Originally Posted By dlkozy >>>"Yes. She had to do a bunch of stuff to become a CITIZEN. I would never want it any other way. How much stuff did she have to do just to be let in the country?"<<< NO! This is what she had to do to come into this country AT ALL! There was a mess of other things that she had to do to then become a CITIZEN! Don't presume to tell me what SHE had to do-you obviously have NO CLUE at all! And by the way, buddyboy, you and I are just about the same age-though you would never know it from your juvenile name calling that you always seem to throw my way! Save it for someone else!
Originally Posted By RoadTrip Hey kozy... just what country did your grandma immigrate to, because it certainly wasn't America? The Johnson Reed Immigration Act of 1924 was the first substantial tightening of immigration law in the United States. The act remained virtually unchanged until 1952. It set a quota for people that could enter from each country. It required literacy in ANY language. It didn't require having a job. It didn't require knowing English. It didn't require having any set amount of money. It didn't require one damned thing that you said granny had to do. So either you heard it wrong, or granny told it wrong. <<The Immigration Act of 1924 (The Johnson-Reed Act) The Immigration Act of 1924 limited the number of immigrants allowed entry into the United States through a national origins quota. The quota provided immigration visas to two percent of the total number of people of each nationality in the United States as of the 1890 national census. It completely excluded immigrants from Asia. In 1917, the U.S. Congress enacted the first widely restrictive immigration law. The uncertainty generated over national security during World War I made it possible for Congress to pass this Act, and it included several important provisions that paved the way for the 1924 Act. The 1917 Act implemented a literacy test that required immigrants over 16 years old to demonstrate basic reading comprehension in any language. It also increased the tax paid by new immigrants upon arrival and allowed immigration officials to exercise more discretion in making decisions over whom to exclude. Finally, the Act excluded from entry anyone born in a geographically defined “Asiatic Barred Zone†except for Japanese and Filipinos. In 1907, the Japanese Government had voluntarily limited Japanese immigration to the U.S. in the Gentlemen’s Agreement. The Philippines was an American colony, so its citizens were American nationals and could travel freely to the United States. China was not included in the Barred Zone, but the Chinese were already denied immigration visas under the Chinese Exclusion Act. The literacy test alone was not enough to prevent most potential immigrants from entering, so members of Congress sought a new way to restrict immigration in the 1920s. Immigration expert and Republican Senator from Vermont William P. Dillingham introduced a measure to create immigration quotas, which he set at three percent of the total population of the foreign-born of each nationality in the United States as recorded in the 1910 census. This put the total number of visas available each year to new immigrants at 350,000. It did not, however, establish quotas of any kind for residents of the Western Hemisphere. President Wilson opposed the restrictive act, preferring a more liberal immigration policy, so he used the pocket veto to prevent its passage. In early 1921, the newly inaugurated President Warren Harding called Congress back to a special session to pass the law. In 1922, the act was renewed for another two years. When the Congressional debate over immigration began in 1924, the quota system was so well-established that no one questioned whether to maintain it, but rather discussed how to adjust it. Though there were advocates for raising quotas and allowing more people to enter, the champions of restriction triumphed. They created a plan that lowered the existing quota from three to two percent of the foreign born population. They also pushed back the year on which quota calculations were based from 1910 to 1890. Another change to the quota altered the basis of the quota calculations. The quota had been based on the number of people born outside of the United States, or the number of immigrants in the United States. The new law traced the origins of the whole of the American population, including natural-born citizens. The new quota calculations included large numbers of people of British descent whose families were long resident in the United States. As a result, the percentage of visas available to individuals from the British Isles and Western Europe increased, but newer immigration from other areas like Southern and Eastern Europe was limited. The 1924 Immigration Act also included a provision excluding from entry any alien who by virtue of race or nationality was ineligible for citizenship. Existing nationality laws dating from 1790 and 1870 excluded people of Asian lineage from naturalizing. As a result, the 1924 Act meant that even Asians not previously prevented from immigrating – the Japanese in particular – would no longer be admitted to the United States. Many in Japan were very offended by the new law, which was a violation of the Gentlemen’s Agreement. The Japanese government protested, but the law remained, resulting in an increase in existing tensions between the two nations. But it appeared that the U.S. Congress had decided that preserving the racial composition of the country was more important than promoting good ties with the Japanese empire. The restrictionist principles of the Act could have resulted in strained relations with some European countries as well, but these potential problems did not appear for several reasons. The global depression of the 1930s and World War II both served to curtail European emigration. When these crises had passed, emergency provisions for the resettlement of displaced persons in 1948 and 1950 helped the United States avoid conflict over its new immigration laws. In all of its parts, the most basic purpose of the 1924 Immigration Act was to preserve the ideal of American homogeneity. Congress revised the Act in 1952.>> Source: <a href="http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ho/time/id/87718.htm" target="_blank">http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ho/t ime/id/87718.htm</a>
Originally Posted By dlkozy Hey Tripped-my Grandmother came over by ship to the US when she was 20-she was born in 1880. Being the person in the family who keeps track of all family records and does the scrapbooking-I also have her records of immigration and citizenship. I know what she had to do and YOU DON'T so why don't you find something better to do with your time than cutting and pasting useless information.
Originally Posted By RoadTrip Facts are facts. In 1880 there were virtually NO controls over immigration so it is just not possible that what you grandmother claimed is true. She may remember it differently... don't we all remember things differently as time goes by? She may remember that she tried to learn English and save money and line up a job prior to immigrating so that she would have a better chance of being successful here. But it was not required. Facts are facts. If you don't want to believe them that is certainly your right. The only problem is that many people in this debate DO think that their ancestors had to jump through all kinds of hoops to immigrate and therefore today's immigrants should be willing to do the same. The absolute fact is the great majority of our ancestors had to do absolutely NOTHING to come to America except show up. Even when the U.S. started using quotas in 1924 all you had to do was wait until you came to the top of the list. There were no additional requirements.
Originally Posted By SingleParkPassholder I've made a great study of organized crime, particularly the Sicilian Brotherhood, otherwise known as the Mafia, most of my life. It stems from growing up in Chicago and living in a neighborhood and area where it was very prevalent. One of the big reasons Sicilian-influenced organized crime was allowed to flourish in the late 19th to the first couple of decades of the 20th century was that it was so easy for people to come over. All they had to do was book passage on a ship and name a relative they knew in the States. That's it. Many of them came over to avoid prosecution in their own country. No checks were made, no anything. They got off the boat and went on their way. Over and over again for years and years.
Originally Posted By Lisann22 I have guys in my facility working with green cards and work visas that have now been waiting years to be citizens. These are good solid people. The hoops and $$$ they have had to jump through to become citizens is ridiculous. Most of them are hear solo and their wives, children and family members are still back in the Phillipines, Mexico, Romania, Russia and several other countries. We offer ESL classes 4 days a week as an after work program, I constantly have a waiting list. I work with the International Refugee Corporation in getting my employees the classes and help they need to speed up the process and further their command of the english language. I'm quite disturbed that people can only see one ethnic group when it comes to the issues with immigration, they are not the only ones coming here illegally. Things are not as black and white as many of you want to believe. This thread is making me want to throw up, the venom and anger is disturbing.
Originally Posted By Kennesaw Tom <a href="http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1758131/posts" target="_blank">http://www.freerepublic.com/fo cus/f-news/1758131/posts</a> <<Reason number four: Immigrants do the jobs Americans won't do Our response: Prior to the disastrous immigration act of 1965, there was very little immigration. In fact, between 1925 and 1965, immigration levels were so low the number of immigrants in the country actually declined. In fact, there was even a period of net emigration out of the United States. Yet, during that time, Americans invented computers, had a healthy labor movement, initiated the space program that put men on the moon, made great strides in civil rights and environmental legislation, built the largest economy the world has ever seen, and successfully prosecuted WWII against two great powers on two fronts simultaneously. We also got our grass cut, our meat packed. Our children were being watched, and our houses were being cleaned. The idea that somehow we suddenly can't run a country without an endless supply of foreigners is absurd. The falsehood repeated endlessly, that immigrants do the jobs Americans won't, is really tantamount to something like this: Imagine the owner of the local McDonald's puts a sign in the window that says: "Dishwasher wanted. $1.00 / hour." Suppose he leaves the sign in the window for a month, but no one comes in to apply for the dishwashing job. "See?" the McDonald's owner might say, "Dishwashing is a job Americans won't do. But there are a billion people in China who work for less than a dollar per hour. I need to import some cheap workers from China (or Bangladesh or Mexico)." Then he or she will import the worker, undercut American wages, and, as a bonus, stick the taxpayer with the cost of the new worker's health care, of educating his children, and so on.>>
Originally Posted By jonvn "The idea that somehow we suddenly can't run a country without an endless supply of foreigners is absurd." Too bad it's absurd, but that's what it's come down to. People won't do those jobs, not for the pay offered. It's supply and demand. I would think the Free Republic would understand an idea that is basic capitalism.
Originally Posted By Lisann22 Who knew inside those McDonald's trucks were imported Chinese workers. <rolling eyes>
Originally Posted By Kennesaw Tom <a href="http://patdollard.com/2007/08/11/airing-now-mike-moseleys-latest-cheap-lettuce/" target="_blank">http://patdollard.com/2007/08/ 11/airing-now-mike-moseleys-latest-cheap-lettuce/</a> <<It is my opinion that American political leaders believe that Mexico’s citizens have elected them. I say that because illegals reap benefits that legal American citizens do not. Illinois is one of 10 states that provide in state college tuition to illegals at the expense of legal taxpayers. You and I, both Democrat and Republican foot the bill, not for sons and daughters of Illinois and not sons and daughters of Iowa, Missouri, Indiana or Wisconsin or any state. But we do offer the sons and daughters of Mexico in state tuition at the taxpayers expense. Legal aliens from Mexico have to pay out of state tuition, so there is great incentive to be an illegal alien.>>
Originally Posted By Kennesaw Tom <a href="http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1918784/posts" target="_blank">http://www.freerepublic.com/fo cus/f-news/1918784/posts</a> <<Pharmacies across the city routinely fail to help non-English speakers understand their prescriptions, raising the chances that customers could harm themselves by taking medicines incorrectly, immigrant advocacy groups charge in a discrimination complaint that they plan to file today with the New York attorney general’s office. The complaint names 16 pharmacies in Brooklyn, Queens and Long Island, most of them operated by chains. It argues that federal civil rights law and state health regulations require pharmacies to provide linguistic help to guarantee that people who speak little or no English receive equal access to health care. That assistance should include interpreters at pharmacies and written translations of medication instructions, the advocates say.>>
Originally Posted By Kennesaw Tom <a href="http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1918596/posts" target="_blank">http://www.freerepublic.com/fo cus/f-news/1918596/posts</a> <<PHOENIX (AP) — The federal government has reimbursed Arizona hospitals and doctors $92 million over the past two years to offset unpaid bills for emergency care provided to undocumented immigrants. Arizona hospital executives say they are grateful for the financial help, but it’s still not enough to offset the bulk of costs associated with providing emergency health care to illegal immigrants. To make up the shortfall, hospitals say they are forced to raise the costs of basic hospital services for everyone else. “It becomes part of the bad debt of hospitals,†said Rich Polheber, chief executive officer of Carondelet Holy Cross Hospital in Nogales. Carondelet operates one hospital in Nogales at the U.S.-Mexican border and three in the Tucson area. The Carondelet hospitals provided about $15.5 million worth of care to immigrant patients over the past two years, and the hospital network collected $2.4 million under the program, the company said. That means less than 16 percent of the hospital group’s undocumented-immigrant-related bills were paid. As a southern Arizona Level 1 trauma center, University Medical Center in Tucson handles the most critical accidents in the region. The hospital typically absorbs $6 million each year in hospital costs and treats about 1,300 foreign-national patients that may or may not be in the United States legally, said Greg Pivirotto, University Medical Center’s chief executive officer. Federal aid to hospitals dealing with an immigrant health care crunch could end next year. The program was designed as a temporary fix for overburdened health care providers, and Arizona hospitals realize the financial aid may vanish at the end of fiscal 2008.>>
Originally Posted By RoadTrip ^^^^ <<Do you have something to say, or are you just a newsclipping service?>> Well, that answered that.
Originally Posted By Kennesaw Tom <a href="http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1918004/posts" target="_blank">http://www.freerepublic.com/fo cus/f-news/1918004/posts</a> <<SAN JOSE, Calif. -The placards made clear this was not your typical immigrant rights march: “We played by the rules, now it’s your turn,†read one. “Legal immigrants keep America competitive,†read another. High-tech workers here on federal permits are speaking out - many for the first time - over rules that leave them in personal and professional limbo. After Congress failed to reform immigration laws for the second year in a row, hundreds of the largely India- and China-born workers protested this summer in Silicon Valley and Washington, D.C. They were frustrated that the divisive debate over illegal immigration had overwhelmed efforts at comprehensive immigration reform. “I’ve never held a banner before, but I don’t know what else to do,†said Gopal Chauhan, a high-tech employee who has been waiting seven years for a green card. “We usually have better things to do, like invent the next iPod.†Legal immigrants who feel squeezed by limits on the number of green cards issued each year are trying to separate their complaints from the protests by illegal immigrants. And high-tech companies that say they can’t fill jobs because of a cap on skilled-worker visas have stepped up their long-standing plea for the cap to be raised.>>
Originally Posted By Kennesaw Tom <a href="http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1919051/posts" target="_blank">http://www.freerepublic.com/fo cus/f-news/1919051/posts</a> <<Grand Island, Neb. (AP) -- Thousands of children whose parents are arrested in immigration raids in the U.S. face mental health issues including post-traumatic stress disorder, separation anxiety and depression, according to a new study released Wednesday by the Urban Institute. A child is left without at least one parent for every two adults detained in workplace raids, the study said, and most of those children are citizens or legal immigrants. "Those children were born in America, and we forgot about their rights during the raids, because they were left parentless," said Steve Joel, superintendent of Grand Island Public Schools, which encouraged parents to keep their children in school following a December raid at the Swift & Co. meatpacking plant. The study was commissioned by The National Council of La Raza, a Washington-based Hispanic civil rights organization. Researchers visited Grand Island and Greeley, Colorado, two of six sites where Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents conducted raids at Swift & Co. meatpacking plants that resulted in about 1,300 arrests. The immigrants arrested were mostly from Mexico and Guatemala. Researchers also visited New Bedford, Massachusetts, where more than 360 workers were arrested at Michael Bianco Inc., a factory that makes equipment and apparel for the U.S. military.>>
Originally Posted By Kennesaw Tom <a href="http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1919029/posts" target="_blank">http://www.freerepublic.com/fo cus/f-news/1919029/posts</a> <<Authorities are looking for a suspect who police say charged at officers with his vehicle at International Bridge I, then fled on foot into Mexico.It all started when a case of stalking was reported to police, Laredo Police Department spokesman Jose E. Baeza said. According to Baeza, a known suspect was following and harassing the complainant Monday just after 10:30 p.m. A lookout description of a subject and the vehicle was given over the radio and the vehicle was spotted driving at a high rate of speed by Belize Drive and International Boulevard. The officer attempted to stop the vehicle. The vehicle sped off initiating a pursuit. The vehicle traveled onto Interstate 35 and headed south toward the international bridges. The vehicle then drove off I-35 and headed into the downtown area where it traveled - several times - down the wrong way on one-way streets. Police were posted at both of the international bridges. The suspect vehicle, a white Chevrolet Tahoe driven by 31-year-old Fabian Rios, headed toward International Bridge No. 1. Rios headed toward the bridge toll booths and pointed "what appeared to be a weapon in the direction of officers posted at the toll booth," Baeza said. "An officer, in fear for his life, fired several times at the oncoming vehicle," Baeza added. The white SUV then crashed through the toll booth-elevating arm and traveled onto the International Bridge. Rios abandoned the car in the middle of the bridge and fled on foot into Nuevo Laredo. Mexican authorities were contacted but they informed Laredo police that nobody at the bridge checkpoint had seen any person wounded or injured by the pedestrian crossing. No one was injured. Rios is facing evading arrest with a motor vehicle charges and has an arrest warrant pending. >>
Originally Posted By Kennesaw Tom <a href="http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1918854/posts" target="_blank">http://www.freerepublic.com/fo cus/f-news/1918854/posts</a> <<The fact that 11 of the 18 wildfire victims lying in UCSD Medical Center's burn unit are illegal immigrants with no apparent health coverage highlights the daunting financial challenge hospitals face in providing long-term, intensive care for all those who need it. “These are the most expensive kinds of cases, but we don't look at these patients and say, oh, because they aren't legal residents, we'll stop providing care or stop changing their bandages,†said Dr. Thomas McAfee, UCSD's physician-in-chief. “It's part of our ethic to continue to provide this care no matter what.†According to the Mexican Consulate in San Diego, the burn victims are from central and southern Mexico, and include one woman. Four are in critical condition. All were rescued north of Tecate last week, said consulate spokesman Alberto Lozano, and it is suspected they had crossed the border illegally before coming face to face with the Harris fire. Four other people, two men and two women, were found dead Thursday in a ravine off state Route 94. Their badly burned bodies remain unidentified, although authorities suspect they crossed illegally before they died. Those in critical condition may include a married couple from Guerrero, according to the consulate. The others are a 20-year-old man from Guerrero and a man from Chiapas. With some facing a long rehabilitation, hospital officials said they realize many U.S. taxpayers don't believe UCSD should provide such expensive hospital care to illegal immigrants. But, by law, that care must be provided “to anyone who comes regardless of their ability to pay.†Last year, San Diego County hospitals provided $619 million in uncompensated care, and an estimated 10 percent to 17 percent of that paid for treatment for undocumented immigrants, according to the Hospital Association of San Diego and Imperial Counties. Burn care requires ventilators, multiple surgeries, round-the-clock intensive care and grafts from human cadaveric skin. McAfee said grafts can be grown from patients' own skin to minimize tissue rejection at $500,000 per patient. Last year, the average cost of treating a burn patient at UCSD was $45,000 for an average 15-day stay. When patients need long-term nursing care, said UCSD spokeswoman Leslie Franz, “we make arrangements on a case-by-case basis. This could mean anything from them continuing to receive care from us, or we might transition them to another facility in that person's home state or another country, if we can expedite that.†However, appropriate care in a person's native country is not always available. Esmeralda Siu of the Coalición Pro Defensa del Migrante, a network of migrant shelters and other services in Baja California, said rules prevent the United States from sending Mexican nationals home before they can travel safely. “By law, they can't deport them if they are injured,†said Siu, who is based in Tijuana. “They have to be stabilized, and that they accept leaving, and that they are well to travel.†Mark Krikorian, executive director of the Center for Immigration Studies, a group that advocates immigration restrictions, said that in the case of the 11 border burn victims, it might make sense to request assistance from the Mexican government or arrange long-term care in their home country. “An illegal immigrant who is in Chicago and goes to the ER, it's hard to say the Mexican government should pay for it,†Krikorian said. “I think there is a plausible case to make for people who were sneaking across the border at the time of the injury, and clearly don't have any business to be there. We should tap the Mexican government to say, 'We need to share the burden here.'>> â€
