Right now immigration is one of the biggest issues here in the states. Everyone is arguing about every little facet of the issue, and there is a massively controversial bill making it's way through the senate which may shape the future of the political landscape going into the next elections, and therefore for years to come.

And I'm also curious to hear what those of you outside the good ol' US of A have to say about the immigration policies in your area, as that's something we don't hear much about around here.


As with any controversial topic, keep it civil. And also, a quick reminder that immigration laws and the practical issues involved are unique from place to place, so keep that in mind when talking about these issues with people in other countries.

So what does everyone think?

My opinions are simple on the matter.

If you fear for your safety with good reason in your native country, come on in.

If you can bring skills to this country, come on in.

If you're an honest, hard working person who wants a better quality of life for you and your family, come on in.

If you're willing to integrate and embrace this land as your own, come on in.

If you're a sponging bastard who wants all the benefits of this country but don't want to contribute, go away.

If you hate this country and are going to preach jihad on the steps of some government funded mosque, go away & DIE!!


On a sidenote and without wanting to offend any of my American cousins, I never really got their argument against immigrants, aren't most of you descended from immigrants yourselves? It's OK for your ancestors to seek a better life, but now it has to stop?

I like your rules. Common sense, it's a wonderful thing.

About immigration in America, I think one of the nastier parts of the debate is that the open borders crowd tries to portray their opponents as racist, xenophobic nativists. The truth is, most (not all, but the vast majority) of the people are pro-immigration, but they want people to come here legally to avoid all the nasty problems that come with illegal immigration. All the people who came through Ellis Island in the good old days went through a legal process to come here, they didn't just run across the border. And the threat of terrorism wasn't a big problem back in the day, but now the millions of people coming across provides easy cover for anyone who wants to enter the country, get phony identification, and even smuggle pretty much anything into the country. It's a ticking time bomb.

We killed the dubai port deal because there was this notion that they would pay billions and make huge security concessions (a big advantage for us) only to blow it all up, but the massive system in place for entering the country and acquiring phony identification, as well as the tremendous amounts of smuggling which goes on at the border, that doesn't seem to be enough to make even the slightest changes to the system. It's insane.

The big problem with system now is that it is extremely hard to come here legally, and quite easy to cross the border illegally. It's no wonder that legal immigration from mexico has almost stopped completely.

the expansion of the EU means that working visas are no longer needed to travel and work between countries in the EU...

this has led to, in the last 6 months, at a conservative estimate of 2,000,000 eastern europeans coming into the UK...that's a 4% population increase in 6 months

it's also led the government to realise that there are so many immigrants coming in that they have no need to integrate with the UK general population because they are setting up entire isolated communities en masse.

several of the UK's largest businesses now cater for different (and in particular, Polish) only speaking people...Supermarkets now sell Polish products as well as there being many Polish speciality shops opening. Cinemas now show Polish films and western films with Polish subtitles

it's been quite a dramatic change in a very short period of time

even the supermarket where i work part time. tonight i was working on my aisle and there were 8 people shopping around me...i was the only English speaking person there.

I've made some good friends from places like Latvia

most of them have skills which are neccessary but they aren't being utilised properly...a friend from work has several degrees from Riga university as well as a pHD in economics...he speaks Latvian, English, Russian, Slav and Polish....he works as a security guard in a supermarket

If you're coming into my country, do it legally, and learn our effing language. Working in retail is a bitch when you have to deal with 4 people who don't speak english, and a fifth person who speaks it poorly. I don't mind legal immigrants, but I HATE illegals, and they should all go away.

I did read recently that by the end of the year, Mohammad and it's variations in spelling are expected to be the number one name for baby boys in the UK. And that there are currently over one hundred cases of honor killings being investigated in london. Given that the last polls I saw of the muslim community over there showed a majority were sympathetic to terrorists, I would be a little nervous about where things are headed.

Then again, here in the state 25% of the muslim community believes terrorists are justified. I've got no problem with the other 75% (well, the ones who don't treat their families like shit and who are willing to get along with the rest of us) but that 25% should be under constant surveillance.

I can't remember the case name, but it's been in the papers here lately. Illegal immigrant comes here about 40 years ago. Can't register his children for school. Sues and WINS. We have to pay to educate his children and now all illegal and anchor children. About 40 years, he still doesn't speak English.

I don't want another amnesty.

That's not nearly as bad as the city (I forget which one, I think it is in new mexico) which is ending enforcement of traffic laws because they were catching too many illegal immigrants.

But yeah, the argument that we need illegal immigrants for the economy is idiotic. Unskilled, uneducated, low income workers (and their families) are a drain on the economy. The cost of education, healthcare, and all sorts of other benefits which they take often exceeds their total income, let alone the actual taxes they will pay.

And the line about "doing the jobs Americans won't do" is just bull$#!t. All they are doing is taking the jobs that normally go to teenagers and college students (which has had a negative effect on the job market for both groups, which can have lasting effects) and of course, decent blue collar jobs like factory work and construction. Hell, 75% of agricultural jobs are taken by Americans and legal immigrants.

We have the God given right to a better, safer life than YOU!!, why?, because we were born HERE!!, and you were born THERE!!.

I don't mind immigrants, as I posted above. It's the ones who enter the country illegally, and don't learn our f*ckin' language.

Exactly, I'm all for immigration, but there are too many problems that come with illegal immigration. If you want to come to this counrty, file the damn paperwork, don't break the laws.

And as much as I sympathize with people trying to flee crappy countries, we can't bring in half the population of the world. It feels good to help people who are escaping poverty, oppression, danger, etc. but it is really just putting a band aid on the problems of the world. We need to actually deal with the problems of other nations which lead people to flee from their homes.

Mexico is a perfect example of this. Mexico has corrupt government, massive crime problems, and a legal and regulatory climate which keeps people poor and prevents all the benefits of capitalism from ever reaching anyone but the few powerful elites. And as a result this country which has immense natural resources (including lots of oil) and a massive labor force is a poverty stricken hell hole. But instead of fixing the problems, or even having a small revolution, they just export their poverty to the US, and now thirty percent of their population lives here, and money sent back is the driving force in the economy. By allowing all these millions of people to come here, we have only been dragging out the problem. We would do far better to strong arm the mexican government into reforming itself and solving the problems which the people are trying to escape.

I just don't get it. The same whiny liberals who moan about people leaving the cities because of the violence and trying to shame people for looking out for themselves instead of staying to make a difference, also want to see people flee their home countries and try to shame us if we don't let them do it illegally. It's the same damn thing.

And again, it's not that I am against people coming here, quite the contrary, I'm all for it. But there is a legal process to follow, which allows us to make sure you are not a terrorist, a criminal, a pedophile, a spy, or someone we kicked out earlier. When people don't follow the law, and just run across the border, it undermines our security, it prevents them from having any legal standing (making them easy targets for abuse) and it has set up a massive network of smugglers and identity theft rings.

You don't have an inalienable right to enter this country, but even if you did, you wouldn't have the right to enter however you want to. Fill out the damn papers, get a F@&#ing visa (it's not that hard, I have many friends who have done it) and come enjoy the American dream.



Oh, and the people who don't speak much english don't really bother me. The people that bother me are the ones who demand that I learn to speak spanish. They can kiss my hairy ass, because I live in an english speaking country. If I went to a spanish, french, arabic, or whatever speaking country, I'd either learn the language, or deal with my limited communication options.

thats not an immigration issue though...most of the muslim population came over from pakistan 2 generations ago and so the majority who have the, shall we say, issues with British culture and indigenous to the country. the problem is that they ghettoize themselves away from other races...cities in the north of England are a prime example of where it has gone wrong

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/in_depth/uk/200...nce/default.stm

segragation and the often mistaken belief by both majority and minority that the other is being treated preferentially in terms of housing and benefits (welfare) leads to the tensions...

further compounded by tensions brought about by the war is Iraq and Afghanistan.

the problem with the poles, slavs and other eastern europeans IS and immigration issue... as i mentioned...they are coming in such vast numbers that many of them probably still haven't spoken to a British citizen yet...and another issue is that much of the earning they get from working in the UK is sent back to their country of origin...thus removing wealth from the country and it is happening in such huge numbers now that it may lead to rises in inflation and hit the economy hard