What is ur honest opinion on immigrants?

Guess you haven't been to manhattan lately.

As I understand it, europe's tolerance extends to euro and eastern euro immigrants and cultures. With some exceptions of course - and decent assimilation - like Pakistanis in the UK. Or in cities like Geneva.

Or Africans. Or Chinese. They are all over here. And no one bats an eye. They're just part of the culture.

Enter the country legally, make your living strictly on your own efforts, assimilate to the minimal degree necessary to function without any special accommodation, and I've got no problem with you.

Sneak into the country under the false belief that you have the right to circumvent our laws to benefit from our prosperity, leech off of benefits paid for by tax-paying citizens, and/or demand we all accommodate your culture/language/religion, and you can go fornicate yourself to death.

I understood that it was common, e.g., Turks in Germany, or Muslims in general in France have continued - after decades - as separate parts of society. Almost-completely unassimilated.

I wish we could turn them all into slaves.

At the current rate of immigration, America as we've know it over the past few hundred years will cease to exist. That makes me sad.

And how exactly do you think the government should regulate who can and can't enter legally? The point is that 99%+ of the people entering illegally should be able to enter legally under any approach compatible with the free market.

we ain't full up: I have no problem accepting immigrants, in fact I'd rather have some of them living here than our own 'I deserve' chavs...

Umm, except that a lot of the time, we don't recognize their qualifications.

Besides, aren't borders an imposition on the human freedom to migrate? Rather than legal and illegal immigrants, why isn't the goal to abolish limitations on the pursuit of a living?

Thinking about it, the entire purpose of the INS is to keep tabs on who is where... are video cameras and biometrics really a surprise so long as we continue to submit to being documented?

Do you mean "by what standards?" or "by what physical means?"

And why should that be the only element of a "free market" permitted to exist?

Sure, just soon as you abolish the protections from the consequences of "pursuing a living" unwisely.

shouldn't be the only priinciple of "free markets", but it should be a basic one as it applies to the greatest number of people.

Or do you favour limiting the opportunity to attain wealth to those meeting government approved standard?

what does that have to do with immigration?

Why?

That's a cute way of phrasing it, but yes. The "government approved standard" of attaining wealth by your own means, without infringing on the rights of others or leeching off their productivity.

How many immigrants "pursue a living" by immediately collecting various welfare benefits, dropping their kids off at public schools, and bankrupting hospitals by receiving free medical care, without having paid a dime in taxes?

But it isn't about a standard, it's about limiting who is allowed to work and who isn't based on being born somewhere. The very essence of government interfering in the economy is restricting the labour pool.

Not many here , but we have a much less prohibitive immigration system and a functional level of accessible services.

It's the only fair way to regulate a workforce that is subject to such extensive wage and labor laws. You can't allow some employers to benefit from the unfair advantage of circumventing those laws by hiring illegal immigrants under the table. If you want to abolish the citizenship requirement, you must also do away with minimum wage and most of our labor regulations.

uh-huh... and isn't that the ideal?

They can't hire illegals if the laws don't exist. No illegals, then it comes down to qualifications for the job. A Mexican doctor is going to be a more even competitor in his field than would a bricklayer.

More latinas that look to open taco stands in western Oklahoma.

I have no problems with immigrants that come here legally, learn to speak clear and concise English, and adopt pronounceable names, and don't wear towels.

I never said others were "assimilated." Personally, I hate assimilation. Assimilation is the concept that you can come here, but you have to become like everyone else. What I like in Europe is that it isn't a "big melting pot." The various cultural, ethnic, religious and class traditions are actually different from each other. There are very few that don't fit in. But they "fit in" with their differences, not by renouncing those differences.

And that is what is enriching, IMO.

I'd change it to this:

Legal immigrants =
Illegal immigrants =
People who hire Illegal immigrants (read: the reason we have them) =

Somebody doesn't like differences, it would appear. That's unfortunate. You are depriving yourself of something wonderful.

I like mexicans with pounds of good weed.

if they dont have that then to hell with them.

Here we have a nice collection of bother illegal and legal immigrants. Obviously I don't want illegal immigrants, doesn't seem fair that they get all the welfare help while the legal ones have gone through the process of becoming citizens and are subject to the same requirements as natural citizens, such as taxes.
I also don't agree with whoever mentioned assimilation. Immigrants have the same right to their own culture as everyone else here but it would be nice if they could learn some English. For example our housekeeping staff is entirely Hispanic and they don't speak English. They understand it but don't speak it.
In my county we have a good mix of many nationalities, which is nice. In fact, I grew up across the street from a Laosian family that were and still are great neighbors.

Totally, to get along with each other you don't need to be identical drones in background. Too many people focus negatively on the differences between different ethnic groups rather than appreciating just how much they have in common and celebrating the differences for breaking up what would otherwise by a beige blob of culture.

Yeah, every document should be in Latin.

Here's a hint: the America you've come to know has only existed for a very short time and has changed radically over the course of your life.