Originally Posted By Mrs Nurmi <<If one of your parents gave up American Citizenship, can you apply for it? >> No; we tried that. Rob's mom would have to 'reclaim' her American Citizenship. <<Or is it easier to marry into it?>> Weeeeelll, seeing as I'm already married, I guess that would only work in Utah. ;-)
Originally Posted By JazzCat Ooh, serious question. As SuzieQ mentioned about California, where I live is highly populated with illegal immigrants. Around here we hear "they're hired because white people won't do the work." That simply isn't true. Twenty-five years ago my mom and sister worked as sorters in a fruit warehouse. There were at least 80% white people. Now, very little English is spoken in the warehouses. If owners wouldn't hire illegals, I'm sure others would step up to do the job. It's just that they don't have to pay them as much. I am all for legal immigration. After all, my maternal grandparents were from Germany. They were legal and were forced to learn the English language. I have very strong opinions on this subject that I will not express.
Originally Posted By Lisann22 I think our US government and businesses in our Country have made this an issue between the difficulties in trying to come in legally and by hiring illegal workers. They have cause us as citizens to become bitter and resentful and we have lost our spirit in that ANYONE can come here and live the American dream - that the common person can make something of themselves here in America, a melting pot of all different types of people. That's the nation our ancestors built and now we are allowing our government and big business destroy it. The majority of us would not be here if those before us had not been brave enough to come here from some where far away. As Ursula said, it's not right that our schools are overcrowded, our roads are falling apart, our health system is at the brink, etc. However, I do not fault the illegals for this. Our own system is letting us down not them.
Originally Posted By TomSawyer The Constitution doesn't grant rights; it places limits on the rights that people have ceded to the government in order to secure their other rights. The Constitution clearly states that the rights not granted to the government are retained by the people or the states. The government doesn't grant the right to free speech, or to bear arms, or to be free from incriminating yourself, or to face your accusers or to challenge your detention before a court. Those rights are inherent in being a human being, not in being an American citizen. These are inalienable rights, which means they cannot cannot be separated from humans. Immigrants - even illegal immigrants - still have fundamental rights in our system because we believe that individuals have rights that are inalienable. Free speech, freedom of assembly, right to trial, right to be secure from unreasonable searches and seizures, even the right to bear arms - these are all rights that the government is expressly forbidden to deny. Several state constitutions also include additional clauses - Article 1, Section 20 of the California constitution states that noncitizens have the same property rights as citizens. It also says that "SECTION 1. All people are by nature free and independent and have inalienable rights. Among these are enjoying and defending life and liberty, acquiring, possessing, and protecting property, and pursuing and obtaining safety, happiness, and privacy." All people, not just citizens. Of course, this is different than entitlements. There is no right to health care right now, nor is there a right to education.
Originally Posted By avromark <<Weeeeelll, seeing as I'm already married, I guess that would only work in Utah. ;-)>> I'm not married, you know there are other camadianerans around
