I think this is a bit harsh. Yes, they are illegal, but many are here to follow the American dream. They are not necessarily the "rejects and criminals". Many are fine people who should be applauded as they are shown the door and invited back as soon as they jump through the proper hoops.
Blah, blah, blah. Why would we reward those who had no respect for our laws, culture or our country in the first place?
Most couldn't even qualify to come here on a tourist visa. And I would certainly disqualify anyone who broke our laws by illegally entering this country, committing ID theft, not paying taxes, driving without a licence, etc. from coming back here under any circumstance.
re “I think this [We get Mexico’s rejects and criminals] is a bit harsh”
My experience with illegals is that the idea that we get Mexico’s rejects and criminals is overwhelmingly true. I live in California, and work with illegals every day (I’m a physician, among other things). The amounts of illiteracy and fraud (independent of illegal entry)that I see every day are astronomical.
Many illegals are so illiterate that they cannot identify a single letter, in any language, let alone write a single word. Of those who can read or write, their writing ability is limited to only a few words. This illiteracy seems to be much worse in Southern California than Northern California, but the literacy rates among illegals appear to be low in both places.
As for fraud: the rate I observe of illegal aliens trying to commit health care fraud is astronomically higher than among the general public. Maybe the illegals just aren’t particularly good at fraud, and so they are easier to spot. Certainly, many of the illegals don’t seem to make even minimal efforts to disguise what appears to be healthcare fraud.
Based on my personal experience, it seems the level of rejects and criminals we get from Mexico far outweighs the proportion of rejects and criminals in their general population.
Just my observations.
“I think this is a bit harsh. Yes, they are illegal, but many are here to follow the American dream. They are not necessarily the “rejects and criminals”. Many are fine people who should be applauded as they are shown the door and invited back as soon as they jump through the proper hoops.”
If they are so “fine” and upstanding, then WHY do they break our LAWS and continue to BREAK MORE LAWS to stay here?
These are not “fine” people. When you break a law and ignore our immigration laws to camp out here, you are a criminal. You are ILLEGAL. Got that? ILLEGAL.
Many that come here illegally are rejects and criminals- that is why they come illegally instead of doing it the correct way. Of those that literally hike across or smuggled across most caught have a criminal record either in Mexico or in the U.S. Many other illegals entered legally to begin with and overstayed their VISA or other type of legal entry- but the ones we really don’t want are those that could not enter legally even in the beginning.
As far as many coming here to “follow the American dream” that is only partially true. Many come here intending to follow criminal careers or to take advantage of services and perks intended for citizens.
The intent to follow the American dream may be in some ways understandable but it is still illegal if not done the proper way.
If you want to see harsh- try to enter Mexico illegally, obtain employment there using false documents- and if you are caught (very likely) you will find out what harsh really means.
Entering illegally for any reason is flat wrong. It would be no excuse for me to break laws in order to follow the American dream- it should be no different for those from other countries. For example if the American dream is not my reality is it justified for me to break laws to make that dream come true?