My Email Debate with an Immigration Attorney

Several weeks ago I had this debate with my best friend from high school who is now an immigration attorney. He did not like what I had to say in one of my posts, so he responded. This is the actual email I returned to him. His quotes are in the boxes, with my responses following, just as they occurred in the email. Who won? You tell me.

As an immigration lawyer, you probably dont want me to post the truth about illegal aliens in our country. As bad as most conservatives think they are and as tough as they talk about immigration reform, the bottom line is that none of them are ready to deport all the illegals because it would make their daily lives too unbearable.

Bullshit. First, I am a realist. Deportation is impossible because there are too many, and we don't know where they are. But we should stop any further influx - I don't know about you, but 4000 illegals crossing EVERY DAY sounds like an INVASION to me. They are breaking the law. If they disrespect our immigration laws, how can we expect them to respect the other laws once they get here? If we have immigration laws, they should be enforced. If not, just tell us. Second, this need not be a liberal-conservative issue. It should be an American issue. If they want to come to the US, they need to go through the proper procedures, just like the person coming from overseas who doesn't have the luxury of simply walking across a line in the sand. That's all I want; for them to do it the right way. And, if it makes things "unbearable," then that's OK. It's the price for being lazy and letting it go this far to begin with. And it will only be temporary. Necessity is the mother of invention, and it wouldn't take long for some enterprising American to devise the machinations to get around it. Example: Slavery and the cotton gin. We replaced slaves with a machine.

First, it would cause a collapse of the agricultural and manufacturing economy of the U.S. (which may take the broader economy down with it). And besides, nobody is ready to give up their illegal alien nannys, or the people that serve them food at restaurants, clean and paint their houses, mow their lawns, build their new luxury homes, dry clean their laundry, clean their offices at night while they are at home sleeping, and all those other nice things. The fact is that most of the 10M illegals are doing jobs that Americans dont want to do.

More BS. Who did all those jobs before we had illegals? How am I better off when I have to repeat myself 5 times at the drive-through and they still can't get my order right because they can't speak fucking English? In NZ and Australia it's mostly teenagers working part-time who fill those jobs, and no matter where they are from, they speak English. I say that if there were no illegals, the people who used to do those jobs would do so again. Put the welfare types and the homeless (who aren't insane) to work. If one is on welfare, that person should work for it - or starve. Sounds to me like you endorse a slave class which I thought was anathema to liberalism.

When I moved a few weeks ago, I had arranged with the VA labor force to send me 3 workers (Americans) to be at my house at 9am on a Sunday to help with the move. Only 1 showed up. Oh yes, it was Easter Sunday and I understand that these folks need to pray, be with their families and take a day of rest. Then I called Jorge, my reliable handy man friend and asked him for help. Within an hour he and 2 other guys (who couldnt speak a lick of English) were at my door ready to move. They put in a solid days work and pulled me out of a serious bind. I would love to have paid U.S. workers to do the job, but they bailed and left me hanging. I could go on an on...but I wont. Either way it is just my opinion. I dont know much about blogs or whether they are open to posting opposing views. But for what its worth, this is what I think about the issue. I love America and I love Americans. But, to me, bashing illegals is about as silly as bashing the oil companies for polluting our environment - - while they pump and refine crude oil for us to use. There are a few people who can do this without being hypocritical; but they are very small in number.

Yes, for every story of reliable, dependable Mexicans, I have an equal number of stories of criminals and miscreants, but that is irrelevant because they come in all shapes and nationalities. Your arguments are ex post facto justifications and rationalizations that do not refute the fact that they are breaking the law, counselor. Remember, I lived within 50 miles of the border for the last 13 years, and I saw it all being an inspector in the construction industry (most skilled labor is still done by non-Mexicans). For every one that comes here looking for a better life, there is at least one who comes here with the worst of intentions. The point of LEGAL immigration (with background checks, medical exams, etc) is to help distinguish between the two, yes? My blog is open to all comments because I believe in the free exchange of ideas, and I don't like preaching to the choir.

NZ and Australia have some pretty strict immigration policies - I am going through the red tape to LEGALLY get residency here. One of the requirements is that all applicants MUST SPEAK ENGLISH!!! and have the means to sustain themselves while here waiting on disposition. These countries want people who are going to be an asset, not a liability, to their society. Why must we just take the dregs that Fox doesn't want? Who does he think he is telling us what our laws should be? Fuck him! Mexico needs to take care of its own problems. How many can we absorb? What about prison overcrowding? - 2/3 of federal prisoners are illegals; God only knows how many of them clog our county jails and state prisons. What about all the hospital trauma center/emergency room closures in SoCal because they treat illegals who have no insurance and no other means to pay? I gotta pay for mine, and I'll be damned if my tax money should pay for them too.

I know there are illegals all over the US now, but I can't take too seriously the opinions of anybody who doesn't live in a border state. I just don't think you realize how bad it is. A nation is defined by its borders, language, and culture. Lose one, and your nation is soon to cease being a nation. I am glad to have left that behind; I just can't take watching my country destroy itself from within.