalor, what excuse do employer ‘illegals’ have? The employers are the ones creating the opportunity, blame them fro the influx.
posted on November 10, 2003 05:22:55 PM new
Cheryl
Tighter border patrols will probably not slow immigration into the U.S. It simply makes it so expensive to go home that more undocumented immigrants are staying permanently in the U.S. Now, we have a permanent workforce for corporations to exploit.
I certainly don't have an answer. How does Kucinich feel about the problem?
posted on November 10, 2003 06:16:52 PM new"Hungry people will do almost anything to escape their squalor, what excuse do employer ‘illegals’ have? The employers are the ones creating the opportunity, blame them for the influx."
And, there are a few people here ...."unsympathetic of struggling people that are only being driven by necessity".
posted on November 10, 2003 06:40:21 PM new
Helen:
I did read this about Dennis:
Q: Is it realistic to think that, in the environment after 9/11, that we could legalize undocumented immigrants in this country?
KUCINICH: One of the tragedies of 9/11 is that we've forgotten who we are as a nation. In the fear that's covered this country, we've forgotten about the optimism and hope that led so many people to sail under that light of Lady Liberty. Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free.
America must remember where we came from as a nation. And in doing that, we need to extend our arms once again to the world community and bring those, the tempest-tossed, to the US.
Yes, I'm for amnesty. Yes, I'm for legalization of status. Yes, I'm for broadening citizenship possibilities. Yes, I'm for enforcing the Fair Labor Standards Act and making sure that those workers who come from Mexico have all of the protections of federal law and including universal health care.
- - - -
Personally, I agree on most of what he said. I just have a problem when people enter this country with no intention of becoming legalized citizens. When they come here to make money to take home with them how is that bettering our country? I am all for legal immigration. This country was founded on that. Dig far enough back and most of us will find where our family's immigrated from. My family came to this country and worked to become citizens. They did not come here to work and send the money home while spending each day wondering when they would be caught. I have to wonder if the workers in question ever intended to become legal.
posted on November 10, 2003 06:41:34 PM new
So tell me austbounty how many illegals do you know?
Have you even been to a Walmart? Have you even been to the US?
Have you ever done anything worthwhile for Australia? are you so envious of the US that you have this obsession like some little school boy picking on the girl he likes?
It wasn't until 1986 that it became a crime to knowingly hire undocumented workers, but it's difficult to make the charges stick. Ignorance is easy to fake. The case against Wal-Mart appears to be stronger than most because prosecutors say they have wiretap recordings of Wal-Mart officials spilling the beans.
Wal-Mart's new motto could be:
"Always low prices, just not as low as before."
Here, you will find a description of the immigration process. Just based on this article, it seems to be a time consuming and expensive procedure that many people in Mexico cannot afford. This explains why so many poor people are unable to obtain legal documentation. Their only crime is poverty.
Anyone in a Preference Category will have to wait for their green cards, sometimes for years.
First, in most cases you must have a sponsor, usually a relative or U.S. employer who wants to bring you to the United States. You must then convince the U.S. Government that you are eligible under one of the categories available for permanent residence. Then you must apply for an immigrant visa at the embassy or consulate in the country where you live. (If you are already in the United States, you may be allowed to stay there to apply directly for a green card, but it's unlikely.)
Group II: Employment Preference Green Cards
Employment first preference. Priority workers, including the following three groups:
persons of extraordinary ability in the arts, sciences, education, business or athletics
outstanding professors and researchers, and
managers and executives of multinational companies.
Employment second preference. Professionals with advanced degrees or exceptional ability.
Employment third preference. Professionals and skilled or unskilled workers.
Employment fourth preference. Religious workers and various miscellaneous categories of workers and other individuals.
Employment fifth preference. Individual investors willing to invest $1 million in a U.S. business -- or $500,000 in economically depressed areas. The investor must also employ at least ten workers.
3. Ethnic Diversity: Green Card Lotteries
A certain number of green cards are given to people from countries that in recent years have sent the fewest immigrants to the United States. The purpose of this program is to ensure a varied ethnic mix among those who immigrate to America. The method used for distributing these green cards is a random selection by computer, so the program is popularly known as the green card lottery.
4. Special Immigrants
Occasionally, laws are passed making green cards available to people in special situations. The current special immigrant categories are:
religious workers for legitimate religious organizations
foreign medical graduates who have been in the United States since 1978
former employees of the Panama Canal Zone
foreign workers who were formerly longtime employees of the U.S. government
retired officers or employees of certain international organizations who have lived in the United States for a certain time, plus their spouses and unmarried children
foreign workers who have been employees of the U.S. consulate in Hong Kong for at least three years
foreign children who have been declared dependent in juvenile courts in the United States, and
international broadcasting employees.
5. Refuge and Political Asylum
The U.S. government offers refuge to people who fear political, religious or other persecution in their home country. A person still outside the United States would apply to be a refugee; a peson already in the United States would apply for political asylum. The qualifications for refugee status and political asylum are similar. However, if you are only fleeing poverty, you do not qualify in either category.
6. Temporary Protected Status
The INS may decide to give citizens of certain countries temporary safe haven in the United States when conditions in their homeland become dangerous. This is called Temporary Protected Status (TPS). TPS is similar to political asylum except that it is always temporary, and will never alone qualify you for a green card. To find out who is eligible for TPS, visit the INS website at http://www.ins.gov. Click on Immigration Services and Benefits, then on Temporary Protected Status.
7. Amnesty
Congress added an amnesty for Nicaraguan and Cuban nationals in a 1997 bill called the Nicaraguan Adjustment and Central American Relief Act (NACARA). Some provisions also benefit Salvadorans, Guatemalans, and Eastern Europeans. The deadline for filing applications has passed, but check with an immigration attorney to see ifnew opportunities have arisen.
The Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 (IRCA) gave amnesty to aliens who had been living in the United States illegally since January 1, 1982, by making green cards available to them. The deadline for filing applications was May 4, 1988, however, under certain circumstances late applications may still be accepted. If you believe you may be eligible for amnesty, check with an immigration attorney.
8. Special Agricultural Workers
The Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 also contained an amnesty green card opportunity for agricultural laborers who worked in the fields for at least 90 days between May 1, 1985 and May 1, 1986. The filing deadline for these temporary residency applications was November 30, 1988. However, late applications may be accepted under certain circumstances. Check with an immigration attorney if you think you are eligible in this category.
9. Long-Term Residents and Other Special Cases
The law allows certain people who have lived illegally in the United States for more than ten years to obtain permanent legal residence. If you have been in the country illegally for more than ten years, you must show that your spouse or children -- who must be U.S. citizens -- would face "extraordinary and exceptionally unusual hardship" if you were forced to leave the country.
If you believe that you meet this requirement, you should consult a lawyer before going to the INS to make an application. If you don't fall clearly into this category, you may cause your own deportation by making yourself known to the authorities. In fact, this remedy is realistically only available to persons already in immigration court proceedings. The INS has no obligation to act on any other application, and it may sit in their files for years -- or until the law changes against you.
Finally, individual members of Congress have, on occasion, intervened for humanitarian reasons in extraordinary cases, helping an individual obtain permanent residence even if the law would not allow it.
Immigration and Naturalization Service estimates they number 5 million, about 1.9 percent of the total U.S. population.
Seven states are home to 83 percent of the illegal residents in the United States:
California is home to 40 percent of all the illegal immigrants; ( 2,000,000)
Texas, 14.1 percent; (700,000)
New York, where many of America‘s legal immigrants first came to its shores, 10.8 percent; (540,000)
Florida, 7 percent; (350,000)
Illinois, 5.8 percent; (290,000)
New Jersey, 2.7 percent (135,000)
Arizona, 2.3 percent. (115,000)
posted on November 11, 2003 02:36:22 AM newBurglars are not uninvited house guests. Car-jackers not are under-rated drivers. Bank robbers are not making unauthorized withdrawals. Illegal aliens are not undocumented immigrants
That pretty much sums up how most AMERICANS see it...
Thanks for the link Kiara....
AIN'T LIFE GRAND...
[ edited by Twelvepole on Nov 11, 2003 04:45 AM ]
posted on November 11, 2003 05:43:35 AM new
12.
Zero
No
Yes
12, neither have I ever divided 648 apples, equally among 4 people,
but I know they would need to get 162 each.
Haven’t been to the moon either, but I understand it isn’t made of green cheese.
And your final analogy stinks.
I could not imagine the ‘pretty girl’ at school destroying the world as I can imagine your ugly powers that be is capable of.
‘picking on you’? stop your grovelling pleads.
12pole
