Do you identify with the Mexicans?

I am torn on the issue of illegal immigration.

Although I understand that SOME illegals get fake documents and steal peoples identities running up huge debts and ect. I think they should go through the proper immigration channels, however those channels need to be revised and speeded up to a more humane level.

Mexicans are infact mix-blood Indians. That is just the history of Mexico as well as the Americas generally.

I do feel that our government should tighten up the borders. Perhaps even close them down for a few years to get things streightened out here at home as well as come up with a more humane immigration policy. I have had thoughts before that our country should probably try to end immigration from all countries accept the Western Hemisphere. The acceptions being family members.

I’m not sure how the issues come up about social security and welfare for illegals because I have always thought that you had to have birth records, and other supporting documentation to apply for even food stamps/cards. The fact that our government doesn’t check these documents out shows the level of tax waste and incompatence that Katrina showed as all too evident.

When it comes down to it Mexicans just want to be able to feed, house, and cloth their families much like anyone else. They can’t do that in Mexico most often. Every thing is so inflated their money wise. It would be like trying to support a family of 4 on 25 to 50 dollars a week here. Impossible.

I have been told by Mexicans that another problem in their society is age discrimination. You got about 10 to 15 good years to try and make as much money as you can till they decide your too old to be in the public eye.

Their social structure from what I have understood would be something like living in a propetual Depression Era that only gets worse. After a good long while of this I’m sure anyone would get to the nearest better oppurtunity they could.

We in America must decide whether we shall be a country that has a policy to help our closest neighbors succeed and therefore negate this issue or continue to kick our poor neighbors in the teeth to ensure a bigger slice of profits. Either way the soul search America needs is sure to be gut wrentching for we have for too long neglected those neighbors abroad as well and more importantly the least among our own.

If they do it legally!!!

“That’s probably one reason why some people stare at me.”

Erica,

I’d say they stare at you because you are a very pretty young lady!

Just a granny’s humble opinion. 🙂

rockhound wrote: I am curious what people’s take is on the illegal immigration debate?

rockhound wrote: I am curious what people’s take is on the illegal immigration debate?

I’ve thought about this for a long time.

My brother in law, now passed away, was from Columbia. He was a legal immigrant. He married my sister in 1966, in fact, she had to convert to catholisism for this to happen. Her conversion was the “issue”, not the fact that Eddie was from Columbia. He was a US citizen, there was no green card involved. During his lifetime, Eddie was a swimming coach, an employee of Morton Thiacol, and an ardent supporter of Ross Perot…so much so that he got a personal visit from the man.

Not one person, in all those years, said one word about Eddie not being an American, or called him a beaner, or any other name. Mainly they said he was getting too fat. That was about it. He was a diabetic, and died of liver cancer in 1993. Funny thing about that….an american from the southwest who heavily identifies with hispanicsim…said to me:” I never heard of a Latino having cancer”. Which I thought was a weird thing to say to someone…like I was lying about my brother in law.

I mention this, because the whole issue is getting weirder and weirder….its become like a religious war or something.

I often hear of people who are opposed to illegal aliens in this country called racist. I am puzzled as to which race one is supposed to be prejudiced against. I know that racist is a hot button word in the US, and in my own view, I think that this word is being thrown around incorrectly, perhaps irresponsibly, and probably because there is ground work already laid on the issue. The ground work was laid a long time ago in this country, and much of it has revolved around African americans. I grew up during segregation, intergration, etc….and it was a time for revealing the endemic, institutionalized racism in this country. It was racisim pure and simple, without other issues involved.

Illegal immigration does involve other issues. Its not as simple as “racisim”.

Using racisim as a bullit point, is not going to address the issues. There are a lot of issues involved, and it does no good to pretend that this is a simple thing.

My husband is a legal resident alien of the US. Hey, I want my $3,000 back. We live under the threat of his deportation everyday. If he gets into a scuffle, if we don’t file paper work by date X…if we don’t go to Charlotte to answer all kind of questions about scars, moles, toothbrushes….this is because he’s legal….if my income drops, he’ll be deported. If we move we have to register. We have to prove…somehow, that after two years that we are still in love, and file more paper and pay more fees, or he’ll be deported. So how do I feel about millions of people in the US illegally, that want their rights? Not too good. Like I said, give me my $3,000 back, and the gov. should quit bugging me.

As for Mexicans being Indians….most likely they are! So are we! How do I feel about some tribal leaders saying that Mexicans are Indians so come right in….this is how I feel….my father’s tribe no longer accepts applications to belong to the tribe. The “reason” is that they want federal recognition. OK. They call the shots on that one. But when I see them embracing people from another country as brothers, and then excluding me, even though I’ve got the paper…I don’t feel too good about that. I could irresponsibly throw around the word “racist” on that one. What? I’m not brown enough? Grrandma was brown, Dad was orange, but I’m not dark enough? Is this the problem? Why do I see Indians embrace Mexicans and reject their own kin? This does not settle well with me. Maybe some of you are too “white”, maybe some of you are too “black”, but you all have ancestors that are related to these eastern sioun tribes…..but we aren’t Indian enough? We are wannabes? This isn’t right.

That particular situation makes the moniker of “racist” to anyone who disapproves of illegal immigration, particularity ODD, in regards to people who are in our situation…which is to say, mixed race people who have legitimate genetic ties to particular tribes who are becoming recognized by the state and the people. As such a person, I wish to stay as far away from the issue of illegal immigration, as I can possibly run. I personally, don’t feel that it is an issue that is in our best interests. And I’ll tell you why:

we have a lot of work to do just to preserve ourselves and reclaim our place in history and demographics. NOBODY else has our interests at heart…not the government, not the people who want us to be extinct, and sometimes not even the new tribal structures ( admit it). These people from other countries don’t give damn one about us, but they will use us if they can.

We have to care about ourselves, and mending what has gone awry in our history. We have to care about the reclaimation of our ways, our language, and our culture…because nobody else is going to do it if we don’t.

As someone who is not a racist ( I try, as should we all), if I change the nationality of the illegal aliens to Chinese, instead of Mexican, the whole issue disappears from our radar…and that should tell you something.

I look at it this way….to simplify….as Indians, we have to hold ourselves together. Nobody else cares about us. Its all a game to them. They have their own agendas. In the end, none of this illegal immigration stuff is going to bring back the Indian to North America….the Indian is already here and never left. Coat Tailing on the issues of foreign people is not going to help us. They actually don’t give a flying canoe about us and what we are trying to accomplish. They are only interested in what they are trying to accomplish.

Thank you for letting me speak my mind on this.

Be Well,

Lynne

We have a Mexican resturant right down the road and I have befriended several of them they are legally here. And Lynne is right about them not caring about the American Indian. I hapened to mention to one of them one night about being indian and asked him if he was also since he was Mexican. I could look at him and know he was but he got upset and said I’m no indian like we are diseased or something. I was offended by his attitude. I asked him if he was indigeous to Mexico and he said yes….I just said I rest my case. They have there own agenda so I believe if they come here they need to be legal. Part of me comes from immigrants and part of me is indigeous to this land and this is my home. Please don’t be mislead to believe things will change for us if the gov’t lets them in cause it will not. Plus 8 million or so acres in North Carolina once belonged to my people we can’t get our land back what’s makes them think they can? War sucks but the spoils do go to the victors whether they were the ones in the right or not. Believe me the Tuscarora rightly waged that war on the colonist…try to steal my children and see if I don’t wage war on you. All they did was try and protect their own families and I will never fault them for that I am proud of them. Most history books will tell you it was because of the encroachment on our land and they fail to mention about our children being stolen and sold into slavery. Doesn’t matter how peaceful a people are steal their children and see what happens. ok I’m off the subject just wanted to explain why I feel they need to be legal.

Linda

I think that the real issues here are “illegal immegrants” not race, descent or nationality.

If you say all Mexicans, then you blanket them all, if you say “Indians” then you cover only some, if you cover some then you forget or reject the others.

Try this one on for size, Caucasian Mexicans speaking German (as a first language) coming to your town and saying ” this is our country, this is our home”! these folks haven’t been here for 100 years and only come back because things are now better and safer here than anywhere else, besides that they fit in with the rest of the Anabaptists, guess who the biggest body of illegals are uphere!?

I really don’t care where some one is from where they are going and what nationality that they are are, just don’t forget that it was the people that are citezens and thier hosts that made our homeland what it is today!

All of my family put thier lives on the line for this country and my freedom, and I will not allow anyone to breakdown my door and say “I am here” and “you have to put up with me”.

If any illegal was honest and wanted to make a better life for themselves they wouldn’t start off by breaking the laws of the land that they hope to join!