Oh good grief, does anybody really READ and DIGEST what I write?
Don't cut snippets out of my posts that then distort what I've said.
I am NOT opposed to Hispanics coming here - even in droves - and making a great living, shaping our nation, thriving, or for that matter even DOMINATING the areas that they settle. I'm all for free enterprise and any person's freedom to succeed - within the law. If we're all speaking Spanish twenty years from now and throwing quincinearas for our 15 year old daughters, that's fine by me. Ole!
I am not saying that ghettos (populated by any race) should be obliviated OR ignored. I am not saying we should deport illegal immigrants based on their illegal residency here. I am not blaming Hispanics for ghettos or saying they are irresponsible. And lastly, I am not saying they don't pay some taxes.
In fact, my posts have been full of PRAISE for our Hispanic population and their influence. What I have been saying (repeatedly) is that I am in favor of EASING the process so that more Hispanics can enjoy the rights, and responsibilities, of legal citizenship here in the United States.
As it is now, illegal aliens are DISINFRANCHISED and their needs, talents, and interests are not represented well or supported enough via tax dollars. This increases poverty levels in their communities, in spite of the many services they receive without paying any federal or property taxes. (Don't talk to me about how renters pay property taxes - I believe that if more Hispanics could legally buy a home, they wouldn't crowd up twenty to a small frame house - hence more of them would be paying property taxes which support our local infrastructure). All they are paying now is sales tax - that's not enough to support the needs of their community.
I believe that the vast, vast majority of Hispanics who come here illegally WANT to be full fledged US citizens (if they don't, I've got a problem with them). We should have a system in place which makes this process EASIER for them.
But as a matter of national security, we also need a system in place to track WHO is in this country, and what their background is, and why they are here. The system we have now is BROKEN and the laws which are currently on the books are largely unenforced.
Don't throw that race card at me just because I happen to be white. My family is a huge melting pot of European, African American, Jewish, Korean, Native American, and (gasp) HISPANIC bloodlines. My son is engaged to a beautiful Korean girl and she is going to have to go through a process to become an American citizen. And here is my adorable granddaughter - quite the Hispanic little missy, wouldn't you say?
Her father's family is here legally and they have embraced US culture, while enriching it with their particular traditions and influences - as it should be.
By the way, let me tell you a story about a co worker. Her parents are from Mexico and they moved here illegally when she was a child. Apparently they hooked her up with fake documents, and she had no idea that she was not here legally. She went through school and college, and when she was about to graduate from college, she got a call from the dean questioning her citizenship. This was about twenty years ago so I'm not sure what the law is now - but anyway, because of her illegal status here, she was denied her DEGREE which she had EARNED until she could become a US citizen.
Another example of ridiculousness is this story - and I personally knew the people involved in this case, which made national headlines:
A few years ago, a local Hispanic woman and mother of several children was deported to Mexico for being here illegally. Her parents had moved here from Mexico when she was a child. When she was fifteen, her father had a heart attack and her mother also became too ill to work full time. This young woman went to work and supported her entire family while also attending and graduating high school. She married a US citizen a few years later, and they had several kids together. They are still married. Her children were without exception honor students. Her family never once received any sort of state or federal assistance. She worked full time for a local privately owned company for twenty years. They were home owners and responsible citizens. No one in the family has ever been arrested or convicted of a crime - till now.
She got in some sort of dispute with her cousin, who reported to the government that she was here illegally. She was arrested, tried, and DEPORTED to Mexico - a country she had not lived in since she was about five years old. Our local Catholic bishop and a whole entourage of local people went to Austin to the hearings, and pled her case. Their petitions were denied. Her husband and children had to move to Laredo in order to be able to visit her in Mexico.
These are examples of what I mean by being disenfranchised. I am in favor of EASING the ability of people to move here LEGALLY and to become full fledged citizens.
Hope this clarifies my position. And I've already been to Gainesville, GA by the way - though I don't have to go there to see vibrant Hispanic culture. It's all around me right here in Texas.