I am the child and grandchild of immigrants to this country. America has always been a refuge for immigrants from all places throughout our history. I am all in favor of immigrant’s rights. But I am not in favor of rights for illegal immigrants. Illegals are violating the laws of this country and should be deported. That won’t happen of course as America has waited too long to deal with this problem and now faces a movement that will cow our ineffectual leaders with protests and marches.

Legislation to stiffen penalties against illegals and those who hire them and those who abet them is a fair way to deal with the problem. Continuing to let the problem fester only creates a near slave-class that takes jobs away from the lowest skilled American workers since the majority of illegals have few job skills.

The argument that America would starve without illegal workers to do the work is a facetious one. Once illegals were replaced by American citizens or documented workers there would be a period of adjustment as wages and prices rose but these would soon find an acceptable level as markets adjusted.

The fact that supporters of illegal immigrants frame their position as “immigrant rights” speaks to the lack of intellectual honesty on their part. I too am all for immigrant rights, but only for those who immigrate to this country legally.

Good Friday to you!

Karol,

Thank you for your thoughtful writing. We are all children of immigrants one way or another.

As I pause to mark Good Friday, I also think of my Grandmother, Lillian, who was not allowed to go to school in Greece, as a peasant girl, so she was a shepard, tending the flock for days at a time, alone in the hills, at the age of 10, circa 1902 or so.

Lillian came to America a few years later for a better life. She believed in being a peaceful person who shared everything she had with others. Not a selfish bone in her body. Walked a mile to the local polling booth, on election day, well into her 80's. Never missed one election. Not one.

I think of her, and my hard-working parents, every day. And to honor my Yia-Yia (Greek for grandmother) I have a picture of her village hanging proudly in my classroom.

Somewhere along the road, I believe my conservative, Republican siblings have lost Lillian's message of love, peace and sharing, but I know the rest of us will keep it going until we pass from this Earth.

I too have an immigrant father. He came here legally, was processed through Battery Park (Ellis Island had moved it 2 years before). He learned the language (English), got more education (a PhD), and went through the long process towards citizenship. After he became a US Citizen, he took the whole family back to his homeland, so that we all could see from where he came. His father earned a living cutting grass with a cycle out in the fields, and yet he became a world famous University Professor. He was proud to be an American. He was also very proud of his homeland, and was buried there when he died. He was a true immigrant. There was nothing illegal about him or his actions.

Talk to legal immigrants, they are the ones who seem the most upset at the current situation.

Why is that Liberals or Progressives have to qualify their comments, such as: "My question for those who seem to think we should allow people to come illegally, why should some people be required to follow the law and others not.

I'm a Democrat and pride myself on being pretty liberal, so this isn't a problem of me being close minded. It's a matter of fairness and following the law. There is no excuse."

Why does David feel the need to add that first sentence of the 2nd graph about close minded?

Also, on NPR today, I heard a program about Liberals/Progressives who have religous beliefs (Christian, Jewish, Isamic, etc) and they feel the need to phrase it as being "Spiritual" rather than having "Faith" or being "Religous". Why is that? Can't there be liberal Jews? liberal Catholics? Or do they feel the need to create a new label (Spiritual), kinda like the new and improved "Progressive" instead of the old "Liberal"?

Kinda funny, no?

People. Listen to yourselves. Yes, they are illegal. What this administration is doing is wanting to punish people ex post facto. Criminalize their existence -- and spend vast resources to enforce this new get-tough policy. At least as far as I can tell from the coverage of the bills (but I did miss any mention of the costs of enforcement and where THAT money might come from).

But it is still currently an illegal status. Congress can just as easily change the law in the other direction. Set some conditions and legalize those who pass the conditions with a stroke of the pen. Stabilize the oh-so-many who have become stable members of our community, enriching the lives of those of us who have gained from their presence.

There is a reason America is attractive. Those who come legally or illegally want to come and be a part of what was once the greatest democratic hope for the world.

For those who simply suggest deport them, our economy will be fine, blah blah blah, please cite to some reliable statistical data that suggests so and accounts for the costs of rounding up, conducting hearings and ultimately transporting them to the border and also includes the costs of broken families, shuttered businesses and rotting produce.

Please. I'm willing to consider hard evidence - fantasy or wishful thinking is decidely unpersuasive.

Look at it this way: bis business is hooked, like a filthy drug habit, on cheap labor, aka illegals.

They really WANT to clean up their disgusting, unpatriotic habit, but they love the BIG FAT MONEY too much.

So, they act shocked, shocked at all the people who hire illegals -- themselves!

If the USA wants to fix the illegal immigration problem, tell Big Bidness to stop hiring them.

End of illegal migration tomorrow. And prices for lettuce double tomorrow afternoon.