Why should illegal immigrants be granted "rights"?
444091
***In Response To parrotjohn2001\n\nThe problem is that this (Fourteenth Amendment)has been misinterpreted in recent years to mean simply that anyone born in the U.S, under any circumstances, is an American citizen.\nThis is neither the original intent of the law nor the way it was interpreted by the courts in subsequent decades. Some Americans speak of birthright citizenship as if it were an immutable law of nature. \nIt is not, and most other nations do not, in fact, recognize it. It is only a BAD HABIT that could be broken with a simple Executive Order. \n\nAccording to estimates, some 200,000 so-called anchor babies are born in the United States every year. \nOnce a mother has birthed a child on American soil, she can then seek to obtain citizenship for herself on the strength of the family-reunification laws. \nEven before this happens, she is very hard to deport, as the mother of an American, and the full panoply of welfare benefits is available to her, as is affirmative action if she is a member of a racial minority. \n"The situation we have today is absurd," alleges Craig Nelsen, director of Friends of Immigration Law Enforcement, \na group of attorneys and immigration experts that is trying to do something about the problem. \n"There is a huge and growing industry in Asia that arranges tourist visas for pregnant women so they can fly to the United States and give birth to an American. \nThis was not the intent of the Fourteenth Amendment; it makes a mockery of citizenship."\n\nThe key to undoing the current misinterpretation of the Fourteenth Amendment is this odd phrase \n"AND SUBJECT TO THE JURISDICTION THEREOF." \nThe whole problem is caused by the fact that the meaning of this phrase, which was clear to anyone versed in legal language in 1868, has slipped with changes in usage. Fortunately, there is a large group of court precedents that make clear what the phrase actually means: \n\nThe Fourteenth Amendment excludes the children of aliens. (The Slaughterhouse Cases (83 U.S. 36 (1873)) \n\nThe Fourteenth Amendment draws a distinction between the children of aliens and children of citizens. (Minor v. Happersett (88 U.S. 162 (1874)) \nThe phrase "subject to the jurisdiction" requires "direct and immediate allegiance" to the United States, not just physical presence. \n(Elk v. Wilkins 112 U.S. 94 (1884)) \n\nThere is no automatic birthright citizenship in a particular case. (Wong Kim Ark Case, 169 U.S. 649 (1898)) \n\nThe Supreme Court has never confirmed birthright citizenship for the children of illegal aliens, temporary workers, and tourists. \n(Plyler v. Doe, 457 U.S. 202, 211 n.10 (1982)) \n\nThere are other cases referring to minor details of the question.\n\n the so-called 14th amendment was never properly ratified either.  In the case of Dyett v. Turner, 439 P.2d  266, 270 (1968), the Utah Supreme Court recited numerous historical facts proving, beyond any shadow of a doubt, that the so‑called 14th amendment was likewise a major fraud upon the American People.\n\nThose facts, in many cases, were Acts of the several State Legislatures voting for or against that proposal to amend the U.S. Constitution.  The Supreme Law Library has a collection of references detailing this major fraud.\n\n The U.S. Constitution requires that constitutional amendments be ratified by three-fourths of the several States.  As such, their Acts are governed by the Full Faith and Credit Clause in the U.S. Constitution.  See Article IV, Section 1.\n\n Judging by the sheer amount of litigation its various sections have generated, particularly Section 1, the so‑called 14th amendment is one of the worst pieces of legislation ever written in American history.  The phrase “subject to the jurisdiction of the United States” is properly understood to mean “subject to the municipal jurisdiction of Congress.”   \n\nFor this one reason alone, the Congressional Resolution proposing the s
418111
i think if you are legal you should be treated fairly. but if you are not legal you should be deported back to your country untill you get the necessary documents. this doesn't just mean mexicans, its every illegal immigrant. i believe everyone needs a chance, they just need to do it legally.
270379
Because they don't  have to, and they wouldn't get one.  Why do we just let them stay here?  Other countries would put them in jail.  They're "illegal"!!!
665273
No.. they would just get arrested.  They don't have the 'rights' illegal immigrants have.
673955
I agree , they have done nothing to get those rights , but break our laws . The American citizens have worked to make this country and just because someone sneaks in illegally and take free what we all work so hard for.\n We had to fight to make our country what it is today and if they want what we have then fight for their own country . It's easy to go to another country that has what you want , but it's hard to stand up and fight for freedom in your own country . Make your country better , we have enough problems here .\nIf you work and save for things and someone breaks into your home and starts living with you and taking your things , what would you say ?
534805
I think your question is really a disguised form of polemic. I see what you're trying to say here, but you miss the point entirely. The argument that has been made by many illegal immigrants is that because they pay taxes "like everybody else" they should be entitled to the same rights, like everybody else. I take issue with the contention that they do pay taxes like everyone else, and I also disagree with any argument that attempts to connect illegal citizenship with a sort of moral/ethical argument that supposedly supercedes a nation's legal authority. For one, illegal immigrants do not always pay their taxes (often a reason why they are hired in the first place is because they do not have any documentation and their work is paid in cash, under the table, so that no one pays any taxes on it). Furthermore, some studies have estimated that illegal immigrants actually receive much more income in the form of government support than they actually contribute (i.e. they are net tax loss for the government). As far as your moral implied argument that illegal immigrants- by virtue of their tax "contributions"- are owed something by the US government, I ask you the following: imagine that you move to any other country other than the United States- say Venezuela, or China, or Germany- and using the same illicit means, you find a job in these countries and then make a claim that these countries somehow "owe" you something. Hard to imagine? Why in the world is breaking American laws any more moral or ethical than breaking the laws in any other country around the world? The entire idea of sovereignty is that a country has a right- and a duty- to protect its citizens and to maintain its territorial integrity- including its borders. That duty and responsibility far outweighs any supposed duty to protect citizens from other countries.
327962
They have a right to leave and come here legally.  Illegals appear to have more rights and privileges than American citizens.
1187037
I am personally against giving rights to people who have no respect for the law by entering or remaining illegally, however they are desperate to get rights because usually they are very impoverished or refugees from tyranny and want badly to stay in the US where even abject poverty is better than what they had.\n\nAnd no, we are all not illegal aliens as one person suggested. The American Indians were not the first here. When their ancestors came over here, there already existed people before them. Those people were then conquered, killed, or assimilated by the ancestors of the American Indians.\n\nConquering was for thousands of years, an accepted part of the life of mankind and countries grew out of those wars. We are simply one of those countries. I was born in this country and I am a citizen.
1186109
Why the heck should we reward people who are draining medical resources, social security, schools, community services, etc by giving them a free college education over a legal resident? We who are legal (I'm Native American) pay our taxes and watch people who don't pay anything, get the benifits we can't, because we are legal. \n\n   I have seen illegals given food stamps, subsidized housing, money and free medical care, when American citizens were denied. Yes, I have seen this!\n\n If the illegals want an education, let THEM pay for it not people who would like that education but can't afford it, because they can't get the freebies that illegals get. Give those scholarships to people who deserve them ,because they obey the rules!\n\nIf education is free in Mexico, let them get it there.
341044
FIRST-\n\nThe CONSTITUTION And The BILL Of RIGHTS Applies To\nCITIZENS Of The United States-NOT ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS\n\nILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS DO NOT Have ANY RIGHTS In This Nation\n\nThe RIGHT To Protest Is A RIGHT RESERVED FOR THE CITIZENS\nNOT Illegal Aliens \n\n***For CHASITY(Above)\n\nOn ABC, March 26, 2006, Weasel Arlen Specter, hauled out the Big Lie, \n\n"We have created a need for these workers who will do the work Americans won't." \n\n!!!Bul**hit!!! Once we begin to deport the ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS, Americans will step in and do the Jobs - \nJobs that have been taken away from them because Employers have turned a Blind Eye to the Law and are looking for Cheap Labor. \n\nILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS Are Taking MANY Jobs That American Citizens WANT To Do, At COMPETETIVE WAGES (That Means NOT $3.00 HR)AND Theyre Getting Paid Well\n\nTHE FRUITPICKER LIE MUST STOP,And It MUST STOP NOW\n\nIllegal Immigrants Have FLOODED The Job Market\n--They Do CONSTRUCTION,(ALL PHASES) \n--They DRIVE FORKLIFTS And HEAVY EQUIPMENT\n--They Work As CASHIERS(I KNOW PLENTY Young Ladies That Would Like A Job)\n--FAST FOOD(High School Students Need Work TOO)\n--They Are MACHINISTS\n--Cooks, Waitresses, Diswashers(ALL Good Jobs)\n\n--They Have TAKEN OVER The Landscaping Industry In This Country\n(???Do Ya THINK We ALL Dont Know That ONE Legal OWNS The BIZZ And The OTHERS (ILLEGAL)Arent Making Competetive Wages???)(WINK)\nThese Are Just A FEW EXAMPLES\nI Can Go ON And ON\n\nSo PLEASE Try To Sell Your FRUITPICKIN, TOILET SCRUBBIN Lies To Someone ELSE Cause MOST American Citizens AINT BUYIN It NO MORE
267888
I think the laws are necessary, and any reform is needed in order to try to solve the problem. I don't think it is a matter of free speech, because our rights are reserved for the "legal" citizens of this country. I think it is not very smart to be doing something illegal, \nthen making it known that you are doing it. \n\nPeople who are here illegally are breaking the law. There are steps that can be taken to be here legally and they should take them. It may be a difficult process, but as we all know Freedom isn't free, and if you want it bad enough, you should be willing to do what it takes to get it through legal means.\n\nThe protests of illegal people in this country bother me.  What would happen if child molesters decided to protest the laws against child molesting. We would all say, that's crazy! How can they be "in the wrong" and demand the laws be changed so that they can do what they want. I don't think it is right. The best way to resolve the problem is to make it prohibitive for illegal people to be here, and beneficial for legal immigrants to be here. Our laws are there for a reason, America is not a free for all...and if you want to be a part of its citizenry, then you must follow the laws like the rest of the citizens. \n\nWhat gets me is all these people using emotionalism and saying that "human rights" are being violated. How is it a violation of human rights to tell people who entered this country illegally, got jobs, and basically are squatters and cheaters that at long last, YOU MUST DO THE RIGHT THING! \n\nI think they do not understand what the definition of "Human Rights" is. They are not being treated inhumanely, they are actually fortunate. Because they are being treated as any other American Citizen who breaks the law. ACTUALLY they are being treated BETTER than any other American Citizen who breaks the law. How many U.S. citizens do you know, can break the law, admit to it, protest about it....and not be punished unless or until congress decides to re-write the law in an effort to be as fair to THEM as possible. Come on! Just because they took low paying jobs and work hard at them, does not mean that they are free to break the law. And if we allow them to do it, then the country they are so eager to live in will cease to be the country it is supposed to be. \n\nIf what illegal immigrants want to do is to work, raise families, and live in a free society. Then, follow the LEGAL process to do so, learn the language, and the culture, pay your taxes, and become an American the right way!\n\nDon't break the law and then scream victim! You are not victims. The tax payers who support social programs are victims; the people who migrate to this country and become legal citizens are victims. Illegal immigrants are people who made a "CHOICE" to do the WRONG thing, and think they should be excused or rewarded for that choice. I say WAKE UP; take responsibility for your actions, and GET LEGAL or leave.
185997
Yeah, if your here illegally then yeah you have no rights. But that doesn't mean that if you are here illegally and your kids are freakin born here, the government cant just take away the freaking citizenship of those born here! its a joke!!please!! Not only does this effect the illegals this also effects all those that have green cards. this is also applies to foreign exchange students!\n\nThe freaking NATIONAL SECURITY issue, yeah AMERICA IS ABSOLUTELY FINE IF WE GET RID OF ALL OF THE ILLEGALS!! THIS IS A JOKE!! yeah like this will happen!!\n\nMost immigrants do all the small jobs. then the freakin "WHITE" man says ,"they took our jobs", B.S. No one wants to do the small jobs.instead we hire immigrants and pay them less because those jobs aren't important!\n\nPassing this law is also going to cost too much! Just to hold the immigrants in the freaking deportation place is too much! its just like jail, but not that extreme!!\n\nthink about it, this could effect all of your friendships with latino's, asians, pacific islanders, and any other race out there.\n\nif they pass this law, this country is going down the drain, and it'll be all of our faults because we elect those in office. This reminds me of the JIM CROWE laws from back in the day. HR4437=TROUBLE!
495217
If they are here illegally, they should have no rights.
396476
Yes. But it does not give them extra rights above the rights of citizens...ie...the right to violate the law.
1129162
It might sound good to an illegal criminal, but not to LEGAL USA Citizens:\nSenate Bill-- the rights illegals will get:\nCurrent Bill:\n\n1. grants amnesty to the MILLIONS of illegals already here!\n2.grants amnesty to illegals FAMILYS,who live OUTSIDE the country\n3.admits HUNDREDS of THOUSANDS of unskilled "guest workers",through a new "guest worker" program,with a direct path to permanent resident and citizenship!\n4.admits 1.5 MILLION\nagricultural "guest workers" with a direct path to citizenship!\n5.increases the number of employment based, immigrants admitted to the U.S. each year,by 400%!!\n6.gives the Dept.of Homeland Insecurity,the discretion to waive fines for employers who knowingly hire illegals!!\n7.allows states to give ILLEGALS,in-state tuition benefits that they can DENY to citizens who live in other states!\n8.requires consultation with the MEXICAN government,before we begin construction of a fence along OUR border!\n9.creates new student visa programs,with direct path to citizenship!\n10.allows ILLEGALS to claim Social Security benefits,for work performed ILLEGALLY!!!!\n11. Adds a 10 year 'statute of limitations' to give amnesty to illegals coming in in the future if they provide documentation saying they were here for 10 years at any future point. (This to people who have been using false documents all along.)\n12. Each of the guest workers in each of the 1.5 million person PER YEAR and 200,000 unskilled person PER YEAR program would, upon obtaining residency or citizenship be able to bring their families as well. This includes indigent parents at a time when we already don't know how we will fund old age requirements for the baby boomers.\n\nThe Wall Street Journal just touted a poll saying Americans are beginning to prefer Bush and the Senate's view to immigration reform. However, I've read the questions they asked. Had I not actually read the Senate Bill and had I been asked those questions, I'd have ended up being counted as supporting Bush and the Senate in this. People only approve of the Senate Bill if they don't know what it says.\n\nThey are not looking out for legal American Citizens. They don't listen to us. They are listening to freeloading illegal immigrants. If enough of the voting legal population will get their heads out of their butts and let their senators and representatives know how they feel about this atrocity to the American people they just might start to listen to us. \nThe laws on illegal immigration are already on the books, they just need to ENFORCE THEM.\n***********Americans Need to Get Their Heads**********\n*********Out Of Their Butts And Pay Attention************\n\nCredit goes to: DAR and yars232c Y!A members
391790
What immigrants don't realize or think about is when they come here illegally they are robbing themselves of their own rights. If they are illegal, their work is limited because if they are caught, they can be deported. They have a lot of limits because they don't want to get caught and deported, that is something they are bringing onto to themselves. They don't have the right to vote because they are not citizens. \n\nFOr those that came here the legal way, then they should have all the rights that American citizens have ONCE they are here long enough to be considered a citizen, they deserve it because they went through all of the trouble to do things the correct way. \n\nNo matter what we do, we will still have illegal immigration. It can be limited however. I think we should do what other countries do to us. I was in South America last January. I had to carry copies of my passport with me, because if the police or security stopped me or if someone in a museum or store or whatever requested to see it, and I did not have it, then I would've been put in jail. A fine of over $600.00 plus exit taxes would have to be paid before they released me and I would've been escorted out of the country and would've lost the priveledge of coming back. THAT IS WHAT NEEDS TO BE DONE HERE! We are WAY TOO LOOSE WITH LETTING PEOPLE IN. They come, they don't speak English and what happens they get welfare benefits. The come here illegally, the pop several children out and what do they do, they get welfare benefits. NO WAY!! You better darn well have more proof of a social security card and ID to show that you are a citizen, you dang well be able cough up a passport and a visa!!
539084
I believe illegal immigrants should not be granted legal residence, my reasoning is thus, many people immigrate to this country legally.  It would be unfair to grant people who do not follow the rules and regulations of immigration to be granted residence.  My mother is a foreign born person.  She followed all the rules to come here.  If she had to follow the rules everyone should follow the rules.  It is sad to think that by breaking the law some people would benefit.  That in itself would be a bad example to those who long to be on the road to citizenship.