News coverage re: immigration bothering you too?

[sachinky 464]

In some cases, I believe 46 out of 50 states, a valid DL is only issued with proof of legal status. So apart from those four states, if you have have a VALID (unexpired) D/L, that is all the proof you need. D/Ls are issued for a specific period of time, they expire simultaneously when your status (student, tourist, conditional resident) expires. For USCs, I assume, the D/Ls are issued for longer periods of time (my USC husband's is about 8 years, I think).

[SpiritAlight 1]

Oh, good, another one of the 'let's hold hands and sing Kumbaya' good folks.

Try taking a trip into North Korea from the South Korean border. Or crossing into Pakistan from India. And then come back and tell us how your experience was. I'd also be interested to know if anyone bought your 'we're all children of this earth, like animals we can roam anywhere we feel like. I have a divine and inherent right to be here' schtick.

"Schtick"?!

Do you need a hug?

So we have a difference of opinion.

So what.

If I wish borders didn't exist that is my prerogative.

Remember: divide and conquer.

Not my thing.

I'm into community, compassion and acceptance of differences.

[Kimbear 53]

i'll just post this story from here in chicago, that made me upset. The poor guy provided proof that was on him!!! Green card or not, nothing will help if the person in charge just does not believe you.

original link: http://www.huffingto...u_n_588788.html

and i'll just quote a paragraph here for emphasis:

Eduardo Caraballo, a U.S. citizen born in the United States, was detained for over three days on suspicion of being an illegal immigrant.

Despite presenting identifying documents and even his birth certificate, Caraballo was held by federal immigration authorities over the weekend and threatened with deportation, according to an NBC Chicago report. He was only released when his congressman, Luis Gutierrez -- a vocal supporter of immigration reform -- intervened on his behalf.

NBC reports that he was arrested in connection with a stolen car in Berwyn. Caraballo maintains his innocence. In any case, when his mother posted bail on Friday, he was not freed.

"Instead of being released, he was told by authorities that Immigration and Customs Enforcement was detaining him because he was an illegal immigrant," NBC reports.

Caraballo spent the weekend in the custody of federal immigration agents. When he presented them with ID and his birth certificate, he says officials were skeptical: "Because of the way I look, I have Mexican features, they pretty much assumed that my papers were fake."

Edited August 6, 2010 by Kimbear

[Nina~ 431]

I am curious to hear the voice of legal Mexican immigrants - what is their position and attitude towards the illegals? This is the group of people who all the anger should be directed towards.

My husband is a legal USC of Mexican decent. His great grandparents were migrant farmworkers and they happened to be working in a farm on the US side of the border when his great grandmother went into labor. Although my husband disapproved of illegal immigrants, he was complacent about it and never really had a strong opinion until one day he was pulled over by a cop for having a nice car.

We were driving though a small town Texas when we got pulled over and my husband was asked to step outside and I was asked to sit inside. We both were then grilled separately with weird questions to see if our story adds up. We were asked questions like: Where do you guys live? Why are you driving through this town? Is this really your car? What do you do for a living? He didn't seem to believe us when we told him that we both were engineers. The officer then decided to check our VIN numbers on the door and the dash board with our insurance papers to see if had tampered with them. After running a background check on us, we were finally let go with a citation for speeding although we driving within the posted speed limit.It was pretty humiliating to be treated like criminals even though my husband & I would never dream of breaking the law.

There are also plenty of Caucasian-looking Mexicans. My husband has cousins who are blond haired, blue eyed and could easily pass for Scandinavians. So yeah, it would bother him a lot to be asked for id or to be pulled over just because he is brown. If they want to ask for id, they should ask everyone no matter what they look like.

[ashenflowers 5]

Ya know how when you give blood, or vote, or things like that you get a sticker? I think everyone who gets a green card/citizenship should get a bumper sticker to put on their car to flaunt their status, then they wouldn't have to prove it when they're pulled over. lol

(only slightly sarcastic)

Also, I agree with the previous statements that employers should be more punished more for hiring illegals. I can't remember how many different people told me I should find a job that paid cash under the table when we were so financially burdened while I waited for EAD (since my husband had also lost his job and neither of us was working for over 5 months). Umm... no? I was here legally, but could not yet work legally... so I didn't want to a) contribute to the illegal workers problem or b) run the risk of being caught and jeopardizing everything. To me it was immoral AND illegal, and it really bothered me that SEVERAL people on both sides of the border told me I should just do it anyway.

[Tater&Bugger 3]

Good ole CNN. I try and stay away, it's so absurd. When it comes to the authorities checking what they believe may be an 'illegal' resident then I am on the side of the authorities. I believe in no way can they just ask any person who looks or sounds like they are from another country to prove they have rights, I'm completely against racism. I do however believe that IF authorities have valid reason to believe someone is living in a country illegally they have the right to verify that. It's called illegal for a reason. Just like stealing is illegal, drugs are illegal, abuse is illegal. I feel sorry for those who live in countries where they have no opportunities to be successful or happy in their lives, I really do. I wish there was a way the world can all work together and make it a big happy place (in their own definition of happy) but that's just not possible. It's such a tough and controversial issue and I don't think there is a definite line of right or wrong. All the authorities can do is thin out those here illegally and are abusing the system and poorly affecting society. All we can do is make sure we do things right, encourage others to do so, and make sure we too do our best for society.

[Rob and Jill 82]

I absolutely do not have the "no borders" mentality. I have the FOLLOW THE LAW mentality. If someone wants to move here legally, and they do it legally, and walk the steps LEGALLY like most of us here are doing, then I am ALL FOR people living transcontinental lives.

However, I am not for ANY race of people moving into the USA illegally according to the current laws of the US. I am not for my tax money going to shovel free cheese into the mouths of those who work for a pittance illegally, or do not work at all. I am NOT for those people potentially getting benefits from the states that LEGAL citizens don't get. Last, but not least, I am 100% completely against criminals crossing our borders from ANY location unchecked, unscathed, and unrestricted.

Immigration laws are not in place to keep people from living the lives they want to live. They are in place to PROTECT ALL aspects of our country.

Furthermore, I am tired and frustrated with people saying this is all about Mexico. It's NOT all about Mexico. I think if you went to varying parts of the country you would find that those places all have different types of immigration issues. People here are acting like the immigration laws are going to cause people to be treated like the Irish who immigrated here in the 1900's. So pay attention:

PEOPLE ARE ONLY GOING TO BE ASKED TO PROVE THEIR STATUS IF THE HAVE ALREADY BROKEN A LAW.

THIS IS NO DIFFERENT THAN A POLICE OFFICER ASKING FOR YOUR ID IF HE PULLS YOU OVER CURRENTLY.

To answer the questions about what a police officer can see when they pull you over:

Your Name

Address

Make/model of your car

Any previous criminal activity related to the person who REGISTERED the car.

This information comes off of the license plate on the car. Any other personal information about you, comes from your drivers license.

[jken 2]

Now this is interesting, I totally agree, it becomes so frustrating for us doing the process the legal and appropiae way- hats off to us. I am also with Arizona, and i am not even in the us yet and obviously not a citizen. We both get fed up with the news about all the illegals..whats most upsetting is that nothing is being done. How quickly people forget...911...i would think they would tighten all borders? They talk about them having rights...what rights do they have if they are not us citizens? I could go on and on...but its too early in the morning for ranting.! Has President Obama even produced an birth certificate yet? Is he in the US legally? hmmmm

[Missa 0]

Frankly for us, immigration DID break our banks, and I am sick of people back home wondering WHY we spent so much money on it, and WHY it took so long to get everything processed, and WHY we didn't just move and marry like most apparently think we can. What bothers me is that people don't understand the legal process, and think that you CAN just move over here and stay and it's legal. It's NOT. And I also hate that there's this underlying assumption that just because you're an immigrant then you must be here illegally. That's not the case either.

^

exactly what i went through, exactly how i feel.

thanks ashen

[SupportGeek 21]

They talk about them having rights...what rights do they have if they are not us citizens?

Basic human rights, thats about it IMO, and if they are criminals in the USA, or their own countries, they should have THOSE rights forfeited as well.

I could go on and on...but its too early in the morning for ranting.! Has President Obama even produced an birth certificate yet? Is he in the US legally? hmmmm

Are you effing serious?

Do you have zero concept of the background checks a presidential candidate has to go through or something? Obviously birthplace being one of the most important checks, since its about the ONLY political position where you MUST be a naturally born USC in order to hold it.

The department of records in Hawaii has actually had to start denying public requests for copies of proof of his birthplace/cetificate, because they are being flooded by the other idiot "birthers" who question where he was born, all because they disagree with the fact he was legally elected. Its extremist nuttery.

Illegals, Id like to say that they dont affect me, but really, they do, the visa process is long, needlessly expensive, and fraught with errors and problems because of them primarily.

I strongly feel that if they want to be in the US, they too should have to go through the legal process and immigrate, to me, its no better than cutting in line because you dont want to wait your turn.

If the authorities were to ask me during a traffic stop or whatever for proof that Im here legally, I have no problems at all with proving it, my rights arent being infringed, its a red herring to complain that it is.

[Udella&Wiz 325]

Has President Obama even produced an birth certificate yet? Is he in the US legally? hmmmm

I believe he has - from Hawaii which is a US state and was one when he was born. He was born here. However it is human nature to disbelieve facts when they cannot find something they can identify with which reminds them of themselves. It's funny how hard it is for some Americans to believe that there could be a racially-mixed man whose middle name is Hussein who could be 'one of them'. With a penchant for conspiracy theories running rampant as always, it isn't surprising...but I have no intention of letting the doubters ruin my enjoyment of the fact that America (at least some of it) can be forward thinking enough to embrace a President who represents the cultural diversity which can occur in the United States. It's about time - what's next - a woman? Oh horrors.

Supportgeek has provided lots of facts.....but there will always be those who can't fathom that a black man is President of the USA... I feel sorry for them, because they try and make excuses like he wasn't really born here to cover up what they are not comfortable with. How sad.

Don't get too defensive though - you chose to bring it up.

[Galateia 1]

Illegals, Id like to say that they dont affect me, but really, they do, the visa process is long, needlessly expensive, and fraught with errors and problems because of them primarily.

I strongly feel that if they want to be in the US, they too should have to go through the legal process and immigrate, to me, its no better than cutting in line because you dont want to wait your turn.

If the authorities were to ask me during a traffic stop or whatever for proof that Im here legally, I have no problems at all with proving it, my rights arent being infringed, its a red herring to complain that it is.

This boils my blood ALL THE TIME. Oh noes, they might ask people for the proof of ID that the USCIS says I am LEGALLY REQUIRED TO HAVE ON ME AT ALL TIMES for the sake of proof of status!

My whitey-white self got pulled into secondary processing at the airport because my greencard expires later this year. Woop dee doodley doo. I was calm and confident, it was fast, and when all was done, the woman complimented me on my nail polish and sent me on my way.

This BS about how people are going to be racially profiled (clearly I was racially profiled at the airport for being a non-US citizen ) is totally ignoring the fact that you have to BREAK THE LAW FIRST. Sorry, but if I am speeding and get caught, the cop is well within reason to ask me for ID, and since I'm REQUIRED to have my greencard with me at all times ANYWAY, I certainly can supply him with my 'papers'.

I used to be a lot more sympathetic to illegal immigration before I had to go through legal immigration. It was such hell that I'd like to chase down and shoot all those people who tried to weasel out of going through it and thus made it harder for me.

[Duders 0]

This boils my blood ALL THE TIME. Oh noes, they might ask people for the proof of ID that the USCIS says I am LEGALLY REQUIRED TO HAVE ON ME AT ALL TIMES for the sake of proof of status!

My whitey-white self got pulled into secondary processing at the airport because my greencard expires later this year. Woop dee doodley doo. I was calm and confident, it was fast, and when all was done, the woman complimented me on my nail polish and sent me on my way.

This BS about how people are going to be racially profiled (clearly I was racially profiled at the airport for being a non-US citizen ) is totally ignoring the fact that you have to BREAK THE LAW FIRST. Sorry, but if I am speeding and get caught, the cop is well within reason to ask me for ID, and since I'm REQUIRED to have my greencard with me at all times ANYWAY, I certainly can supply him with my 'papers'.

I used to be a lot more sympathetic to illegal immigration before I had to go through legal immigration. It was such hell that I'd like to chase down and shoot all those people who tried to weasel out of going through it and thus made it harder for me.

I LIKE the way you think.

[Pauley 2]

I LIKE the way you think.

Ditto. *high-fives*