Immigration, a humanity issue, not a label one.

[Brian37]

Often I get from, even some atheists, boot them out if they are illegal.

Sounds nice on paper, and most of the reasoning for that is limited resources if they are not being bigoted, and labels if they are.

To me where you come from and breaking the law to get here misses the bigger picture of why people do it.

Lets take boarders out of the issue for a second. Lets just think of what we would do as individuals. If you have nothing, no way to feed yourself, most people will follow the resources. And even in domestic crimes such as shoplifting, we often hear the person doing it just needed to feed themselves or their family.

Now while it would be nice for everyone who wants to come here to wait in line and do their paperwork, is anyone here willing to send another human back to a place where they may starve? Is anyone here willing to tell, especially a kid brought here without their ability to consent, that they have to go back to a country where they were not raised and even could starve to death?

Another thing to think about. Ask yourself if you would rather have a non-violent illegal who only wants to feed themselves, vs a drug dealing violent person born here, living next to you?

Now, don't get me wrong, if you come here illegally, you ARE breaking the law, but I do understand why you take the risk. No one in our species likes to stay where they cannot survive, so migration has always been part of our species history.

This is NOT an either or solution because I DO see both sides of the issue. But I do get down on the nutters who make "boot em all out" no matter what. I'd ask them, what would you do if you were starving or if your kids were starving?

[Gambit]

I agree with everything you have said; at least in relation to the context you have given. However, not all illegal aliens have good intentions; which to me is the real problem. What really gets me though, is that in my experience the cops put more effort into catching those who are attempting to become genuine citizens, and are making a contribution. When I was a call center manager we often had surprise visits from immigration officers. Most of our foreign staff were working legally, however, some were not. It just felt like call centers were an easy target, though. I know of illegal aliens who have been here for years not working, and in a lot cases they are actively involved in crime, yet they have never been bothered.

[Brian37]

Of course not all illegals come here and do the right thing. My take on it is throw out any thief and violent fuck and make them our priority. But put the non violent non criminals at a lower priority. It will never be a perfect situation or a blanket solution and I am sure we have to even in the case of people who merely want a better life, will have to say no to them too to some degree.

I think what most 30 second sound bite cable news viewers miss on both sides of the issue is that you are ULTIMATELY dealing with humans, not objects or numbers.

[Gambit]

I agree, Brian. The "dey tuke are jobs!" brigade really need to look at the broader picture. I'm not sure where you are from, but there have been a few documentaries about illegal immigrants and their plight, here in the UK. It's an issue I'm very close to, having worked with Romanian refugees in Belfast. I would say this, though, having discussed the issue with various people, there are those who claim to not give a shit what happens to them, should they be deported. The stock answer is usually something along the lines of "Well, they shouldn't be here. It's not my problem."

[Shell B]

Throw out all the thieves and "violent thugs" isn't exactly what I would use as a master plan. The major thing being overlooked here is that criminals who don't have legit jobs tend to live off the grid. A student or an employee at a call center does not. I'm sure once they arrest illegal immigrants for something and establish that they are illegal, they get tossed. Until then, scoping them out is profiling. It's also tough around here. People of different nationalities don't exactly stick out in Boston.