Children of Illegal Immigrants

iVillage Member
Registered: 04-09-2007
Children of Illegal Immigrants
23
Tue, 01-20-2009 - 6:14pm

Should children who were brought to the US illegally by parents who were not in the US legally be granted a special status?

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iVillage Member
Registered: 08-25-2008
Wed, 01-21-2009 - 7:56am

No, We should not make "special accomodations" for them.


They are illegal immigrants, just like their parents, and should be treated similarly.

iVillage Member
Registered: 07-23-2008
Wed, 01-21-2009 - 8:41am

Illegal immigration is an issue that I really struggle with. I consider myself to be a pretty liberal person in most respects, but something about illegal immigration really bothers me.

First of all, I think that the US has brought a lot of the problems on itself for two reasons.

1) The very expensive and difficult current path to legal resident or citizen pathways. I work in the sciences and I see very talented young foreign scientists grappling with these issues every day. If it is incredibly difficult for someone with a PhD (generally from an American University) to obtain legal resident status - generally with the support of their employer, I can only imagine how difficult it would be for a poor Mexican family to do so.

2) Life in Mexico sucks and we aren't doing enough to help. How can you begrudge a person for wanting a better life for their family? There is very little opportunity in Mexico for law abiding citizens. Some may argue that this is not our problem, but when we share a border with this country and have, essentially, refugees pouring across said border, I really think that it becomes our problem. Locking down the border with a fence and turning a blind eye to the cause of the problem is just not a doable long term solution. We need to help Mexico strengthen its economy and its safety and living standards for its citizens.

HOWEVER, I also see the strain that illegal immigrants put on our system. Their non-english speaking children flood our school and it costs untold amounts of taxpayer money to educate them and teach them english. A lot of illegals end up in trouble with the law and clog our courts and prisons. Also, there is the huge problem with identity theft by illegals. Then you have these children, who you know in your heart and in your mind haven't done anything wrong, yet will be punished for their parents' mistakes. Some of these children (like it or not) are actually American citizens. On the one hand, you want to protect children and help give them the best life possible. Yet, on the other hand, you can't really keep the children and deport the parents and it seems unwise to reward illegal immigrants with children by granting a special exception for them and their children.

The answer, of course, is to see to 1) and 2) above. But that's a really hard thing to get the public behind when our own country is going through such turmoil right now. This would be an EXCELLENT thing for a peacetime president with a surplus to handle. Unfortunately our last president (who fit this category to a "T" at the beginning of his term) chose to ignore this issue and let it fester. Poor Obama. He's inherited this huge crap sandwich of our affairs and while I'm confident that he is the kind of president who would tackle these issues, he has SO much on his plate right now that it is inevitable that some things will naturally get placed on the back burner. This is probably one of those things since there are so many more "pressing" issues.

Anyway, in the meantime, until the system gets fixed, I think that these children and their parents should be deported. It's not the ideal solution, but until we get to a workable solution, I do think that any illegal immigrant discovered in the US should be immediately deported. I think that above all it's a matter of national security.





~Ashley~




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~Ashley~

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iVillage Member
Registered: 08-25-2008
Wed, 01-21-2009 - 9:44am

1) The very expensive and difficult current path to legal resident or citizen pathways. I work in the sciences and I see very talented young foreign scientists grappling with these issues every day. If it is incredibly difficult for someone with a PhD (generally from an American University) to obtain legal resident status - generally with the support of their employer, I can only imagine how difficult it would be for a poor Mexican family to do so.


Absolutely agree it needs to be simplified.

iVillage Member
Registered: 11-07-2008
Wed, 01-21-2009 - 9:57am

>>It's not our problem, or

iVillage Member
Registered: 07-23-2008
Wed, 01-21-2009 - 10:00am

>>It's not our problem, or our fault.<<

Agreed that it's not our fault. However, it is our problem because our border with mexico is just physically too large to secure against the hordes of Mexicans who wish to cross over. This is a matter of solving an underlying problem instead of employing a band-aid fix-it approach. People will always find a way to cross the border. We can make it harder, but this will not stop people from coming over. It just won't. Plus corrupt people will always be willing to transport people across the border, for a price. The only real way to stop this is to alleviate the underlying problem - Mexicans wanting to come to America by the truckload.

One way we can help fix the underlying problem is to help Mexico make life better for its citizens. I am a HUGE believer in fixing underlying problems because band-aid approaches will only last for so long.

Another way to help fix this that I neglected to mention in my prior post is to stop hiring these people. This is definitely our fault AND our problem. If there were nothing for these people to do over here other than live on the streets or in squalor much like they did in Mexico, then they would not want to come. We need to make the punishment for the hiring of illegals much more putative than it already is.

I agree that we need to secure our border. However, people who are determined to enter will enter. Fix the underlying problem, secure our borders, and we all will be able to breathe a little easier.





~Ashley~




pregnancy week by week




~Ashley~

Lilypie 1st Birthday Ticker

iVillage Member
Registered: 08-25-2008
Wed, 01-21-2009 - 10:05am

We just lack the ability to maintain the security of our borders.

iVillage Member
Registered: 08-25-2008
Wed, 01-21-2009 - 10:11am

Another way to help fix this that I neglected to mention in my prior post is to stop hiring these people. This is definitely our fault AND our problem. If there were nothing for these people to do over here other than live on the streets or in squalor much like they did in Mexico, then they would not want to come. We need to make the punishment for the hiring of illegals much more putative than it already is.


Absolutely agreed - we need to punish those who hire illegals as well.

iVillage Member
Registered: 11-07-2008
Wed, 01-21-2009 - 10:37am

I guess it depends on priority.

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-26-2003
Wed, 01-21-2009 - 12:11pm

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I disagree with you, but I'm pretty sure

iVillage Member
Registered: 02-15-2008
Wed, 01-21-2009 - 12:27pm

It is not an issue of "we lack the ability" it is a question of we lack the willingness.

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