As election approaches the focus is on Congressional elections. What?

Would you ever think that elections for Congress would ever supercede the elections for the presidency? That seems like such a stupid and simple question that nobody would think about. The presidential election is supposed to be the most important to everyone. Evidently this election is different for some.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/29/us/politics/29immig.html?_r=1&scp=2&sq=immigration&st=cse&oref=slogin
According to this article a group of republicans have put their focus on the Congressionals. "We’re going to have an incredibly bad White House, so we’re in for some tough defensive battles," says Roy Beck.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/19/opinion/19fri1.html?scp=6&sq=immigration&st=cse

This particular group of republicans thinks that with either presidential candidate the issue of illegal immigration and amnesty is screwed. This group is looking to have a lot of republicans in both the House and Senate so that they might reject any amensty proposed by Obama or McCain.


This seems so strange and yet it makes so much sense if you are an ultra conservative republican. McCain's views are somewhat moderate and he seems to be leaning more towards amnesty than deportation, and Obama is not even in the picture for these people. So I decided to take a look at what is going on in the Congressional elections and how the Republicans are fairing.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/03/business/03repubs.html?scp=1&sq=congressional%20election%20in%202008&st=cse
It seems that the Republicans in the Senate have a more moderate lean and fall into line with what McCain says. This is most evident in the past month when most Republicans voted for the rescue bill which in its own right was something that Republicans should have rejected based on their values. It is totaly opposite in the House. In the House, the Republican representatives seem the reflect more of the "grass roots" of conservative and almost populist views when it comes to the economy and business. To these Republicans a rescue bill goes against everything they say and believe in.

But the Republican party is at a cross roads during this election. The economic crisis has started to fracture and split those Republicans who are rigidly conservative and those Republicans who are more moderate and liberal. This big division is going to definitely help out Democrats take control of both the Senate and the House. The next congressional election is not until 2012 but it seems that the moderate and liberal views will take over long before the Democrats party will.

Class-links posting

I know that the issue of illegal immigration is important to some but I realize that an election is not lost or won based solely on one issue. That is why the election process takes so long. Each candidate tries to persuade the supporters of each issue to vote for them in hopes that if elected the candidate will advocated and do something for their particular issue. The following blogs explain other different issues.

Middle East Politics in 2008 by Kia
http://kiasmideastpoli.blogspot.com/

I found this blog not only very interesting but full of information that I did know. Before reading Kia's blog I thought I was pretty knowledgeable about what was going on in the middle eastern area, but after reading his blog I realized that I had a limited view and that I did not know all the informaiton. Kia has unique perspective. He is an immigrant himself from that area and so he knows personal what is going on. Kia is also a very intriguing writer and he enthralls the readers to keep reading. At least that is what happened to me when I read it. I find history so pertinent to the U.S.'s situation. If someone knows and understand the history of a place then they can probably predict what will happen next in that area. The Middle East has always been a place of turmoil and war and blood, and Kia brings out all of these struggles to bear against the current situation in the Middle East and how the U.S. is interfering.

Bailout or Failout by Merritt
http://bailoutorfailout.blogspot.com/

Merritt seems to have hit the jackpot when it comes to information based on the topic of the Bailout plan. I know it is probably not a hard thing for her to find information. In fact there is probably too much information for her to read everything. In spite of all this information she seems to have found a way to explain this immensely difficult information to a relatively normal audience. When I read her blog, I admit, I was scared. I scared to think that my way of life might have to change. I'm used to certain amneties and this economic crisis puts everybody in a bind to find comfort. Merritt in her blog gives a spice of fear with the promise of hope in the future for our economy. Our economy may be in the dumps now but the government is doing everything they can to fix it and help America get back on its feet.

Renewable Engergy: The New Oil?
http://renewableenergy-tommy.blogspot.com/

Tommy is an interesting guy. I think he is one the smartest guys I have ever met. I have to say that I'm kind jealous of his commitment and determination for this project. He always posts all of his postings early..atleast four days in advance. That has to take dedication. But this puts a vibe for the readers. By doing all of this early it shows the audience that Tommy is actively engaged in his topic. He wants the audience to know what is wrong with our current situation in oil and he also shows us what our alternatives could be. I am definitely interesting in what he has to say because I know that our oil consumption is going to end one day and we need something to take its place and then to add on to it. Our population is growing exponential and we as a nation and as a global population need to provide a way to help our children, and their children, and their children after that. What we decide to do now will be the legacy we will leave for future generations. That is the goal of Tommy.

Self-Analysis

It seems that my view is a mixed one, but that is ok. Let me begin… well from the beginning of this project. Before doing this blog my views were ultra conservative. I thought that all immigrants who came here illegally were abominations and should be sent back to their homeland, but my thinking and reasoning was based on what I had heard from my parents and what I “assumed” about illegal immigrants. My personal view was very limited and lacked any logical backing. I had never really researched the topic before. The truth is I never had a reason to research it. If an issue was not affecting my life personal in the present or for see able future I didn’t worry about it. Of course the whole purpose of this project was to open my eyes to both sides of the illegal immigration. I don’t know if the purpose also included helping me choose a side but it has definitely done that anyways.
While doing this project my eyes were opened to the hurt and heartbreak of those who could not come here. I saw how their countries were providing less than what America could provide them. I grew a heart for these people. http://www.myimmigrationstory.com/
http://www.usatoday.com/news/religion/2007-07-08-sanctuary_N.htm
Maybe this is what the founding fathers felt when they said that all men were created equally with certain unalienable rights. These people deserve better lives and America can provide that for them…if only those who wanted to come had the money or the means. In a world and country conquered by bankers and stock brokers, money is the main driver of all issues. If immigrants don’t have the means and America doesn’t have the means then those immigrants aren’t going to get here legally. We as a nation have made it too hard for these people to come here. I see that now and want to know what we can do to change that.
At this point in my blog posts I tried to show what the presidential candidates could do for the immigrants who wanted to come here. I found that both candidates had pretty much the same views so I tried to find out who would be the best candidate to fulfill his stance. John McCain had the experience, and Barack Obama had a more detailed plan. Which one is better? I chose John McCain because I believe that he does have the experience for this job. http://www.ontheissues.org/celeb/John_McCain_Immigration.htm
http://www.usnews.com/blogs/erbe/2008/10/6/barack-obama-and-john-mccain-on-immigration-the-issue-neither-wants-to-discuss.html
He may seem like he is shifting in his stance but that might have been the only way he could still be in this race. Otherwise the GOP would not have selected him if he had stayed with his moderate views. I think that Obama’s inexperience will play more of a negative factor than McCain’s shifting. I also want to point out that a presidential election is more than just about an immigration policy. http://tampabay.com/news/politics/state/article636189.ece
http://elections.foxnews.com/2008/05/08/mccain-cites-obamas-inexperience-lack-of-judgment/
In any plan there will always be flaws and there will always be pitfalls that push it back so I wanted to look at what those flaws could possibly be. In America there at 12 million illegal immigrants and it would be impractical to try and deport all of those immigrants so inevitably there will always be illegal aliens in America. These aliens will drain American resources and not pay taxes. That gets my blood boiling a little. I’m sure I am not the only one who thinks this when I say I want everything to be fair.
http://www.helium.com/items/890432-why-illegal-immigrants-in-the-us-should-not-receive-government-benefits
I know that ideal is so far away from being realistic but I am not giving up on it. Fair is fair. I have talked about everybody getting a fair chance to come to America but then I don’t talk about having a fair tax on those who have been here legally or who are citizens. You can’t have one without the other.
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/04/07/eveningnews/main4000401.shtml
It was along these lines of thinking about fairness that got me to think about being realistic. Realistically America is not going to change in a short amount of time. So for the next year or two even if the new president puts into place an amazing immigration plan there will still be more illegal aliens coming in. That is a fact. There might even be a bigger influx if they find out it will become harder to become a citizen. Help will be needed by other countries to help America. http://www.newser.com/story/40503/mexico-will-deport-cuban-migrants-headed-for-us.html
The other real fact about illegal immigration is that immigration reform will not change the minds of those in less fortunate situations that our own. People in Mexico will still want to come to America to get a better life and get away from the corruption of Mexican society. http://migranttrail.wordpress.com/2008/10/11/immigration-central-comprehensive-immigration-reform-will-not-stop-illegal-immigration/
So now my thinking has come full circle from where I began, but I have a new found resource by evaluating this issue. I now know why I think immigration reform should be tougher. We as humans should look out for one another and respect the rights of others even if they aren’t citizens yet, but when those same aliens don’t respect our rights (not becoming citizens, not paying taxes) then we as a nation have to do something about it. America is stronger than any immigrant. That is the cold hard truth and until immigrants become stronger than the American government, the government will reign supreme and call the shots. So here is my progression in one sentence: I thought ignorantly about immigrants, my eyes were opened to their hardships, and then my research and ethics combined showed me the fallacy of allowing illegal aliens to remain illegal in our country and seeing the strength the U.S. government.

VP's stances on immigration

Let me start off first by replying to tommy's comment. I would have to say that the stances of the each candidate are so similar that immigrant voters and just regular voters have little choice over which one is better based solely on their stance. So to answer tommy's question, since the candidates' stances are so similar voters look to the implications of the candidates' plans and also their history of the issue.

So now that that is done I have found some new news. Everybody has been worrying about Obama's and McCain's policies for illegal immigration, but what are the views of the vice presidential candidates? Do the VP candidates even have anything to say about illegal immigration. Well as of last week we have found out what Sarah Palin has to say about immigrants. Sarah Palin sat down with Univision anchor Jorge Ramos and talked to him about her policy. From the interview, Palin's down to earth quality really comes out. She doesn't know how many undocumented immigrants are in Alaska and she only knows one word in Spanish but she believes that the Latino votes is crucial. She also thinks that total deportation of aliens is improbably but total amnesty is out of the question. She relates to immigrants who want the opportunity to come to America but thinks they should go through all legal processes to do that. In essense she shares the same views as McCain which helps them in the fact that they are a united front. http://blogs.chron.com/immigration/archives/presidential_election/

Since I found this interview of Sarah Palin's views I thought I would go ahead and seek out Joe Biden's views in order to see unbiased. There are several interesting things about his views. First of all he has the same views as Obama on certain issues like a Guest Worker Program and building a fence along the Mexican border. One of the things that struck me as interesting was his voting on a specific bill. With the acceptance of this bill all illegal immigrants would not be able to share in the benfits of social security. Biden said "YES on allowing illegal immigrants to participate in Social Security". The other thing that was interesting was his 8% score by the U.S. border control. According to the scale used by USBC, Biden is strongly supportive for keeping the borders open. This would not be a bad thing for those immigrants who want to support our nation but it would be a bad thing for allowing terrorists into the country.
http://www.ontheissues.org/International/Joe_Biden_Immigration.htm
As I was studying Biden's plan for border security I found that he shared the same views as Obama but he had different reasoning for border security. Biden wants the borders to be secured not so that more aliens can illegal cross but so that drugs could be more readily halted at the border. http://immigration.about.com/od/immigrationlawandpolicy/a/Biden.htm

Immigrants for Obama

With Sen. John McCain losing prominence among the scores of immigrant voters it only seems natural that these voters would switch to Obama. Obama has done less to offend the immigrants of America and therefore has their support. The only other option would be for the voters to not vote at all which is absurd to think.

Speaking of being absurd, McCain yet again shows that he has no clear plan for reform. Not only does he not have a clear plan but he does stupid things that hurt his stance with people. In the blog post link below he commits political suicide by comdemning Obama's decision to kill an immigration bill but not telling the public that he voted the same way with Obama on those bills. http://outtheotherear.wordpress.com/2008/09/13/mccain-opposes-himself/

In my opinion I think Obama has tried a little harder to garner not just the vote of the immigrants but also their trust that he will do something for them. I am a Republican and even I can say that without the least bit of remorse. McCain seems to have just been content to let his record be the judge of what kind of president he could be for immigrants. McCain has advocated for immigrants and immigration reform before but he has done little as of late to convince the public that he is the right man for the job. http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/06/14/obama.latino.vote/index.html
http://www.csmonitor.com/2008/0714/p01s05-uspo.html

It seems by all accounts that Obama has all but wrapped up the votes of immigrants.

Implications post

So according to my psychology professor whenever humans are giving a problem to solve they will most likely to solve the problem using the simplest devices they can find that give the most benefits. So lets me think about the immigration problem in simplest terms and maybe a solution will arise.

The simple truth is that there those here that are illegal aliens. Illegal aliens are...illegal and breaking the law. However each illegal is also a human being and has certain human rights that we as a nation have to agree with. Most in the U.S. want these illegals to either go through the process of becoming legal or leave the country. Most of those on the other side of the line think it is too hard to become a citizen. My thinking is that one side has to stand up and be strong. Nothing is being done about this situation because we are still debating on who is right.

My history teacher used to tell me that history was written not by those who were right but by those who won and were strong. It didn't matter if they were wrong, they were strong enough to tell others that they were the right way. The same thing has to be done here. If this is not done what happens?

By not doing anything about this illegal immigration it puts up the image that America is become soft and anybody can exploit its systems. America has been exploited in this way for many years and the problem is partly because of America's slack approach to the issue. If this problem is not dealt with then the government resources will continue to be drained, jobs that could be taken by citizens are taken away, taxes owed to the government will not be paid. I know it is going to be hard to make a decision. No big decision is ever easy and someone always undoubtedly gets hurt.

http://www.yaledailynews.com/articles/view/23416
http://importing-poverty.blogspot.com/
http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/556869/effects_of_illegal_immigration_on_america.html

Theory posting

So here is the reality of this issue: America is made up of immigrants. The only people who are not immigrants to this land are the Native Americans and even they came over to America from across a land bridge back in time. So the assumption that illegal immigrants cannot become American is bull crap. I used to think that way. I thought that we should kick all of them out for breaking the law and entering our country illegally. But we as a nation have made it too hard to become a legal citizen in this day and age.
The first basic force behind this issue would have to be the election. Both candidates have laid claim to this issue but have really backed off of the proverbial gas pedal in the past couple of months. The main contributor to this back off has been the economic crisis. So the force behind this issue has become more personal to this country. Since neither candidate can really call upon their reasoning for backing this issue the people of this nation have really made this issue their own. This personal uptake can be most clearly seen in this article about a hospital deporting immigrants who need medical care. http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/03/us/03deport.html?_r=1&oref=slogin
There are basically two sides to this polarized issue: there are the far right anti-immigrant leaders and then those who think immigration is a foundation of our country and should be accepted. Both sides are heated and are biting at each other in an attempt to gain ground on the issue. President Bush has put many installments in place to prevent more immigrants from entering the country and in contrast those who support immigration have hidden illegal in their houses and supported them. All of this squabbling is over nothing I say. Each side has their views but what both sides fail to realize is that they share a common goal. Both sides want to better the society of America and both want to see America grow. Their own unexamined assumptions about immigrants have led to this division of polarized sides.
The anti-immigrant leaders want to preserve America society and want to get rid of those who would change it but they fail to realize that immigrants make up our colorful society and could boost our economy by paying taxes and making new jobs. The pro-immigrants want to allow more immigrants in because they think that America has forever been built on immigrant influx but what they fail to realize is that illegal immigrants drain our federal resources and jobs and fail to pay back all of the taxes that would renew those resources. http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/subjects/i/immigration_and_refugees/index.html?scp=1-spot&sq=immigration%20&st=cse
So where is there middle ground where both sides can be satisfied? Is there even a middle ground to stand on? If this topic is not addressed and fixed what will happen to our society?
The funny thing is that this issue has been raving on for centuries. I stumbled upon a New York Times article from 1922 that still holds relevance to today and may even hold the solution to our problem.
http://query.nytimes.com/mem/archive-free/pdf?res=9F0DE0D71539EF3ABC4B52DFB1668389639EDE
“America is intended for Americans, and every foreigner coming to these shores expecting to earn his livelihood, and probably send funds regularly to the old country, should be made not only to register but to become naturalized and a part of this Government. If he is coming over to share in the privileges and benefits of this land of promise and fulfillment he should contribute his share of the upkeep of the Government, and if he is not willing to do that, then he should immediately be sent back to the country from whence he came.”

Stepping stones

"America needs to secure our borders -- and with your help, my administration is taking steps to do so. We're increasing worksite enforcement, deploying fences and advanced technologies to stop illegal crossings. We've effectively ended the policy of "catch and release" at the border, and by the end of this year, we will have doubled the number of border patrol agents. Yet we also need to acknowledge that we will never fully secure our border until we create a lawful way for foreign workers to come here and support our economy. This will take pressure off the border and allow law enforcement to concentrate on those who mean us harm. We must also find a sensible and humane way to deal with people here illegally. Illegal immigration is complicated, but it can be resolved. And it must be resolved in a way that upholds both our laws and our highest ideals.”
President George W. Bush January 28, 2008

In my last blog I spoke of the economic crisis delaying any real effort of immigration reform. However, maybe the upcoming president could help set up some deal for the next president that comes along. I may have jumped the gun on that idea. It seems that President George Bush has tried to put some more effort into immigration reform. Over the whole of the Bush administration funding for border security and immigration enforcement has increased by 159%, the number of border control officers has increased from 9,000 in 2001 to nearly 15,000 in 2008 with an estimated 3,000 more to join them by the end of 2008. The policy of "catch and release" has been eliminated. No longer will illegal immigrants who are caught be release in the U.S. to appear at a later court date. Most of the immigrants that were release just never showed up for their court date. The new policy is called "catch and return". Illegal immigrants caught trying to cross the border are held until they can be removed.

The crack down on those employers who hire illegal immigrants has increase as well. More than 48,000 companies now use the software E-verify to make sure that the employees they hire are legal citizens. This new software is now starting to be enforced by local companies and has seen a considerable decrease in those illegal immigrants who are trying to get jobs. Local law enforcement is also starting to be trained in the proper ways to enforce immigration laws. All of these facts can be found on http://www.whitehouse.gov/infocus/immigration/ . It seems that President Bush has finally started to take steps towards enforcing immigration reform. It may have come a little late but hopefully the next president will be able to keep up this new reform and maybe add some of their own ideas.

With all of these facts it seems that all the pieces have been put in place for the next president. Maybe that is why the immigration issue has taken a back seat to everything else. But it seems that the public has not taken notice of this new reform. Instead they reprimand the candidates for not doing anything. In the 3 presidential debates that have been held there has not been one mention of immigration reform. This has been disheartening for the immigrants, legal and illegal. For the legal ones there is a deep desire to help their "brothers and sisters" live the dream they have already. This idea has been the backbone for all hispanic voters. I have this one quote from a hispanic voter that really struck me.

"Hispanics are one cultural family and owe allegiance to one country or another. I, my family and friends owe ours to the good old USA. Many of us are vets and taxpayers.
Per the above, we are one big family and when someone picks on one, he/she picks on all. When the Republicans pass cruel and punitive laws regarding our "brothers and sisters", we feel the snubs, the slights and insinuations. Plainly, the ultra-conservative GOP is saying we do not want any more of you people. You are lazy, criminals, dirty and use up our tax monies. The Republicans have been broadcasting that message for years and we are sick of it. Our way of taking care of this problem will be by voting Democratic in 11/2008 and getting rid of those lawmakers who demonize Hispanics."

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/laplaza/2008/06/obama-and-mccai.html

In his attempt to gain the Republican candidancy, John McCain has lost the support of both sides. It seems that he no longer has the support of the immigrants which he had supported in the past and he no longer has the support of his fellow Republicans because of his moderate views on illegal immigration.

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1008/14444.html

So let me go back in a time a little. The original crisis with McCain has been that he is shifty along his alliance to either side of immigration reform. No one knows whether to trust him or not. He cannot seem to pick a side. Maybe he cannot see which is right. I say that the choice has been put before him. Every statistic says that McCain voted 95% of the time with President Bush. Why not keep it the same. President Bush, as of late, has been doing quite a lot for immigrants even if all he has done has gone under the radar.

Oh and one last thing. One of the questions that was asked of me was how much influence immigrants really have in the election of the next president. I would have to say that immigrants play a huge role in the election. Four of the biggest influential states are full of immigrants. Florida, California, and Texas are three of the states that are full of immigrants who are eligible to vote. In the 2004 election, 2.1 million immigrants voted in California. That number may increase to 2.8 million in this election.

Economic Crisis: A light at the end of the tunnel?

We are in a CRISIS!! We are going to crash and burn!! What are we to do? But wait..there is hope. There is a light at the end of this dreadful tunnel. Henry Paulsen has put into effect a deal. A deal that will nationalize the banks in the U.S. Are we socialists now!? $250 billion of the $700 billion in the Rescue plan are going to lending money to banks. This plan will unfreeze the market. This deal will also make the government stronger. The government will have preferred stocks in the banks. We didn't even make this plan. Britain did. http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/09/business/economy/09econ.html?scp=1&sq=nationalizing%20the%20banks&st=cse
http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/10/14/bank-checks/?scp=2&sq=nationalizing%20the%20banks&st=cse
By lending all of this money we are only putting ourselves into a deeper depression. One blogger had this to say, "Misallocation of capital is one of the causes of the current crisis". By lending this money we are only delaying the inevitable. Most conservatives would say that by going through this crisis we will either crash and burn as a society or we will emerge stronger. Are we sacrificing something bigger just so we might have some comfort? Another solution to this would be for the government to "buy the Dow, Nasdaq and S+P through mutual funds." This would in essense supersede the banks who are doing shifty things and get the money directly to the people most affected by this crisis: industrial and technical companies. Because of this crisis companies are forced to sell stocks of their company in a time when foreign industries can come in a sweep these companies off their feet. Then we would be in a deeper crisis. http://open.salon.com/content.php?cid=28738

McCain: Supporter or Deporter?

In reponse to Emily's comment I have to say that McCain most definitely has more to lose from this issue than Obama. McCain is very ambiguous on this subject and that makes him dangerous. In to response to Thomas's comment I say that at this point in time both candidates are as likely and not as likely to reform immigration. Both candidates have something to prove to this country.

I would have to say that McCain has done the most shifting in the immigration issue. In this election, McCain has been a supporter of finding a way to allow illegal aliens to remain in the U.S. Being a Senator from a border state, Arizona, I would say that he has to support it or else he might lose votes from his home state. However, back in 1986 he blatantly opposed a bill that granted such an amnesty to aliens. He told reporters later that he opposed this bill not because of its amnesty but because along with amnesty it provided stricter rules for employers for hiring aliens. McCain thought that this would bring in more discrimination towards the unskilled. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/07/03/mccain-on-immigration-wat_n_110708.html

At this point is seems that McCain is trying to choose between two types of voters: the voters who want amnesty and those who don't. My guess would be that McCain is trying to see which group is larger and then trying to convince them to support him. This puts him in a very dangerous position though. He is very likely to offend both parties and get neither of the voting groups' support. http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0608/11240.html

Obama on the other hand is very clear cut about what his position is, but his position is shallow because he does not have a lot of experience in immigration. This along with McCain's shiftiness puts both candidates at a loss. I will say this now, neither candidate will do much for the immigration. If either candidate does anything it will be to help the next president. I say this because half of me thinks that neither candidate can do anything that will really affect immigrants in the next four years they are in office and half of me thinks that the economic crisis is just too big to really do anything else. Voting for either candidate based upon the issue of immigration will just give you a major headache. http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=91323073

Immigration: Analysis post

Not a day goes by that we as a nation do not see or hear an immigrant or the effects that immigrants have had on our nation. Our nation was built upon the ideals and hopes of immigrants. Whether it be the African slaves of pre-Civil War era or the Catholic Irish of the 1900s we are all in some way immigrants or related to immigrants. Today, 25 million immigrants, illegal and legal, are spread about our nation. (http://library.cqpress.com/cqresearcher/document.php?id=cqresrre2000071400&type=hitlist&num=4#NOTE[1]) We can't escape our heritage or our past, so why is it that we are trying to reject or deport those who wish to create a better life for themselves? Both presidential candidates are taking sides to this issue, but as of late it seems this issue has taken a back seat to other issues. So what are the biggest problems of this issue? And what are the candidates doing to convince America that their plan is best for immigrants as a whole?

Today there are over 20 million illegal immigrants living in the U.S. and every year over half a million more come to the U.S. (http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/2008/10/02/20081002immig-population1002-ON.html) ( http://blogs.chron.com/immigration/archives/2008/01/post_69.html) These immigrants are leaving their homes in an attempt to either escape a warring country, escape for other reason, or to better their lives in some way. When they come to America they are presented with long applications, many fees, and many years of waiting in order to become citizens. Would you want to do this all for citizenship? The resounding answer would be a big, fat "NO". This is what many incoming immigrants are saying. Another problem is that all of these illegal immigrants are taking skilled jobs away from Americans. The latest estimates says that over 10 million skilled jobs have been taken away from Americans. (http://www.immigrationcounters.com/index.html) Along with this failing system, those who try to deport illegal aliens are becoming more and more ineffective. In 2006, only 3600 arrests were made against illegal aliens. To other illegal immigrants this is encouraging. They see that this nation is not doing anything to stop them from crossing illegally so they just waltz right across the border by the thousands. To this Obama has said, “The time to fix our broken immigration system is now… We need stronger enforcement on the border and at the workplace… But for reform to work, we also must respond to what pulls people to America… Where we can reunite families, we should. Where we can bring in more foreign-born workers with the skills our economy needs, we should”. (http://www.barackobama.com/issues/immigration/)

The policies of both Obama and McCain are very much a like in many ways with McCain being more moderate in his stance than a normal republican would. Their views can be succinct to say that there needs to be more border control, more crackdown on employers who use immigrants, and an easy process to become legal citizens in the U.S. (http://pewforum.org/religion08/compare.php?Issue=Immigration)

Before becoming the presidential nominee for the Republican party Senator McCain was very vocal about his stance on immigrants and immigration reform. He felt that all immigrants should be given the ability to become citizens in this free nation. But the G.O.P. would not be denied what it wanted. Thereafter, McCain start to conform the Republican view, but still kept some of his more moderate views of immigration. (http://mediamatters.org/items/200804300006) In both 2006 and 2007, he co-sponsored a bill that would strengthen the border control along the U.S.-Mexican border and allow immigrants to become citizens for readily. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_positions_of_John_McCain#Immigration)
McCain also thinks that a major problem is employers who use immigrants for cheaper labor. A crackdown on employers would not only provide more jobs for Americans it would also bring down the incentive for others to come to the U.S. illegally. (http://www.johnmccain.com/Informing/Issues/68db8157-d301-4e22-baf7-a70dd8416efa.htm)
For those immigrants who are already in the U.S. illegally, John McCain wants to provide a mixed amnesty for them. Amnesty in its essence is a full pardon which John McCain opposes. McCain's amnesty would allow immigrants to remain in the U.S. but they would have to still apply citizenship and they would have to pay a heavy back tax for being in the country illegally no matter how long the stay was. (http://mediamatters.org/items/200804300006)

Obama's views are very much the same as McCain's. Obama supports a stronger border control, but he also wants to make the hire more workers to work the border. In 2006, an act was passed that would build 370 miles of fence along the U.S.-Mexico border inhibiting people from just walking into the country. (http://library.cqpress.com/cqresearcher/document.php?id=cqresrre2008091900&type=hitlist&num=8) Obama was one of the people that supported and voted for this act to be passed. (http://glassbooth.org/explore/index/barack-obama/11/immigration/10/) So, Obama wants those trying to get into the country to follow the proper processes of becoming a citizen or stay out all together. With those that are already in the country, Obama wants them to do several things. These things include: "pay fines, learn English, and “move to the back of the line” in order to become US citizens". (http://www.usimmigrationsupport.org/obama_immigration.html)

Now that each candidates' views have been explain do the people of this nation believe that they will follow through with it? According to http://grades.betterimmigration.com/testgrades.php3?District=IL&VIPID=1162 and http://grades.betterimmigration.com/testgrades.php3?District=AZ&VIPID=33 neither one of the candidates look like they have done anything to help immigrants except to spit out empty words. This makes it look like each one is just trying to gain extra votes for those whole will be gullible enough to believe them. Add to this the current economic crisis and most believe that the issue of immigration has completely left the realm of concern. Barak Obama has no had enough experience to do anything about immigration, and John McCain is so on the fence about the issue that neither look like they can do anything substantial for immigrants.

McCain moreso than Obama seems to have gotten a lot of heat on his stance about immigration. I guess this comes from his indecision and his view evolving over the past several months. (http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/TheNote/story?id=4051702&page=1) I guess it also comes from the fact that he was the senator from a border state, Arizona, and should be more knowledgable about the issue. (http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=18549116)

So why is it so beneficial for the immigration policies to be reformed? The reason that is most obvious is that all illegal immigrants could become legal and being legal would mean they would have to pay more taxes to the government. Immigrants already pay taxes but they only pay a fraction of what normal Americans pay. (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/06/04/AR2006060400965.html) Another benefit that might not be as advocated would be that drugs would not so easily penetrate the borders with these new plans.
Another benefit would be that all of these illegal immigrants could have access to health care and Social Security. (http://www.nilc.org/immlawpolicy/CIR/cir014.htm) More citizens would also help in increasing the funding of Social Security. As more baby boomers are retiring, our Social Security is dwindling. When Social Security came out it took a score of men to fund one retired citizen. If society keeps growing as it is, 2 working people will have to supply for a retiree. (http://www.opednews.com/articles/opedne_donna_po_070427_everyone_will_benefi.htm)

I have said all of this to say that immigration reform could help those who are illegal become legal. Legal immigrants could then benefit and help along such amenities as Social Security and health care. John McCain and Barak Obama have comprehensive plan on how to accomplish this but both have flaws in either their motivation or execution of their plans.

Immigrants are humans too

Let start of by saying that I may have been rash about my last post. I do think that America would not be in a good position if it was to become an isolated country. There are many great things that come from a global community. I also apologize for not being very humane towards immigrants as I should be. So I still think that illegal immigrants have broken the law, but I have changed my view on their situation. Maybe America's plan for becoming a legal immigrant too hard and too expensive for some. So what are the presidential candidates doing to change this if they want to change it at all?

John McCain used to support comprehensive reform which would allow illegal immigrants to stay in America and through a process of registration and paying back taxes would be able to become citizens. This plan in essense sounds very good, but according to Romney it could take up to 13 years to become a citizen and even some of those trying to become citizens would be turned away and deported. (http://www.issues2000.org/Archive/2007_GOP_UNH_Immigration.htm)
As of late though, McCain has taken more of a conservative position on immigration. McCain wants more crack down on those who are illegal and to deport them. McCain is very much on the fence of this situation and if he can't make up his mind on what to say about his immigration stance then he may just lose many potential votes.

Obama seems to be more readily active in the immigration debate. He, being the son of an immigrant, is trying to make it so that everybody who wants to live the American dream can live it. Obama thinks that the problem with immigration is not the immigrants themselves, but rather the authority over these immigrants. Employers in America are not being helpful by hiring immigrants for lower wages. "Obama believes we must fix the dysfunctional immigration bureaucracy and increase the number of legal immigrants to keep families together and meet the demand for jobs that employers cannot fill." (http://usliberals.about.com/od/immigration/a/ObamaImmig.htm) The essential flaw is within the system, not the immigrants. America has made it too hard for immigrants to become citizens. This in effect just makes immigrants want to slip into the country and stay in the shadows rather than becoming citizens. So Obama is definitely a supporter for all immigrants becoming citizens but he is unproven. He is very good at speaking, but there is still doubt on whether he can actually do anything now that there are other issues that have become a bigger priority. (http://www.durrani.com/newsite/news_items/nactive_disp.asp?ID=3757)

Both candidates have sympathy towards immigrants but it is still up to debate on whether they will follow through with their plans for reform.

Cost Burden of Immigrants

Two sets of questions were posed to me that I would like to answer. The first set being, "How exactly do illegal immigrants drain the public health care? Is it by only being able to receive emergency care?" The second set being, "Do you suggest we just let them die, because since they committed the crime of entering the country illegally they are considered less than human?"

According to a study done in 2002 by the Center for Immigration Studies, illegal immigrants cost America $26.3 billion dollars, but these same illegal immigrants only paid $16 billion dollars of it in taxes. This means that the America public lost more than $10 billion dollars because immigrants did not pay all of their taxes. Of this $10 billion, $2.5 billion is from Medicaid and $2.2 comes from the cost of treating the uninsured illegal immigrants. (http://www.cis.org/articles/2004/fiscalexec.html)

More so than just the cost of treatment, the American public is being withheld jobs because certain employers would rather get cheaper labor from illegal immigrants. On average $200 billion per year are suppressed in American jobs. $45 billion dollars of our economy are sent back to the country of the immigrants origins to help their family. (http://kevincolby.com/2008/07/27/the-cost-of-illegal-immigrants-to-the-american-taxpayer/)

I am not saying that helping your family is wrong I would do the same if I had no option, but the money sent back could have helped homeless veterans in D.C. or they could have been used to help underprivileged kids in the innercities. Too long has America used money on other countries rather than helping their own country first. Maybe we as a nation should go back to the isolationism of the early 1900s in an attempt to reconstruct.

Every human being has certain unalienable rights. (http://www.ushistory.org/declaration/document/index.htm)That was set forth in our nation's history before I was even born, but the men who wrote that Declaration of Independence probably also had a plan for those who would like to remain in our country. Every human has rights, but does those illegal immigrants entering our country infringe upon the rights of those who are legal or are citizens of the U.S. ? Should the rights of the illegal immigrants be put above the rights of those who have sworn to follow its laws?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cY6t2ckpb5g

Watch this video. It is a CNN new post on immigration and its effects on the American public. Watch it.

Immigration: An American Tradition?

"Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, the wretched refuse of your teeming shore, send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed, to me: I lift my lamp beside the golden door." (http://library.cqpress.com/cqresearcher/document.php?id=cqresrre1993092400&type=hitlist&num=0) Such is the saying that is inscribed on the bottom of the Statue of Liberty. Such a saying should also be inscribed upon every heart of the individuals in this great nation. If not for the courage and desperation of past immigrants most if not all of this nation's population would be living elsewhere. Immigration is the very foundation of what America stands for, but as of late it seems it has become major economic and social scar upon the nation. Since it has become a scar upon our nation, the presidential candidates, John McCain and Barak Obama, have made bold statements in order to solve this problem.
The debate and controversy of immigration has been a long and sore discussion that lives upon a loop ever since this nation's conception, only rising when a national crisis comes about. The immigration of the Catholic Irish, the Italians and the Chinese are such examples. Riots would break out whenever new boats full of immigrants docked. Events such as the bombing of the World Trade Center in 1993 and the crashing of the three planes into the World Trade Center and Pentagon in 2001 tempted American citizens to point their fingers at illegal immigrants as if to say, "This is why we don't like you and why you should not be here." Why are some American so adverse to immigration?
So what are the immigrants of today doing to the American public and American economy and why have they chosen to come to American soil? Let me begin with the later part of the question which pertains to why immigrants, illegal and legal, have chosen to come to the U.S. Back in 1993 the main influx of immigrants was due to several reasons. The main reasons being the fall of the Soviet Union and unrest in Eastern Europe. The main reason for the influx of today would have to be the result of the economic success of the U.S. I know this seems to absurd after what has occured the past several weeks and the Stock Market falling, but before that our economy was in a very comfortable and stable position in the eyes of the consumer. Houses and other goods were being sold and bought at regular rates. Immigrants saw this and moved to America in search of a better life for themselves and also for their children.
Now let me answer the former part of the question at the beginning of the paragraph above. Immigrants, especially illegal immigrants, have begun to become a social and economic burden to the America public. More and more immigrants are draining public resources such as public school and health care. I have two stances on this issue. On the one hand, I know that illegal immigrants have broken the law by coming here without the proper paperwork and should be put to full penalty of the law as any lawbreaker should be, but I also see the side of our newfound dependency upon them. Immigrants, legal and illegal, make up most of the hard labor of our nation. Unintentionally we as a nation have place immigrants under us as a crutch. 1.6 million immigrants now make up our agricultural labor. We no longer want illegal immigrants here but to remove them would leave our nation in a total economic collapse. So what should we do? Since we do not have a clear view of everything we look to those who would make decisions for us, the presidential candidates.
Both Obama and McCain have made bold statements about immigration and what should be done about it. "The Democrats tend to like immigrants, but are suspicious of immigration, while the Republicans tend to like immigration but are suspicious of immigrants," says Frank Sharry, executive director of the National Immigration Forum, a pro-immigration lobby group. (http://library.cqpress.com/cqresearcher/document.php?id=cqresrre2008020100&type=hitlist&num=3&PHPSESSID=er1ltvv3t7vdc4solcsvpa2n46) McCain in the beginning of his campaign took a very moderate approach to immigration. His belief was in the immigrants' hearts and he thought that all immigrants should have an opportunity to become citizens. This view is a stark contrast to most Republicans who think that all illegal immigrants have broken the law and should be put against the full penalty of the law as lawbreakers. After quite some time and deliberation, McCain got down off of his stance and comformed to the Republican view in order to gain more support and votes. Senator Obama shared some of the same views as McCain's original stance. Obama was instrumental in the formation of the Senate Immigration Bill.
If passed, this bill would allowed those illegal immigrants who are contributing to the America society the ability to become citizens. Basically this bill would make it easier for those who are working to become citizens. This would not be an easy process though. The immigrants would have to learn English, pay a heavy fine and back taxes, and then pass all safety and criminal requirements. (http://obama.senate.gov/issues/immigration/index.html)

Both candidates seem very vocal about immigration and how to best integrate or remove illegal immigrants. Now all that is left is for the American public to choose who they believe will help our nation the best.