Originally posted by Swazo: One more note as to why I don't support illegal immigrants. They are forced to live amongst their own society of other illegal immigrants, which effectively recreates the craptastic society they're trying to flee. So we all are forced to have to deal with that aspect when the population grows.
One can retain their heritage and become an American. My family has, and we're 3rd generation American on my maternal side.
1. plenty of craptastic housing in the Ozarks, Oakland and the poor parts of the south. you dont have to be illegal to live in the ghetto. most arent trying to "flee" mexico but come here for the work. there isnt much money to be made in mexico legally (ie without being a narco). why do you think so many leave their families and send money back home? most cant wait to get back home. all of mexico is not exactly like what is shown in the movies and in TJ. I know an LAUSD state credentialed teacher who is an illegal alien. her parents moved here to find work. she went to school, then college and is now a teacher (phony papers i guess). anyway, her grandparents own a huge ranch in a small town about two hours outside of Guadalahara, iirc, with many horses on it. she is working to become a legal citizen but actually would like to move back there to live on her grandparents' ranch. she's a horse nut. just an example that shows that not all are fleeing 3rd world conditions with militamen firing guns in the air and kicking over shantys.
2. what would you do if you found out that one of your great-grandparents used forged papers to enter the US? would you turn them in? would you consider them a despicable criminal? or would you just "grandfather" yourself in, so to speak. just a hypothetical situation for you. i ask this because this has happened many times before.
3. ps im 3rd generation too. my grandparents on my father's side came from who knows where? back when nobody gave a sh*t about any borders and people went back and forth between Texas and Mexico all the time. Employers were desperate for people to work for them back and didnt care who or what came to work for them. i honestly dont know if my grandmother or grandfather were born in texas or in mexico. mexico i think. i know they did some farm and industrial labor work when they were young. a few years later my grandfather moved the clan to Los Angeles when he was hired to work at Lockheed in Burbank who was hiring people like crazy! he worked in the skunkworks division and had top secret clearance. so maybe he was a citizen? i dunno...but the govt sure didnt think he was a threat to national security. him his brother in law who told him about the job or my father or two uncles and an aunt who also worked there. my father, who came from parents of "questionable" backgrounds was a staff sgt in the army (E8) during Vietnam and worked in nuclear weapons for God's sake. he was in charge of the guys who broke open the top secret cards that would give the orders to launch the weapon (in West Germany). i guess they didnt see him as a threat to national security. he too worked in the SR71 plant in Burbank during the early 80s when it supposedly didnt exist and the f117.
1. I know Mexico is far from being like TJ, thankfully. The US has tons of ghettos, I know, I grew up in Utah's and California's. I have seen how illegal immigrants are 'forced' to operate within their own society that they have created for themselves. Wether it be avoiding banks and having to deal with loan sharks to getting robbed by other illegal immigrants because they know they won't go to the police. It's not only bad for Americans to have illegal immigrants conducting their own society within ours, but it's also bad for them.
2. I'm Scottish/Irish, so that's a bad question to ask. If the price was right....
3. Exceptions to the rule, which are numerous I'll admit. They obviously did/do contribute to American society and it sounds like they have intigrated well. I have not one problem with immigrants like that, as my family reflects those ideals as well. It's the vast majority of illegal immigrants that do not that I do have issues with.
Bottom line IMO, we need reform of our immigration laws (overall, not only for Mexicans) and we need to secure our borders. Only good can come from it.
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just an example that shows that not all are fleeing 3rd world conditions with militamen firing guns in the air and kicking over shantys.
just a hypothetical situation for you. 
my father, who came from parents of "questionable" backgrounds was a staff sgt in the army (E8) during Vietnam and worked in nuclear weapons for God's sake. he was in charge of the guys who broke open the top secret cards that would give the orders to launch the weapon (in West Germany). i guess they didnt see him as a threat to national security. 
he too worked in the SR71 plant in Burbank during the early 80s when it supposedly didnt exist and the f117. 
