| REVIEWER | RATING & REVIEW |
 | lmorovan (16)
04/25/2008 | Of course we can. But there is no political will to do so. Senators and congressmen will make the same money, have the same benefits, enjoy the best in life with or without illegal immigration. Why should they bother to do anything about it? It's more work for te same pay. Perhaps some anoying aggravations. Nah, not worth it. Let local authorities deal with the problem,
(2 voted this helpful, 1 funny and 0 agree) |
 | minkey (40)
10/16/2006 |  This was a topic of the CT senate debate this evening. Lieberman's (independant) take was that we can't do anything about the illegal's already in the country. We should try to make them legal so that they can be productive, taxpaying citizens, and focus on border control to help stop the bleeding. Lamont (democrat) had a similar stance - if we put up 50 foot walls they will climb 51 feet to get over here in hopes that they live a better life for they're family - he said, how can you blame them? He wants to focus on the employers, the real problem, and if we stop them then illegals will not have employment and will no longer have a desire to immegrate. Schlesinger (repulican) said that both have ludicrous statements, that there are plenty who are trying to make it happen for their family the Legal way and they are the ones who we should assist. He insists that we must make every effort to increase border patrol and crack down in a harsh way on both offending parties; illegal immigrants and their employers. He certainly hit that nail but he failed to offer any valid suggestions on how to do so. This crackdown will certainly take a great amount of manpower and a great amount of money, and some creativity on the government's part.
(4 voted this helpful, 0 funny and 0 agree) |
 | VirileVagabond (37)
10/16/2006 | As most (or perhaps all) of the prior comments have noted, this fatalist argument is yet more nonsense. To paraphrase the Dr's prior analysis, at present the U.S. simply lacks the will not the means to stop the vast majority of illegal immigration at the Mexican border (the Canadian border being a much different proposition, but less of an immediate threat). As I see it, what is driving the current mixed positions are the conflicting public policies and the political pressures at play, namely the need of business for efficiently priced low-skilled labor and the politicians' need for points for keeping wages artificially high. In my opinion that's the reason why we get bluster from Washington yet inaction at the border, as there is no truly efficient solution until citizens both accept wages based on economic reality and demand more enforcement at the borders. Only demanding one will not work in the longer-term.
(3 voted this helpful, 0 funny and 0 agree) |
 | abichara (63)
10/06/2006 | Certainly we can reduce the tide of illegal immigration coming into this country. But first we have to understand what the motivating factor behind this is. In other words, why are so many people coming to this country, illegally if need be? We all know that there are plenty more economic opportunities here than in their home countries. Likewise, thats where the solution can be found, as Dr. Entropy points out. Why can't we help lift up Latin American economies? Certainly the cost of foreign aid will be relatively smaller than that of providing social services for millions of people getting through the border, not to mention the extra security that protecting the border requires. I would advocate a new form of the "Good Neighbor" policy that ties foreign aid to investment in human capital and genuine economic advancement. That investment will be good not only for those countries, but also ours, as we save the cost of providing for more immigrants, while cultivating new trading partners. In my view, it can be a win-win situation, but itll require bold leadership on all sides...
(2 voted this helpful, 0 funny and 0 agree) |
 | DrEntropy (40)
10/06/2006 | America can certainly control its borders. The question is whether it wants to (in the case of our Senators and elite journalists, the answer is mostly no). The argument of fatalism 'there's nothing we can do...' is just a rhetorical strategy used to deflect criticism. Update:
A combination of strict border control with sanctions against employers would probably succeed in reducing illegal immigration to managable levels. While expensive programs of economic uplift in Mexico and elsewhere in Latin America might end up simply wasted or embezzeled, increasing foreign aid and tying it directly to reducing emmigration (rather than the never-ending 'drug war') would give the ruling elites a strong incentive to improve the condition of their population, rather then using emmigration to the US as a 'safety value' for their surplus labor.
(4 voted this helpful, 0 funny and 0 agree) |
 | magellan (174)
05/03/2006 | This is the one that really baffles me.
I understand why immigrants come here. In economics terms, they are acting "rationally" - coming to a place where they can make more money, and find more hours of work.
What I don't understand is why our government has chosen not to enforce the existing immigration laws. It's an utter failure of Homeland Security / Immigration, and there really shouldn't be any excuses.
If I knew that I wouldn't get a ticket, I probably wouldn't be that worried about driving over 55 on the highway. Especially if by doing so, I could bring my family out of poverty.
(10 voted this helpful, 0 funny and 0 agree) |
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