We Are a Nation of Immigrants!

Could someone please explain to me why it seems to be a sin against humanity to enforce or even tighten up our immigration policies? Don't we have the most liberal immigration policies in the entire world? I think it might be time to bring our laws into line with one or two countries on the rest of the planet. Let's start with the immigration laws of ...uh, let's see, some neighboring country like...er...let's take a peek at Mexico. They're taking a lot of heat these days so I did some investigating and found that their laws aren't as outrageous as some would like us to believe.

One condition that pops out is the requirement that a person must speak the native language.

I don't think that speaking the language of the host country is out of line. I don't think it's criminal or even an outrageous request. It's now to the point that I feel as though I should learn several different languages to understand what's going on in my own country. Learning the language is a sign of respect.

No unskilled workers are allowed.

I'm not sure how "skilled" workers are determined, but what's wrong with requiring that an immigrant be productive? We in this country don't need more "corner posts", and a skill of sorts would be helpful to become gainfully employed. I don't see the problem with this one, especially since other countries seems to have plenty of unskilled workers of their own. So many in fact that they can afford to ship the excess here.

Immigrants will never have the right to vote, hold political office, collect welfare, food stamps, or government assistance of any kind, including health care, no matter how long they have been in Mexico.

This one seems reasonable. I know, I know, the argument is immigrants should be allowed to vote in local elections to have a say in how their tax dollars are spent. My counter argument is that there is a process here called citizenship. Immigrants want a vote? Become a citizen. Immigrants want government assistance? Get a job, pay taxes and become a citizen. Show some effort and some loyalty before you demand perks other people pay for.

Immigrants may not protest, demonstrate, wave a foreign flag, or organize politically.

This one is my own personal favorite. Viva Me-hee-co! Nothing ticks me off more than seeing a swarm of aliens demanding rights they don't have in their own country. If the people feel the need to protest our cruel and abusive human rights policies while wrapping themselves in the flag of their own beloved homeland, why the hell did they leave to come here?

Immigrants are the fabric of our nation, and have woven a myriad of proud ethnic values and traditions into it. But I, being the ignorant, unreasonable hard-ass I am, believe that along with "admission" into this country, there should also come an honest desire to "contribute" to rather than "take advantage of" all we have to offer. I'm tired of being thought of as a right wing radical because I expect more from those that come here than a list of demands. And to those who cry "But we are a nation of immigrants!" in defense of the poor huddled masses dehumanized by our unreasonable and cruel policies, I would ask, "What does that mean? Aren't most other countries also nations of immigrants?" That being the case, maybe we should take a lesson from them.

Source: http://msgboard.snopes.com/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=print_topic;f=37;t=001077