Showing 25 comments for
A Moral Question for the GOP

OMG, this is just "gobbly gook". More coulda', shoulda', woulda' stuff. Tell us about the immigration laws, give us the who, what, where, when, how stuff, not these carefully worded messages that make things seem real when they are not.

Moreover, why are so many "illegals" sapping us economically. Are they really not the majority who take welfare payments, get tax return money, collect unemployment insurance?

The great exoduses to USA happened because of famine, political issues, war, or wanting to be free. That's why most of us are here. For the most part, these immigrants didn't come to commit terroristic acts, ask for rent payments, food stamps, tax credits, etc. They just wanted to be "Americans". Am I wrong in my perception? Have I been living the big lie?

Call me irresponsible Linda, but round up the 11 million illegals, that are here, and gracefully deport them, through ICE. UNCLE SAM-DO YOUR JOB!!! Secondly, in regard to bad laws---REPEAL 'EM!!!

I agree with Linda on some points about what the President has done with unilateral decision. I believe that the age shouldn't be 16 but 10, and that is about where my problems with stop.

@Truth - I think I am in the same boat as you about the whole immigration thing.

@Tod - You say to round them up and deport them all, but I want to know if you or anyone you know is willing to go work at the hotels they work at and clean up after people stay there? Who is going to help dig the ditches and lay the concrete in the these hot a$$ summers we have been having for barely better than minimum wage? They do a majority of the work no one else is wanting/willing to do. That is one problem other problem with our country. We Americans have forgotten what that type of work is because we by and large believe it to be beneath us. I have heard your comments before, but when I ask if they are willing to do the above jobs, the answer is a texas sized hell no. So, tell me Tod, who will do those jobs if you round them up and send them back? We in Texas won't have to worry to much, they will be back in the morning.

@Bill in Texas, I'll tell you who would do those jobs. The ones who are perfectly able to work who are now on welfare and unemployment. faced with starving or working I think most of these deadbeats would work. I am in my mid sixties and have not been without a job since I was twelve. I could have a job in fifteen minutes if I got fired today, mainly because I am not above working to support myself no matter what the job is. We need to cut a lot of these leaches off the welfare rolls and let them sink or swim.

We have laws that must be enforced, if you don't like them then vote for representatives that will seek to represent your views. If this was a scheme to register and find these law violators, then I would be for it. All this does is send a message that we are not a nation of laws, and the dictator Obamao rules at will, and picks and chooses what laws to follow. That might be ok in Chicago, but nationally we must have laws that are enforced, and illegal imigation is against the law, not to be rewarded with amnesty or anything but deportation. If you want to come to America, do it legally, or face the consequences.

Linda - you're conveniently not citing the chief objection: This policy effectively gives these illegals priority status over those who've obeyed our laws and are trying to apply honestly.

Some of these applicants have been waiting for years. Many also have families here. Many have desirable skills & credentials. And--if nothing else--all are at least demonstrating some character and respect for the US by trying to immigrate in accordance with our laws.

If we're going to wring our hands over the plight of those who want to join the US--why not do so over the ones doing it right?

What utter liberal feely-feely bullsh*t! MB in GA is right. What about the thousands who have waited, many for years, to come to this country legally? Why has the punk president done nothing about these people? Because he already has their votes, that's why. Now, we've put over a million more people on our welfare and handout rolls. Who's going to pay for that, Linda? We are, you nitwit. We do need some kind of resolution to this problem, but this isn't it. This criminal president has stolen the powers of Congress right out from under them, and there's hardly a squeak. What a pathetic story this is, but not for the reasons you state, Linda. Bill in Texas is right about one thing: send them home and they'll be back tomorrow. I see it all the time. But giving illegals (that's right, Linda, illegals) a free ride is not the way to go.

Judging by Linda's surname I guess we can't expect her to be unbiased on this subject now can we?

Because it is a slap in the face to ALL our ancestors that came into this Country legally because they not only wanted to better themselves, they also wanted to become an American so their children would have chances in life they would not have if they stayed in their Country of birth. Through hard work and determination those emigrants assimilated into American society bringing with them the best of their cultures and melting it with the American culture. That is how great societies perpetuate themselves, not by perpetuating the current vision of diversity.

Whether the policy is wise or not is beside the question. The Constitution describes the process of how laws are made and the relative roles of the branches of government. Congress makes the laws, and the Executive branch enforces them. The President does not have the power to amend the law by enforcing only that part with which he agrees, nor does he have the power to decide a law is foolish and make his own. That is simple civics. One can agree with the substance of what the President wants to do, but the solution is to get the law legally changed, not illegally change it. Conservatives stand up for and respect the law and the Constitution, and picking and choosing when you do is hypocritical and just wrong.

What is the difference between legal and illegal? One means to be within the law and the other is to be outside the law. Illegal immigrants are breaking the law and should be dealt with according to said law. As has already been said, if enough people don't like a law they can go through the process of having it changed or "fixed" if you will. Until then, the act of illegal(unlawful, outside the law)immigration is a crime without exception. And it must be dealt with accordingly.

More nonsense from Linda. Same-old, Same-old. Let's analyze her points.

1 - "But for most of our history as a nation, we have not barred entry to the U.S. or restricted residency to anyone except those who posed a health, security or criminal risk." Utter nonsense: the U.S. declines FAR more applications for green cards than it accepts every year. If you apply for a residency permit and you are denied (as most are in a given year) you HAVE been barred. But Linda is playing bait-and-switch: although we don't normally deny ENTRY except for the reasons she cited, we DO deny permanent residency without a lengthy legal and administrative process, which is what this is about.

2 - "But sometimes in a democracy, the elected representatives enact bad laws, and the question is what to do about it." Part of her argument here is valid, but permitting the president to simply contravene the law by Executive Order is a far cry from either "Democracy" or the Rule of Law. He's a PRESIDENT, not a king.

3 - "The Dream Act, which was at one time a bi-partisan effort, would have granted these young people legal status..." So what? Did Congress pass it or reject it? If the President now has the authority to issue an Executive Order that creates a law out of any failed bill that had both Democrat and Republican supporters, then we will have completed the creation of a monarchy.

4 - "Conservatives often invoke the principle that no one should be held accountable for wrongdoing that occurred in the past and in which the person in question played no role." But they DID play a role... for years... as adults. As Linda herself wrote earlier in the same article, "Applicants must be 30 years old or under; have come here before the age of 16 and resided continuously for the previous five years." We're not talking about small children being taken to the U.S. and being allowed to stay; this act ONLY applies to people who lived here illegally for at least five years as adults.

This problem has been with us for years. Why at this particular season did the president decide to do something? Pure politics. If he was serious he would have written good legislation and found universal support.

While a agree that persons who played no part in the wrongdoing should not be held accountable for it, I am heartily offended when these people wave flags other than ours. Why should I want them here, have my taxes go to them, when they spit in my face? No. Prove your allegiance first if you want to be here.

Linda is anything but a conservative, especially on issues regarding MEXICAN illegals. She has the same old twists every time she writes about this issue.

She is wrong on a number of points, the first being her use of "democracy" as a descriptor of the U.S. This is theft of language and the eventual erosion of all right thinking. It is PC groupspeak. Don't fall for it.

Billy in Ohio is right. If you saw the construction crews in AZ you'd see that he is speaking the truth. My youngest can't get in on those crews and learn a trade even though his Dad is in the construction industry! He also can't get an hourly kitchen job but instead must "settle" for the wages of $4.30 an hour plus tip sharing as a server which barely meets minimum wage because he is white and speaks perfect English-- just what restaurants want in the public eye.

The president's power is limited even more than those enumerated which belong to CONgress. He is to be the chief law enforcement officer; he does get to pick and choose which laws he will or will not enforce. His end run around our legislators is unconstitutional at best and treasonous at worst.

I'll give you a 'maybe' on "we should enact changes to our current immigration laws that would make it easier for people to come here legally", BUT, until we do, we need to abide by it and enforce it. Maybe it's just me, but I think if a law isn't being enforced, then the enforcers are breaking the law too. Not that it's worth a hill of beans, but these people swore an oath to uphold our laws, and that means ALL of them, not just the ones they want to.

Nobody wants to appear heartless by sending them all home, but if they followed the law, that is exactly what they would do. Send them home! This is not their home, and those are not their jobs!! Make them do it legally! You think any other country in the world would tolerate you being there illegally??? I didn't think so.

“What the federal program does do is to make a decision not to divert limited immigration enforcement resources . . . Moreover, the decision to initiate deportation proceedings has always been exercised by the executive branch, just as the decision of whom to prosecute falls to prosecutors, not those who write the laws.” Ms. Chavez argues that this policy saves limited resources and is analogous to prosecutorial discretion. But like all federal programs this one doesn’t spend less money, it spends more. A lot more. They aren’t simply choosing not to pursue deportation proceedings when they come across illegal immigrants that meet these criteria. They are asking all these folks to identify themselves and sign up for legal status and authorization to work (temporarily?). Thousands of new government workers will be hired to administrate this program.

What I don't understand about liberals is they find nothing wrong with illegal aliens being in this countrry. They crossed the border illegally thus violating the law of a sovereign nation. Try crossing into any other country without proper documentation and see what happens if you are caught. We have become so politically correct in this country that calling an illegal alien illegal is in some people's eyes a hate crime. They are not immigrants and never have been.

The biggest thing left unsaid about the illegal trespassing is about culture, the Mexican culture of corruption. Illegals are not bent on assimilating as many before them did. They wish to live as they did in Mexico albeit in a cleaner and safer country with much more opportunity. However, they are unwilling and/or unable to understand that OPEN corruption is not the general rule as it is in their home country. With this mindset comes barrios born of criminals, ignorance, and fear. Even those few who wish to assimilate cannot escape the imported Mexican culture. THAT is where the biggest problem lies. Of course, the liberals don't mind as they have more people on the federal plantation who can also fraudulently vote and/or raise hell about their "rights". If the bleeding hearts and sympathizers really gave a damn, they would create a true guest worker program with stringent requirements regarding residency so they weren't perpetuating and even further contributing to the problems of the honest, hard working, and law abiding. The attitude of the author is nothing but empty platitudes... "just let them stay and...."

Late to the party, as always, but NO, NO, NO! to making legal that which isn't . As an immigrant (legal) from 22 years ago, I want to respond to the person who was wondering about the legal immigrant's feelings on this: we are mad! we had to jump through all kinds of hoops, had interview after interview, were vetted more than the President, and it took a long time. We came here as political refugees (from a socialist country) and we did our very best to integrate, learn the language, become Americans, just like the immigrants of old. These illegals have no respect for this country, for the Amrican culture, they don't want integration, they want to plunder it, and thta is what they're doing. This is invasion and plunder aided and abetted by our government. Treason. They should all be in prison for this, not leading us....over the cliff.

Why aren't the blacks steamed up about this issue with their very high rates of unemployment? Why are Latinos so favored a bunch of line-jumpers? They seem to do a lot of illegal things as they live among us -- don't seem to carry property car insurance, driver's licenses, put out-of-state plates on their cars, to avoid paying higher NYS rates, the men are on a grope and sex attack festival usually against gringo women, the women go from man to man without marriage but producing children with each, and all of them have different names, so God bless figuring out who's who and how long any of them have been here and since what age. An invasion indeed, and deliberately helped by those at all levels of OUR government which now can claim to be as corrupt as Mexico's and Central and South American governments. There must be a lot of money in the illegal immigration-drugs-gun trade and NAFTA perhaps makes it all that much more nifty and nimble. That's why none of those big issues between our us and our "neighbors" ever seems to get fixed.