What $57 Million Can Get You

[Guest Eth]

The fence itself seems absolutely stupid. As it has been said before.. people will just go over or under it and it'll be even easier now with less people there guarding the border.

As for illegal immigrants...

Personally, I'd like to see some evidence by both sides. Just because I'm curious and want to see where everyone's getting their info from. Personally, I live in an area heavily filled with illegal immigrants and at first I didn't much care but I've come to dislike them because every one that I have met is not a nice person, I have been jumped several times by their groups, and this is one of the worst/most dangerous neighborhoods I have ever been in, and 9 out of 10 of the people I see doing these things, are fairly obviously illegal immigrants. Not to mention that YES - they really do need to learn English. I'm also not just saying that because I personally speak only English, like many people have. I think that wherever you go to live, you should know enough of the language to hold enough of a conversation as you need for whatever you are doing. I've never been outside this country, but every time I've gone somewhere online that mostly uses another language, I try to use as much of that language as I know. I play an online game and often go to the German and Portugese servers because they're less crowded, and every time I do I do my best to speak fragments of German and Portugese and legitimately try to pick up on what other people are saying after enough trial and error. If I can try to learn enough of a language to keep up with someone on an online game, then I don't see why someone else can't try to learn enough of one to speak in the country they live in. When I go to a restaurant, I'd really like the person who's taking my order to be able to understand what I'm saying. As a customer, I would really appreciate that they understand "No I don't want sauce on that".

As for jobs... I'm not sure I can really comment. I'd like to hear more from the people who say they do or don't consume or provide American jobs. I'd really like to learn more about that. I can say that a large number of the illegal immigrants that I know though do not work, so I guess they're not taking up jobs... But they steal and it's well known around here. But... I'm not so blind as to believe my area is the same as every area, so I'd like to be educated about what other areas are like.

[Guest i is Sam :-)]

The fence itself seems absolutely stupid. As it has been said before.. people will just go over or under it and it'll be even easier now with less people there guarding the border.

Or maybe they'll you'know bring tools?

This plan seems to rely on the assumption that the average mexican has no more intelligence than a roomba.

[Guest julia_d]

I remember this was tried before in Berlin .. didn't work there either.

[Guest praisedbeherhooves]

Because they're here illegally. They have broken the law and they are not documented.

Yes, then why not make it so they don't have to do so? Open the borders to everyone who is not a criminal and we would have a lot less illegal immigrants. The ones that would come in would be the criminals and they already come in as it is.

[Guest Elizabeth K]

Immigration questions are tricky. I don't have answers nor do I have real opinions (gasp - Lizzy, go get your meds!).

I grew up in the deep south Texas area and these comments are really about the Mexican immigration phenominum. I also work construction and see a huge portion of labor and skills from Mexico and the American-Mexican peoples.

Diversity, like everything has it's gains and it's setbacks. We are a diverse nation now - immigration comes at us from all directions.

In my world of construction - my experience is the Latino people are very talanted builders. Their socio-economic conditions in Mexico and South Texas is sometimes a bit grim compared to what they see here in the Louisiana area. So they came here. They are working for what they earn. And they are rebuilding New Orleans! I love them just for that part.

And - apparently - many like our area. There are many new Latino communities - and growing up where I did (I was the minority there in South Texas) it all seems comfortable to me.

So that said - here comes an opinion, really more of a question - why the fences? I don't get it.

Lizzy

[Guest praisedbeherhooves]

Well, every wave of immigration to this country since the first non-native one has been vehemently opposed by the people already here. A lot of it is that different cultures freak people out. Mexicans speak a foreign language, often have darker skin, have different food and have a different outlook on life. I think it is great, well partially because I am partially Mexican-American myself, but a lot of people find it frightening. Some people will even point to any Mexican keeping a trace of their culture as proof that they do not fit in. Errr, ever been to a St. Patrick's Day parade? We are a country of immigrants but strangely many of us have a hard time accepting that.