# Why is the Government ignoring illegal immigration issues? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [June 26, 2012, 2:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-government-ignoring-illegal-immigration-issues/626348 "2012-06-26T14:59:04Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 7
**Author:** ![dngnb8](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/977dab/32.png) [@dngnb8](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dngnb8)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2012, 1:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-government-ignoring-illegal-immigration-issues/626348/121 "2012-07-03T13:32:48Z")
> [@Saint\_Cad](#): > > 1. Patrols. If we actually wanted to stop illegal immigration at the Mexican border, why can’t we? Why couldn’t the Army using patrols and drones monitor the border and respond as the coyotes come across? So youre going to blow up women and children with drones crossing the border? > [@](#): > > 1. Jobs. I know that illegal immigration supporter claim that these are jobs that no citizen will take but that is circular. If the jobs were required to pay minimum wage, maybe part of the 15% of American workers that are unemployed/underemployed would take them. Who is going to pay for that increase in wages? Do you think that the money magically appears in the farmers pocket to more? Let me tell you, American Workers wont take that work here. Its 110 degrees out right now. Youre sniffing airplane glue if you think people will go out in that heat for minimum wage. > [@](#): > > 1. Constitutional issues. As “residents”, illegal immigrants use up social and educational programs. They are counted in the apportionment of Representatives and so give more political power to states with large illegal immigrant populations. The issue of anchor babies has never really been addressed even though its ben obvious since 1898 that a Contitutional amendment is the only avenue if the government wanted to end anchor babies. Voting laws, put here because of the Supemeacy Clause, do not require anyone to actually prove that they are a citizen in order to register to vote. You simply need to state you are a citizen and I know cases of illegal immigrants voting. Think about it for a second. If all of the illegal immigrants (and legal ones too) wanted to walk in today and register to vote and are willing to lie about being a citizen, there is nothing anyone could do to stop them. Anchor babies do exist. I work with an office full of them. They vote, and are legal. Their parents vote as well. Some are here legally, some arent. > [@](#): > > 1. Programs that worked. Anyone remember the Bracero program that ended in 1964? There are ways to have immigrants come in and work legally. Obama issued work visas to a bunch of illegal immigrants, but that more of ignoring the problem with illegal immigration rather than a solution - which was the exact same problem with Reagan’s amnesty program too. Our immigration system is total failure. It needs revamped. Ive said this from day one. But the system needs to be inclusive, not obstructive. > [@](#): > > 1. Charging Mexico (or other country of origin). Some say we can’t logistically deport 24 million people and that may be true. But why can’t we charge these countries for the costs associated with supporting THEIR nationals here illegally and paying to incarcerate them when they break the law. [According to this](http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1393960/US-gives-billions-foreign-aid-worlds-richest-countries-asks-borrow-back.html), we give Mexico over $300M in foreign aid. Why so much when apparently they have over 12 million citizen receiving social/educational services here and sending money home. I’m sure similar arguments can be made for many Central American countries too. Because our laws cannot be enforced on them? Im going to pass a law to make Mexico pay for their people here. Mexico laughs in our face and says, Make Me! Nanny Nanny Boo Boo > [@](#): > > I know a lot of people on this Board are pro-illegal immigration just like I know a lot of people on this Board will ignore this paragraph and instead argue about the immigration issues. The debate is that assuming the government has a duty to enforce immigration law, the question is two-fold: > Why do you think the US Government has a history of condoning illegal immigration. > What do you think the government should do to enforce immigration law? If you think they should ignore the law, then explain why you think the government does not have an obligation to enforce a law that has a major impact on the US. Im not pro or con immigration. Im Fix-Immigration. Our system isnt just broken, it is a costly fiscal sink hole of failure. It requires dismantling from the bottom up, rebuilt with better technology, and fairness. > [@grude](#): > > Anchor babies are a myth, there is no way that US citizen child could benefit their parents until they are legal adults and could sponsor them for permanent residency. Planning two decades ahead? REALLY LOL, I work with an office of anchor babies. Just because you dont see it, doesnt mean it is a myth. ---
**Author:** ![Rubixcube](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Rubixcube](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rubixcube)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2012, 1:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-government-ignoring-illegal-immigration-issues/626348/122 "2012-07-03T13:33:52Z")
It seems that many people don’t realize how difficult it is to legally immigrate, it’s not simply a matter of filling out some paperwork and answering a few questions about America, it’s a long and often expensive process. If a person gets to the point where they’re willing to pay the shady guy at the border to sneak them in, knowing full well that going to live substandard lives doing backbreaking labor, all while being hated for being there, it’s fairly obvious that time and money are not things they have right now. ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2012, 1:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-government-ignoring-illegal-immigration-issues/626348/123 "2012-07-03T13:38:41Z")
> [@Rubixcube](#): > > It seems that many people don’t realize how difficult it is to legally immigrate, it’s not simply a matter of filling out some paperwork and answering a few questions about America, it’s a long and often expensive process. If you are Mexican, it’s effectively impossible. It’s illegal or nothing. ---
**Author:** ![Kevbo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e47774/32.png) [@Kevbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kevbo)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2012, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-government-ignoring-illegal-immigration-issues/626348/124 "2012-07-03T15:16:22Z")
> [@Rubixcube](#): > > It seems that many people don’t realize how difficult it is to legally immigrate, it’s not simply a matter of filling out some paperwork and answering a few questions about America, it’s a long and often expensive process. [Here](http://maggiemcneill.files.wordpress.com/2011/07/immigration-flow-chart.jpg) is a graphical aid to understanding the quagmire of the US naturalization process. Note beard length of newly minted US citizen varies by path. ---
**Author:** ![lance\_strongarm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/87869e/32.png) [@lance\_strongarm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lance_strongarm)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2012, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-government-ignoring-illegal-immigration-issues/626348/125 "2012-07-03T16:38:33Z")
> [@The\_Niply\_Elder](#): > > I never said they all own their homes. A small fraction of them do, the majority of them rent. But the rental market is deeply tied to the general real estate market. If a sudden loss of rental housing demand is introduced into the system, rent prices will plummet. Well, yeah, I acknowledged that. > [@](#): > > Homeowners will try to sell their homes once they realize that it’s a sucker’s game to pay a morgage when renting is such a better investment. Ummm, no, probably not. > [@](#): > > Seriously where have you been in the last 5 years? This is basics macroeconomy principles that everyone should be familiar with. I think I displayed my understanding of that quite well, thanks. > [@](#): > > So, long story short, no, mass deportation of illegals would be a tremendously stupid idea that would hurt everyone. ---
**Author:** ![lance\_strongarm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/87869e/32.png) [@lance\_strongarm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lance_strongarm)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2012, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-government-ignoring-illegal-immigration-issues/626348/126 "2012-07-03T16:40:02Z")
> [@SnakesCatLady](#): > > I’ve never been called a bitch or a whore by a white guy who didn’t know me\*. I’ve never _seen_ a white guy checking me out as blatantly as Mexican guys do. I’m not saying it’s never happened; I’ve just never caught one at it, except maybe in a bar. Not walking down the street. Rest assured, white guys are looking at you and thinking about you all the time. They just don’t say it out loud or let you see them looking. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2012, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-government-ignoring-illegal-immigration-issues/626348/127 "2012-07-03T17:14:27Z")
> [@SnakesCatLady](#): > > I’ve never been called a bitch or a whore by a white guy who didn’t know me\*. I’ve never _seen_ a white guy checking me out as blatantly as Mexican guys do. I’m not saying it’s never happened; I’ve just never caught one at it, except maybe in a bar. Not walking down the street. > > \*I’ve never been a whore; I can be a bitch when necessary. Fair enough, I guess. I think it’s a bit of a stretch to call that “not wanting to assimilate” though. It’d be like disliking Chinese people because they always had 20 items in the 10-items-or-less lane. > [@SnakesCatLady](#): > > I admit I dislike Mexican immigrants who do not want to assimilate into American culture. I don’t like being called a “puta” or given the once over walking down the street. I want my friends in the construction industry to be able to get jobs, where they will do a decent job. I’m not going to get started on the quality of the “cheap” labor on the last job site I worked on, except to say the punch list was looong. ---
**Author:** ![VinylTurnip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b2d939/32.png) [@VinylTurnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VinylTurnip)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2012, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-government-ignoring-illegal-immigration-issues/626348/128 "2012-07-03T17:18:23Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > Fair enough, I guess. I think it’s a bit of a stretch to call that “not wanting to assimilate” though. It’d be like disliking Chinese people because they always had 20 items in the 10-items-or-less lane. I know! What is \*up \*with that? ---
**Author:** ![grude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47774/32.png) [@grude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/grude)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2012, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-government-ignoring-illegal-immigration-issues/626348/129 "2012-07-03T17:21:59Z")
> [@dngnb8](#): > > LOL, I work with an office of anchor babies. Just because you dont see it, doesnt mean it is a myth. Could you expand on this? ---
**Author:** ![grude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47774/32.png) [@grude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/grude)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2012, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-government-ignoring-illegal-immigration-issues/626348/130 "2012-07-03T17:23:53Z")
> [@SnakesCatLady](#): > > I’ve never been called a bitch or a whore by a white guy who didn’t know me\*. I’ve never _seen_ a white guy checking me out as blatantly as Mexican guys do. I’m not saying it’s never happened; I’ve just never caught one at it, except maybe in a bar. Not walking down the street. > > \*I’ve never been a whore; I can be a bitch when necessary. Its called culture, it usually has very specific ideas on what is and is not appropriate. A culture where kissing in the street is frowned on can be ok with basically naked public dry humping during carnival etc. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2012, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-government-ignoring-illegal-immigration-issues/626348/131 "2012-07-03T17:58:08Z")
> [@dngnb8](#): > > Anchor babies do exist. I work with an office full of them. They vote, and are legal. Their parents vote as well. Some are here legally, some arent. > > \ > > LOL, I work with an office of anchor babies. Just because you dont see it, doesnt mean it is a myth. Where exactly do you work that has an office full of babies?😕 ---
**Author:** ![The\_Niply\_Elder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8e8cbc/32.png) [@The\_Niply\_Elder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Niply_Elder)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2012, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-government-ignoring-illegal-immigration-issues/626348/132 "2012-07-03T18:23:50Z")
> [@lance\_strongarm](#): > > Well, yeah, I acknowledged that. > > Ummm, no, probably not. > > I think I displayed my understanding of that quite well, thanks. You display your complete ignorance of economics, thats true. Fact: massive deportation of illegals would throw the economy into a tailspin, for the same reason that it tanked in 2008. ---
**Author:** ![VinylTurnip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b2d939/32.png) [@VinylTurnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VinylTurnip)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2012, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-government-ignoring-illegal-immigration-issues/626348/133 "2012-07-03T18:40:11Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > Where exactly do you work that has an office full of babies?😕 E-Trade? ---
**Author:** ![lance\_strongarm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/87869e/32.png) [@lance\_strongarm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lance_strongarm)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2012, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-government-ignoring-illegal-immigration-issues/626348/134 "2012-07-03T18:59:16Z")
> [@The\_Niply\_Elder](#): > > You display your complete ignorance of economics, thats true. Not really. You are being a bully. You want to have your opinion accepted without discussion. Doesn’t work that way. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Niply\_Elder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8e8cbc/32.png) [@The\_Niply\_Elder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Niply_Elder)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2012, 9:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-government-ignoring-illegal-immigration-issues/626348/135 "2012-07-03T21:37:40Z")
> [@lance\_strongarm](#): > > Not really. > > You are being a bully. You want to have your opinion accepted without discussion. Doesn’t work that way. Oh, I’m sorry. [Here](http://www.federalreserve.gov/pubs/feds/2004/200450/200450pap.pdf) > [@](#): > > Originally posted by article: > > A similar scatterplot (Figure 3, bottom panel) indicates that when prices are high relative to rents, subsequent price increases are small. This result appears to be consistent with the view taken by Leamer (2001) and others that a low rent-price ratio is a sign of overvaluation in the housing market that is subsequently, if slowly, eliminated. So, unsurprisingly, rents and real estate prices tend toward one another, in long-term regression analysis of data gathered from the Consumer Price Index (for rents) and Freddie Mac’s Conventional Mortgage House Price Index (for real estate values). Now, I apologize for bullying you, but this is the height of irony that you complain at the treatment you’re getting when you espouse the forcible removal and relocation of millions of individuals, and to top it off, can’t foresee the economic concequences of such an action. ---
**Author:** ![DigitalC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ebca7d/32.png) [@DigitalC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DigitalC)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2012, 10:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-government-ignoring-illegal-immigration-issues/626348/136 "2012-07-03T22:16:50Z")
This idea that illegal Mexicans are the ones who simply didn’t feel like waiting in line is the most idiotic argument used by the anti immigration crowd. ---
**Author:** ![dngnb8](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/977dab/32.png) [@dngnb8](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dngnb8)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2012, 10:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-government-ignoring-illegal-immigration-issues/626348/137 "2012-07-03T22:50:38Z")
> [@grude](#): > > Could you expand on this? In my department, we have 19 legal employees of Hispanic descent. Almost all of their parents arent citizens. Many immigrated here illegally. All the employees were born here. Their parents were migrant workers, worked in kitchens, hotel maids etc. These employees I work with are in their 40’s. Their parents live in their houses, essentially retired. The children are anchor babies. Born in America, educated here etc. They were born in the 60’s. ---
**Author:** ![dngnb8](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/977dab/32.png) [@dngnb8](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dngnb8)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2012, 10:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-government-ignoring-illegal-immigration-issues/626348/138 "2012-07-03T22:51:57Z")
> [@Rubixcube](#): > > It seems that many people don’t realize how difficult it is to legally immigrate, it’s not simply a matter of filling out some paperwork and answering a few questions about America, it’s a long and often expensive process. If a person gets to the point where they’re willing to pay the shady guy at the border to sneak them in, knowing full well that going to live substandard lives doing backbreaking labor, all while being hated for being there, it’s fairly obvious that time and money are not things they have right now. On the contrary, I know how hard it is. My mother is a naturalized citizen ---
**Author:** ![lance\_strongarm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/87869e/32.png) [@lance\_strongarm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lance_strongarm)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2012, 11:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-government-ignoring-illegal-immigration-issues/626348/139 "2012-07-03T23:00:28Z")
> [@The\_Niply\_Elder](#): > > Now, I apologize for bullying you, but this is the height of irony that you complain at the treatment you’re getting when you espouse the forcible removal and relocation of millions of individuals, and to top it off, can’t foresee the economic concequences of such an action. I espouse no such thing. I simply made a comment about the consequences. Perhaps you mistook me for another poster. ---
**Author:** ![lance\_strongarm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/87869e/32.png) [@lance\_strongarm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lance_strongarm)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2012, 11:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-government-ignoring-illegal-immigration-issues/626348/140 "2012-07-03T23:01:28Z")
> [@DigitalC](#): > > This idea that illegal Mexicans are the ones who simply didn’t feel like waiting in line is the most idiotic argument used by the anti immigration crowd. Why? (I am not anti-immigration, I just want to know why you say this). [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-government-ignoring-illegal-immigration-issues/626348.md?page=6) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-government-ignoring-illegal-immigration-issues/626348.md?page=8)