Do our lives reflect our traditional beliefs on immigration issues?

An illegal immigrant is a criminal. Notice the word illegal. The writers feelings or my own do not change this. I wish he would have referred to the CCC # 2241 since most in the area know the writers occupation. " Immigrants are obliged to respect with gratitude the material and spiritual heritage of the country that receives them, TO OBEY ITS LAWS, and to assist in carrying civic burdens." The caps are mine since that is usually the #1 argument. Until the last few years most people did not care if a person crossed the border to do a job most Americans refused to do. The increase in crime, goverment spending, and their failure to assimilate has changed many minds. In our ethnic parishes the people would do the dance, sing the songs, and eat the food. For most it ended there. We do not see that with our immigrants from the south. There is a difference in keeping your heritage as most immigrants have done over the past generations and in the forced changes occuring today. I have never heard "press 1 for Croatian", I have never seen a government notice printed in Italian. I do not think the writer understands the anger and frustration of the people of this country.

Jeratboy is correct. There is a mind-set that the US stole Texas, New Mexico, Arizona and California from Mexico. Do they admit they "stole" New Spain from the native people? Did the Conquistadores treat their native people with any kindness? Way back in 1917, the German Chancellor, Bethmann-Hollweg, cabled his Ambassador in Mexico City the Kaiser's offer of the "return" of Texas, New Mexico and Arizona, if Mexico declared war on us. The significance of this act is it was the final straw that caused us to declare war on Germany, in April, 1917. Fortunately for us all, Mexico declined the Kaiser's offer. Now in the middle of a war with militant Islamic groups, our southern border is a porous sieve, no better than our northern border. Who knows who is coming over the border? What if some Islamo-terrorist would dress in jeans, old clothes and just knowing enough Spanish, sneak across the border with another bunch of illegals? Is our nation obligated to commit suicide? Isn't a nation's goverment expected to provide defense for it's citizens? Anyone wanting to come to the USA LEGALLY, to accept our language, customs beliefs are welcome. Jeratboy hit the nail on the head.

It's silly.. On the otherhand, very true. In 1806 our extended family members founded towns here in mahoning county. At the time, I'm sure that jeratboy's family, as well as Sknirak's and usa1 families were not even here. If their families were here at that time my family treated them like crap! I hope they did!! haha.
Now, you have a chip on your shoulders and feel the need to do it all over again. So Silly!

Illegals should be given no breaks. They should be put on a bus and sent back home. If they come back, then they should be put in prison. The law should allow no money to flow back to their countries of origin to their families if they do not have their green card and proper paperwork. Maybe then they would stop coming and true Americans could get the jobs they do now at a much higher pay rate. This whole illegal thing is all about cheap labor and that has got to stop and stop now.

If its as you say about Cheap Labor...then all we need to do is crack down on the companies who hire the cheap labor. If there were stiff penalties that were unilaterally enforced for hiring undocumented workers, companies would stop doing it. And if there are no jobs for undocumented workers...it would slow down if not stem the tide altogether. We blame the immigrant when the companies are the true villain in the cheap labor scenario. I don't necessarily agree that is the only impetus behind Arizona's (and so many other) stance on the situation.

Mr. Vicars,
Please spare me the quotes! The saying form the Statue of Liberty has always applied to this country as long as you come through the front door. Notice that it is adjacent to Ellis Island, where immigrants legally entered the US. The qoute from Scripture from Jesus is a challenge to me as an individual to help the less fortunate and to share my time, talent, and treasure with them, not to let them walk all over me like a thief in the night.

And, remember the old saying: "Good fences make good neighbors".

I find it disheartening that there are not any affirmative responses to the insights of Mr. Vicars. An erroneous assumption we often make is that what is legal is moral, and, conversely, what is illegal is immoral. Take for example the fact that there was a time when slavery was legal. Even though this was a law of the land, it was never morally right. Those who protested this injustice risked fines, imprisonment, and even death for resisting a law of the land in order to stand for a greater moral good. The moral status of slavery did not change the day that slavery was outlawed; instead, the law went from being unjust to just as the change reflected what had always been morally right. It is the same with immigration. Those who come to this country because of attacks on their human rights and dignity that jeopardizes the survival of individuals and families have a right to be here regardless of whether or not they are able to comply with all the requirements of the law of the land for citizenship. Securing the basic dignity and survival of each and every human person trumps any law of any land that would impede this moral good. If we let the color of our skin or the country on our birth certificate dictate our status, we are no different from those who looked at African Americans as inferior during the slavery era because of the color of their skin, and thought they were justified in doing this because slavery was a law of the land. What matters is that we are all human beings and through our humanity have certain unalienable rights that can never be suspended or taken away.