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AmyS
Guest
You do realize that Californios (that is what they where called) tried to break away from being part of Mexico, before it became a part of the US?! They didn’t want to be a part of Mexico in other words.
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Quaere_Verum
Guest
Quaere Verum:
This might have been confusing. I am referring to the majority of Americans having come from people who immigrated to this country at one point or another in our history.
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cougarfan
Guest
Honestly, if they broke in for food and shelter… and not to harm me or my family, I wouldnt oppose helping them. It goes with our Church teachings to help those who have less. It isnt black and white my friend. This is a very grayish area.
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wabrams
Guest
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Everything you said cuts both ways in the debate.
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Jeffrey
Guest
The US will do that only if Mexico gives back the lan they stole from the Olmecs… catch 22 it seems.
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a_priori
Guest
There is a very steep economic gradient from one side of the border to the other. Of course people will try to improve their lives. We need to establish some sort of consensus in this country to humanely handle the issue. But consensus is hard to come by in 21st century America.
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shirleytowers
Guest
- You can’t turn back the hands of time, and any talk of giving America back to the Indians, Texas back to Mexico, or Northern Ireland back to the Irish, etc. is just foolish and leads to needless and pointless conflict so let’s not go THERE.
- If you must return Texas, California, etc., whence they came, I suggest you give them to Spain, which had them much longer than the piddly 10 years or so Mexico claimed them.
- Christianity bids us be kind and to welcome our less fortunate brothers, but it does not bid us welcome them all at the same time.
- Guests you welcome into your house deserve hospitality, but those who climb in the bathroom window or tunnel into the hallway when you are not looking only deserve arrest and eviction.
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Dakota_Maverick
Guest
They bring the gift of Our Lady of Guadalupe. 
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jc-servant
Guest
I’m with you on this issue. It is hard to support either side 100%because it seems like so many spokespeople and leaders (including some bishops) are at the extreme and offensive or disturbing for different reasons. Some people are using the problem with illegal immigration to vocalize about their prejudices against non-white people which they might have been afraid to say a few years back. Other people are urging “everyone” to register to vote by stating over and over that no one must show proof of citizenship to get registered. I find that a not so subtle hint for people who are here illegally to break one more law and register to vote illegally.
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hasikelee
Guest
My issue is legal vs illegal.
Ilegal immigrants I am against. Do it the way everyone else has to.
My grandma married and thus was able to come over here almost 40 years ago. Her 7 sisters weren’t so lucky, but each one saved and studied and did all the paperwork, with the last one coming over here I think 5 years ago.
Burns me up to think of all the others that just crawl over here. They really are buying into the modern American dream of complete disregard for law and a nice touch of laziness.
I think immigrant policies need serious reform. I would really like to see America become more welcoming of immigrants and of making the process much simpler.
Ilegal immigrants I am against. Do it the way everyone else has to.
My grandma married and thus was able to come over here almost 40 years ago. Her 7 sisters weren’t so lucky, but each one saved and studied and did all the paperwork, with the last one coming over here I think 5 years ago.
Burns me up to think of all the others that just crawl over here. They really are buying into the modern American dream of complete disregard for law and a nice touch of laziness.
I think immigrant policies need serious reform. I would really like to see America become more welcoming of immigrants and of making the process much simpler.
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mystified
Guest
Jimmy, I’m with you.
As an Anglo I have been sickened at the way Americans of Mexican heritage, many of second, third and fourth generation, are treated. In school, my friend Alfred was denied permission to take Spanish because his grandmother had come from México. My own daughter, born in California but with the darker skin of her Mexican ancestors, was ordered to stop speaking Spanish to her friends at school and we were told she could not be picked up in front of the same school; the student pick up area is reserved for Chinese immigrants picking up their children who are provided translators at taxpayer expense and are not forbidden to speak their native language. The school wants my daughter to learn Korean, Japanese or Mandarin.
Yesterday, at the demand of the school, I purchased for $35 a pair of poorly made dance shoes from China. Goo old American know-how could have made a better product as lower price, and the money would go into American pockets. It is my humble opinion that Most Favored Nation status should be accorded to MY country, the USA, and not to a country that denies human rights to their citizens, including the right to worship God as they desire.
I served in the Army alongside of a disproportionate number of Mexican-Americans and Blacks, all just as loyal to our country as anyone else. I have had Black fellow soldiers defend my right to have a beer in a bar unofficially declared “Black”, and some of the medics who took care of me in a most professional way had roots in México.
At my parish church, I have been declared an “honorary Mexican” by members of the 25% of the parish who are Hispanic, while the Anglo pastor and his Vietnamese assistants turn their backs on me. The bishop has denied requests for a Spanish-speaking priest; fewer than 10% of the residents of our town are of Asian ancestry and few are Catholic. My daughter wants to be a police officer, even in a community where her México-born uncle has been arrested for DWB (driving while brown), and where Hispanic children are routinely stopped and asked for ID as they walk home, and where building inspectors “just doing their job” visit several times a year “because Mexicans live there”.
I have been accused of being a racist. In my family are Hispanics, African-Americans, Asians, Europeans and Native Americans (Did you learn about the Trail of Tears in school?). If I wanted to be bigoted, I don’t know where I could start.
My American brother, you know those bigots who bash people with brown skins are ill-informed. Our hope is that prayers for their enlightenment will soon bear fruit.
Our country’s immigration system is a mess, and I don’t think anyone has a clue how to fix it. Maybe resurrect the Monroe Doctrine and apply it to immigration?
As an Anglo I have been sickened at the way Americans of Mexican heritage, many of second, third and fourth generation, are treated. In school, my friend Alfred was denied permission to take Spanish because his grandmother had come from México. My own daughter, born in California but with the darker skin of her Mexican ancestors, was ordered to stop speaking Spanish to her friends at school and we were told she could not be picked up in front of the same school; the student pick up area is reserved for Chinese immigrants picking up their children who are provided translators at taxpayer expense and are not forbidden to speak their native language. The school wants my daughter to learn Korean, Japanese or Mandarin.
Yesterday, at the demand of the school, I purchased for $35 a pair of poorly made dance shoes from China. Goo old American know-how could have made a better product as lower price, and the money would go into American pockets. It is my humble opinion that Most Favored Nation status should be accorded to MY country, the USA, and not to a country that denies human rights to their citizens, including the right to worship God as they desire.
I served in the Army alongside of a disproportionate number of Mexican-Americans and Blacks, all just as loyal to our country as anyone else. I have had Black fellow soldiers defend my right to have a beer in a bar unofficially declared “Black”, and some of the medics who took care of me in a most professional way had roots in México.
At my parish church, I have been declared an “honorary Mexican” by members of the 25% of the parish who are Hispanic, while the Anglo pastor and his Vietnamese assistants turn their backs on me. The bishop has denied requests for a Spanish-speaking priest; fewer than 10% of the residents of our town are of Asian ancestry and few are Catholic. My daughter wants to be a police officer, even in a community where her México-born uncle has been arrested for DWB (driving while brown), and where Hispanic children are routinely stopped and asked for ID as they walk home, and where building inspectors “just doing their job” visit several times a year “because Mexicans live there”.
I have been accused of being a racist. In my family are Hispanics, African-Americans, Asians, Europeans and Native Americans (Did you learn about the Trail of Tears in school?). If I wanted to be bigoted, I don’t know where I could start.
My American brother, you know those bigots who bash people with brown skins are ill-informed. Our hope is that prayers for their enlightenment will soon bear fruit.
Our country’s immigration system is a mess, and I don’t think anyone has a clue how to fix it. Maybe resurrect the Monroe Doctrine and apply it to immigration?
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Asking
Guest
Actually, many of the mexicans the USA gets now thru illegal immigration are full blooded amerindians, (I think Mexico has like 30 millons) there have been cases in california of immigrants sent to hospitals, and doctor being unable to communicate because the illegal immigrants not only could not speak english, they could not speak spanish either, just the maya dialects.
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KathleenElsie
Guest
As stated before. It is not the fact that the majority of the illegals are Mexican. It is the fact that this country has an obligation to us all to know who is living in our country. If we stop the flow first then look into the situation of those here most US citizens would be happy.
We owe it to everyone to keep our borders tight and our citizens safe.
We owe it to everyone to keep our borders tight and our citizens safe.
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rlg94086
Guest
I agree 100%. All the rest is just race baiting…and I’m not taking the bait! In fact, I find it offensive when someone takes the small percentage of racists who are against immigration and try to paint the rest of us with that same brush.
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prv
Guest
It is not immoral for a nation to provide for the true defense (including border security to screen terrorists, murderers, etc.) of its citizens and lawful residents. I would argue that it is indeed the nation’s responsibility by divine law to ensure the safety.
What is problematic is when groups, such as hospitals and social organizations (including sectarian ones), that are responsible for providing important needs to all those in need, are required to positively identity that such persons are not illegally present here.
It is also problematic if a nation decides an arbitrary standard for allowing people in, such as the U.S. immigration laws formed in the early 20th century, mostly designed to disallow certain disliked groups (i.e., Catholics and others) in.
What I find irresponsible and reprehensible is the deportation of individuals as young as 10-years old from this country and consequently the separation from their families, who are here legally.
What is problematic is when groups, such as hospitals and social organizations (including sectarian ones), that are responsible for providing important needs to all those in need, are required to positively identity that such persons are not illegally present here.
It is also problematic if a nation decides an arbitrary standard for allowing people in, such as the U.S. immigration laws formed in the early 20th century, mostly designed to disallow certain disliked groups (i.e., Catholics and others) in.
What I find irresponsible and reprehensible is the deportation of individuals as young as 10-years old from this country and consequently the separation from their families, who are here legally.
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wabrams
Guest
Not nearly as problematic as when those same hospitals and social organizations go bankrupt because they have to provide care to anyone coming to them and the illegal immigrants don’t pay their hospital bills. Also, do you have a problem with a hospital or social organization reporting suspected child abuse or other suspected crimes to the police?
This is such a strawman arguement. No one on these boards as yet to prove such an absurd claim.
I think you have it backwards: usually the parents come here illegally to have the child so the child will be the one with US citizenship. I guess you also think we shouldn’t send other criminals to jail just becuase they have small children.
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mlchance
Guest
That’s pretty much a non-point. All nations are nations of immigrants.
– Mark L. Chance.
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Ituyu
Guest
Simply put, this is not our original homeland. That distinction goes to those who originally settled this land. And, those are the people, by and large, who are currently crossing our southern border. The borders are Western imposed ideas including Mexico. That we consider them “foreigners” in their own homeland is contrary to common sense.
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Fremont
Guest
You are right on. In fact california was an independent entity for a short time before it became part of the US - similar to Texas.
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mlchance
Guest
It’s not their homeland. Consider the great state of Texas. It hasn’t been part of Mexico for over a hundred years. There isn’t a single person alive today who can claim Tejas as their homeland. That is a raw fact, and it is unavoidable.
Catholic teaching fully supports the rights of nations to secure their borders and to set immigration and naturalization policies. It is well past the time for the U.S. Congress to make some serious changes to our policies here.
First and foremost, this must start with securing the borders as well as possible. Second, illegal immigrants must either be deported or put on the track to legal naturalization. I favor deporting only illegal immigrants in prison or who have records of criminal offenses other than illegally entering the country. The remainder can choose to either come forward for naturalization, or else face being rounded up and deported as well.
What the U.S. Congress lacks isn’t the moral right to secure our borders. The U.S. doesn’t lack the resources necessary to secure its borders or deport illegal immigrants. What is lacked is the political will to do so.
– Mark L. Chance.
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