It's May Day, Do You Know Where Your Country Is?

[digitaldiscipline]

As Charles said, this, in a nutshell, is a fairly good summation of my general thumbs-down to "guest worker amnesty" programs. Yes, there's a problem, and, no, trying to throw eleven million people back over the border is not a viable solution.

[courtesy of gruamach]

Comments

[hellsop.livejournal.com]

As I mentioned elsewhere, every person chanting for an amesty program is demanding to be given for nothing what the parents, grandparents, or great-grandparents worked to earn: legal immigrant status. They spit on our ancestors' integrity.

[etcet.livejournal.com]

*nods*

[ross-winn.livejournal.com]

what people forget is that our grandparents were freely allowed to come here.

[megiddo-lj.livejournal.com]

No, not really. There were quotas on immigration starting around the turn of the last century. So unless your grandparents were really old, they probably had to wait their turn in the quota queue - which was heavily slanted in favor of Western Europe and against Eastern and Southern Europe. Isolationism was rampant as early as WWI.

[ross-winn.livejournal.com]

My family was well established before 1850, but a lot of people weren't. As for quotas, neither the Irish in my family or the Germans were slowed, as for others I have no idea.

[megiddo-lj.livejournal.com]

http://www.ellisislandimmigrants.org/ellis_island_immigrants.htm

Anybody who arrived after 1921 was subject to quotas by country of origin. Prior to that there were more 'select' laws limiting the number of Asians that could immigrate.

[ross-winn.livejournal.com]

makes sense, although IIRC the railroads could bring any number of Chinese into the US without any restrictions.

[mighty-man.livejournal.com]

My grandfather on mom's side was sent to the US as result of Japanese occupation of Singapore. I don't know if that was considered freely.

Dad (along with his brother and sister, but *not* his father) was sent to Pittsburg as part of a POW exchange. I don't know if that was considered freely either.

Nothing is free. And nothing that important should be.

[ross-winn.livejournal.com]

probably not, and I am sorry that happened.

[mighty-man.livejournal.com]

Not only are they asking for legal immigrant status -- they are asking for the right to vote.

you're shitting me.

[etcet.livejournal.com]

there's no fucking way Americans ought to sit still for something like that; there's a process, flawed though it may be, that one goes through to obtain citizenship, and the rights and priviledges therein.

until and unless those conditions are met, you'll get nothing and like it, spaulding.

Re: you're shitting me.

[mighty-man.livejournal.com]

Well, that is really the whole point of getting citizenship, the power to vote and effect (sp?) change.

Think about it...anyone that becomes a citizen gets to vote.

You all of a sudden let 11 million people get votes and you don't think political power isn't seriously going to change? Granted I'm already conservative, but that thought scares the heebejeebies out of me.

Why does this still amaze people?

[kat1031.livejournal.com]

Although, there wasn't an immigration program until fairly recently. My grandmother had to meet certain critera. My great-grandparents just showed up.

I don't know what the answer is. Half the workforce out here is, was, or are related to people who are undoccumented. If the strike has legs here, it could do some serious damage to our economy.

On the other hand, I find it rather disgusting that the administration is only moving to do something to rationalize our immigration policy because corporations have a need for extremely cheap labor to pad their bottom line. From where I sit, cheap labor does not build a stable population base. And the ability for large firms to hire cheap labor, espeically in the agriculture sector, is doing serious damage to family farms.

I resent the racist tone to this debate. To hear people talk, the only illegal immigrants are Mexicans. What about Europeans who overstay their travel or student visas? Aren't they a huge drain on our economy, too?

And it would be swelltastic to see native born Americans willing to engage government in this way. Trying to organize citizens to take part in government, whether it's voting or attending a council meeting, is next to impossible. Hell, if these people are going to continue to be this involved in civic life, let them vote. They, at least, are willing to pay attention and make an effort.

[ross-winn.livejournal.com]

On the other hand, I find it rather disgusting that the administration is only moving to do something to rationalize our immigration policy because corporations have a need for extremely cheap labor to pad their bottom line. From where I sit, cheap labor does not build a stable population base. And the ability for large firms to hire cheap labor, espeically in the agriculture sector, is doing serious damage to family farms.

Absolutely.