Viewers sound off on immigration reform

Summary

We asked viewers whether they supported immigration reform that includes a path to citizenship for illegal immigrants.

Story Published: May 1, 2007 at 4:44 PM PDT

Story Updated: May 1, 2007 at 4:59 PM PDT

Viewers sound off on immigration reform
Viewers sounded off on whether they supported immigration reform that includes a path to citizenship for illegal immigrants.

Their comments have not been edited for content, grammar or spelling. However, any responses that included swear words or slurs were not posted.
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You should have to have LEGAL citizenship to obtain a drivers license in any state in the United States. Ive seen too many accidents where the driver is here illegally with no insurance. Why cant they obtain citizenship legally? I really dont get it.
- Jaclyn

Let them earn their way such as studying to be an American Citizen like any other from another country. Get a job, pay their taxes, learn their "new" language. Stop wanting something for nothing.
- Jean

We do not support a program that includes a path to citizenship for illegal immigrants because it will set a dangerous precedent that could never be undone in the future. Thank you.
- Harlan

My in-law's came here legally! It took years and several THOUSANDS of dollars. They are not eligible for even English as a Second language class. Why should these illegal's be? Why should they be entitled when the legal immigrants HAVE ABSOLUTELY NO SUPPORT FROM THE STATE OR FEDERAL GOVERNMENT! The Country My in-laws came from is just as poor of a nation as they do. What makes them BETTER than MY in-laws? I would like that answered from the good ole US of A.
- Leah

Granting amnesty to illegal immigrants makes a mockery and is a slap in the face for all the honest hard working legal immigrants who went through the legal processes to become citizens of this great nation. This country should a safe haven for any and all LEGAL US citizens.
- Deborah


I am so tired of Illegal Immigrants taking advantage of us! If Mexico is so great why are they sending all of their citizens hereto die in the desert instead of making things better for it's people? I guess they would rather our sovereignty be compromised and our laws broken. Thanks for all of the respect you (don't) give us Americans!
- Renee

Why are we even asking this question? We need to ask ourselves does the USA really need hundreds of thousands of additional people from any country who have deliberately chosen to ignore our basic, constitutional law? The group that seems to be most prominently represented in this demonstration is already regularly in the news for all the wrong reasons. If they are such a positive force in the world, why haven't they remained in their own country and made the changes necessary for their citizenry to live in a safe, lawful society? Instead they have chosen a lazy-minded and unlawful approach to changing their lives. The bottom line is that many are breaking our laws, period. Whether we chose to accept that remains to be seen.
- Alan and Grace

The definition of immigrant is in all cases is a legal move. It is a felony to enter a country illegally. Why do we cater to these people who flood our schools, our health care system, our roads(without licenses) while we exclude many people who have come legally but have some small blot on their record so are sent home.

These illegal folks should all be sent home and if they wish to back let them apply legally like all the rest of our families did. I have many friends who are legally here from south of the border and they are as offended as I am by the lack of respect shown by these illegal folks.

They don't learn the language, they disrespect the teachers at the schools they desecrate the flag and think they should have rights equal to citizens that have earned citizenship or have inherited it. If they are legally here

- Welcome....if they are here as law breakers - Go Home.
- Lynn

I am very upset that a group of ILLEGAL people can demonstrate and close down traffic when ILLEGAL in my dictionary still means ILLEGAL. What in the world is happening in AMERICA that allows a group of ILLEGALS to control a nation??? My medical insurance costs me $505. out of pocket with a $1500.
deductible and high taxes to pay for a groups from other countries to come in and over run our systems and make such DEMANDS. The news coverage these people get over hard working CITIZENS leaves much to be desired. ILLEGAL is ILLEGAL. NO THEY SHOULD NOT GET TO THE HEAD OF THE LINE OVER THOSE TRYING TO COME THROUGH THE LEGAL SYSTEM
- Gerry

WHAT PART OF ILLEGAL DON'T YOU UNDERSTAND? WE HAVE LAWS FOR A REASON . IF WE LET EVERYONE HERE BECOME A CITIZEN WHAT WILL HAPPEN TO OUR BORDERS AFTER THAT?? OUR RESOURCES ARE ALREADY TASK TO THE LIMIT. GET REAL.
-TARY

My parents were legal immigrants back in the 1920's adn they had to assimilate by learning the language, customs and laws of the United States. There were no handouts like there is today. It is a disgrace to all those who immigrated legally across the ocean to get here, and worked their hardest to get by. Now it's alll about handouts and handups.
- Barry

1st I'm not opposed to immigration as long as it's done legally. But very opposed to illegal immigration and now add that they "demand" it. I demand lower gas prices and that fall on deaf ears.
- Jim

Immigrants need to obey the law of the land and follow proper channels. I have no problem with legal immigrants and welcome them. If I was an illegal immigrant in the country that they come from, their government would have no problem with deporting me. I also feel that all immigrants need to learn English. If I was to immigrate to another country, I would learn the language of that country.
- Carol

Unfortunately both Democrats and Republicans want illegal aliens. For the Democrats though it is an illegal voting base that's what they receive from illegal aliens. For the Republicans it's been determined that keeping unemployment at or above 3% keeps wages down, illegal aliens accomplish that goal.

The guest worker program in some form must be implemented in order to keep this country from slipping into a 1929 style depression. The social engineering that the liberal agenda embarked upon many years ago is primarily a Communist model. In order to sustain that model and imposes upon this country liberalism the left must resist the reduction of legal or illegal aliens into this country. In order to maintain our freedoms we of this country must stop believing that it is our obligation to bring wealth to the rest of the world because it is at the expense of our own people. Soon there will be no advantage for people of other countries to want to come to this country. Liberalism is a rapidly creating a have and have not society here as it is in the countries immigrants are fleeing from.

Liberalism has greatly succeeded and continues to work at removing our rights granted in the Constitution. Primarily the rights of gun ownership, sovereign property ownership and the freedom from uncontrolled taxation. The advances liberalism has made in social engineering on the important rights once considered untouchable in the Constitution has put the American people well on their way to being subjects as opposed to citizens.

Many liberals today are very much in the column of the haves in this country as opposed to the have-nots they are creating in greater numbers. What they will soon realize is that they can quickly slide into the have-nots column as the next great Depression begins.
- Allen

My problem with all of this is 1. The people that have been here for 20+ years, worked & paid taxes should be given special treatment. But to sneak across our borders, pop out a kid or two does not AND I REALLY MEAN DOES NOT GIVE YOU’RE THE RIGHT OR BENEFITS OF OUR COUNTRY. Granted we are all immigrants, and Native Americans are truly the only real Natives, but I am sick and friggen tired of Espanola over the phone, Espanola on signs, this is friggen America, not MEXICO.
- Bobbie

I would like to ask those opposed to the immigrant workers how many
of their lilly white butts will get out and do the work in the fields
these people do. Yes, I am WHITE! Yes, I know those against these
hard working people believe they are taking OUR jobs. BULL! We
travel to AZ in the winter and are amazed at the amount of OUR food
these people are helping to provide us. I also believe most of the
migrant workers pay into OUR tax system which in turn pays into the
so called "free medical" and schools. It is time to open the
borders and let us holy Americans appreciate what these people help
to provide us.
- Sharon

I THINK EVERY NON US- RESIDENT THAT IS NOT OVER HERE JUST VISITING FOR A SHORT WHILE SHOULD ALL BE DEPORTED BACK TO THEIR OWN COUNTRY. THIS IS WHY WE ARE SO BAD OF AS WE ARE RIGHT NOW.
- Tony

Now is the time to quit all the handwringing and finger pointing. They are in this country illegally and therefore should be deported. If this offends all the bleeding hearts out there, so what. The time is now. Begin by rounding up all the people at the rallies, since 90% are illegal, and send them back. Cut off any and all benefits, including emergency health care. If you are in this country illegally, then you are a criminal. Cut and dried, plain and simple. Take France for example: if you are in France illegally and they find out, you are immediaetly deported. They don't fool around, and neither should the U.S. It is a sad day indeed when illegal aliens have more rights than I do.
- Jim

People who want to come to the USA should comply with the law and apply for citizenship & visa and come here legally and not "border jump".
- Mike

Illegal aliens have no rights in the U.S. They should not be allowed to hold rallies, march, petition the government, hold a driver's license, have a job, or even be here in this country. Send them all home and make them apply for legal entry into the U.S., then we'll talk.
- Paul

Several year sago my husband was offered a job(as a professional pilot) in Belgium. After days of application processing, we were finally told that the position would be "illegal", we would be there without any rights and could be asked to leave. Needless to say we declined.
The act of coming here, skirting the laws, degrades those people who take the time and effort to immigrate legally. Their very presence decreases the availability of jobs and reduces the compensation for those jobs. The jobs they are taking are NOT jobs Americans won't do, they are jobs that now pay way too little for anyone who is not living with 30 other people in a two bedroom house to be able to afford. I picked lettuce as a teen (I am a white middle-class women). It was interesting, hard work and taught me a lot.
No one should be given rights they did not earn.
- Ellen

Most of our ancestors came from somewhere else, they followed the rules and became working members of society. Most of these folks are looking for a better way of life and the majority of them are willing to work hard for it. These are the folks we see in our fast food stores etc. after all. It would be a much easier road to allow them to become citizens and pay taxes than to put them in jail or separate families for deportation.
- Dawn

Illegals have taken the jobs of American citizens. They are the cause of falling wages. They contribute to the high cost of schools, prisons, health care, and are, in general, a real drain on the tax system.
Why do those in power not recognize that they are here illegally? Where is the incentive for those of us here legally to follow the written laws of this nation?

It all seems so black and white to me -- They are illegal -- Send them back to where they come from. That would be a real boon to Oregon's problem of never enough money.
- Marlene

There is already a path to legal citizenship. I moved here with my 3 children to be with my American husband almost 4 years ago! We have had to go through all the legal processes and we were happy to do it. We have all had medical and background checks, including fingerprinting. The laws are in place for a reason...to keep out diseases and criminals etc. I am all for immigration...I am totally against illegal immigration.

My home country of Australia is a culturally diverse land , just like the USA. I had never experienced racism first hand until I moved here. In my home town I initially found it difficult to get a job because I did not speak Spanish....unbelievable! My children were taunted at school and told "go back to Australia" by Hispanic kids....even more intolerable. I was so naive...thinking that Australia was an ally of this country and we would be welcomed. I had no hand-outs and never expected any, in fact, a very rude woman at the American Consulate in Sydney gruffly told me that "my marriage would probably fail and not to expect any help at all from the American Government".
- Bernadette

I saw a poster held up by a protester that stated “Wanting a Better Life is Not a Crime.” Well that goes both ways. American citizens don’t want their wages and quality of life lowered because of illegal aliens taking their jobs. Sorry, but the United States can’t be the answer to everyone’s problems. We have enough of our own at the moment. Bush doesn’t want to grant aliens worker’s permits out of the goodness of his heart. He just wants cheap labor for his corporate pals. He could care less what that would mean for the middle class.
- Teddi

Viewer Poll

Do you support or oppose the health care bill members of the U.S. House will be voting on this weekend? Read more

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