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2186120 Responseshttp://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/what-about-people-who-can-only-afford-hard-work/What+about+people+who+can+only+%22afford+hard+work%22%3F2010-04-23+04%3A57%3A22Sam+Richards to What about people who can only “afford hard work”?
Hard work should be rewarded, but it’s sad that immigrants work so hard and don’t get rewarded, plus like everyone else said immigrants do the jobs that American’s don’t want and have no desire to do. Most of the time they get paid less then minimum wage and have no benefits and can’t really get any. Also for the people who say that they are taking government money with all the programs, they are illegal immigrants so they can’t get the programs. So I feel that if you really want to stop the immigrants from taking the jobs that “all American’s want” then go after the companies that hire them
I think this is a really interesting question. I used to get mad about illegal immigrants coming to the United States and "taking" jobs from Americans who needed and wanted them. The more I started to think about it though, most immigrants are not "taking" jobs from Americans. In fact, many of the jobs that immigrants take, are jobs that many Americans refuse to do. There is this idea of pride in America where many homeless people and people who have been laid off refuse to take some of these jobs that immigrants will happily take. Many illegal immigrants take these jobs because they want to build a better life for their families. I know a very smart man who was laid off, and has remained jobless for years because nothing is up to his standards. If that were me, I would take almost any job to support my family. Maybe working at McDonalds or picking fruit from a pear field in California is not the most glorified of jobs, but they are jobs that will help an individual to support himself and/or his family. Many immigrants come with nothing, but a goal to make a better life. If they are working hard to provide better lives, then really what is the issue.
It is kind of like what Sam said in the beginning of the semester. Many Americans just happened to be lucky enough (or unlucky enough depending on your views) to be born here in the United States, so why does that give us the right to decide who can and cannot come into this country? Just because we were born here, we get to make these decisions? If were getting technical, almost all of us are children of immigrants because there was no one on this land before the English took over other than the Native Americans. Many of us know people in prior generations who immigrated here.
Those who do have the money to immigrate legally in the first place are probably living well beyond the standard of living in their original country. They may not be the ones who need the change the most. The problem is though, if we start to relax our rules on immigration, where do you draw the line of cheating the system? Moving to a new country with different rules and customs and different ways of living is huge so to just relax border patrol to allow anyone into the country is not going to work. There needs to be some type of system in place to still be selective about living in US. The problem is, so if we allow illegal immigrants to stay and come to the US with no problem, how do we address other hot button issues?
This issue really sucks, and it is a part of life. Some people can afford to work, and others cannot. Some people need to come here for a better life or go elsewhere, but they just do not have the resources to do so. I feel as though a lot of people’s lives are determined simply by luck and resources. It sort of goes with the idea of “survival of the fittest”. It is not fair, but not everybody can be on top or be successful and live comfortable lives. Otherwise there would be no variation and positions of power in the world.
I completely agree with this girl! Thank you! I mean like I don’t even think she was all that informed at how things work. To become a citizen or even be considered costs a lot of money and quite frankly when people from another country who are far more poor than Americans try and go somewhere to provide a better life for their country its all of a sudden a terrible thing. Like how do people just say that its not okay when they preach all the time saying with hard work you get to where you want, yet when they try and do that it becomes impossible.
Am I for illegal immigration- yes. I think that most people who come here illegally are only doing so to create a better life for their children and families. They are not trying to “invade” the United States or anything of that matter, they are just trying to make a living and give their children a great education.
I have done a lot of research on this topic. For some of my classes, I have studied and focus on the rights of illegal immigrants and how they effect the United States, and us. I feel that the United States should make it easier for illegal immigrants to become legal citizens. How can the U.S. government expect illegal immigrants to pay the very high amount to become a citizen. Most of them are poor people just trying to give their children a better life.
If illegal immigrants were to become legal citizens they would pay taxes to the government. By U.S. law, when an illegal immigrant has a child in the United States, the child is automatically a U.S. citizen. That gives them the right to education, and so forth. If these illegal families were granted citizenship, they would be able to use tax money to help pay for their children’s education. These illegal immigrants would not have to live in constant fear of being caught, and they can actually begin to live their lives.
This also helps the fact that so many companies hire illegal immigrants and pay them under the table. By making these illegal immigrants citizens, they will be on a pay roll, and the businesses will actually have to report that these immigrant/citizens are now working for them, basically giving the government more money. There are so many ways that the U.S. government will benefit from making illegal immigrants U.S. citizens, that I believe the positive aspects far outweigh the negative aspects.
And what about medical bills you may be wondering? In the state of California alone, hospitals are in millions of dollars of debt because these illegal immigrants living in California seek medical care in hospitals and then cannot pay the hospital bills. By law, any United States hospital must give medical care to all individuals whether they have health insurance, whether they are legal citizens, or whether they are illegal citizens. If these illegal immigrants become citizens, they can earn benefits and have medical insurance. This factor alone will help with the United States debt.
So in all, the U.S. government should make it cheaper and easier for illegal immigrants to become citizens, because in the end they will actually make back some money from it. There are so many positive aspects, that far outweigh the costs.
This is a really tough question because after seeing the videos comparing the pilgrims to immigrants today it seems like the immediate answer should be all hard-working people who have nothing in their countries should be able to pack up and move to America where they can start new and better lives for them and their families. Sam was saying in class that the story of these people coming with nothing in a crowded ship for a journey that lasts months is such an amazing story. However how are we as a country able to support such an increase in people? We cannot.
This is a really good question and I think that the immigrants need the money before they can have do anything else. It all comes down to money and that is what people usually judge each other on. For example someone who migrated here and worked very hard and didn't have much pay based on the amount of hard labor that would be put in would be looked at as modern America as a unsuccessful person. I think that is pretty shallow for people to do this because we all come from different walks of life and some f us are more blesses then others.
You pose an excellent question that really comes back to the whole concept of free will vs. determinism. Looking at the two most extreme examples whereby free-will means that you should be able to achieve whatever you want if you work hard enough and that you should and can do whatever necessary to overcome the many obstacles placed in your path. In contrast, determinism would involve some sort of understanding about the situations and circumstances that people were born into and how that affects their ability to be successful in life and their opportunities to become “King of the Mountain.” I believe that most people fall somewhere in between. Putting these concepts into practice with regards to your ideas about how immigrants can get ahead, I think they absolutely do need some money at least so that they can sustain themselves after first becoming integrated into American society. As Sam mentioned, most of the immigrants that are allowed here are fairly affluent because the government wants to bring people into society that are self-sufficient, not people who rely on government aid and/or welfare programs. With that being said, America is a land of opportunity and the cliché goes that anyone can make it in America if they work hard enough. You really cannot understate the fundamental importance of hard-work as it will pay off in the long-run if you are presented with some luck. Therefore, to completely answer your question, I don’t think that people need to be filthy rich but they do need to have a substantial portion of money and they should have a hard-working mentality in order to get ahead in society.
I feel like money is key to life. Hard work really doesn't do the job these days. If you have money you can get anywhere in life but if you work hard you can only do so much depending on your socioeconomic status. It is said to say that hard work will do the job but in reality money rules over everything. If you have money then you can get good grades because you have money and connections. If you work hard then you can become really good and really skilled but you can never stack up to the money makers because you don't have money. Money gives you rights and abilities that you normally would never have. Hard work is great and I am trying to make it on hard work myself but money really does help and it does make a difference. It sucks but it is the truth money and elitism are what rules America.
Most people think that immigrants are a big problem to the economy and the United States in general but they are far from right. Immigrants help the economy by taking the jobs that are not wanted by anyone else. They work hard for low wages to help support their family. They have gone through a lot while moving to the United States and still suffer from discrimination and segregation. Immigrants have to learn a new language, adapt to a new culture, and start over their lives. Just once, imagine yourself, quitting your job and leaving your family. Selling all your belongings, just so you can afford an airplane ticket. After all that hard work, you finally move to a country where you are searching for hope and freedom but instead you are mistreated and judged by your accent or color, how would you feel?
This is a very interesting question however it is hard to answer. I say that because the people that have money or are wealthy are mostly not the hardworkers. I mean they may have worked hard to get where they are or benefited from nepotism but they either no longer do the hard work because they can afford to pay someone else to do the back breaking work that is if we assume by hard work as physical labor. This also shows that the hard workers most likely do not have a lot of money. Because if they were wealthy then they would not settle for hard physical work or just hire someone that is desperate for money. Therefore it is hard to say. I think it would be great if everyone experienced hard physical labor and then try to move up in the world. I feel if everyone had a background with hard work then they could better appreciate the hard work that many illegal workers or some immigrants endure. I think also that may be if we (people already living in the united states) would all experience hard work then may be there would not be so many vacancies for jobs such as harvesting fruit from fruit farms as we saw rotting in class because Americans were above the idea of picking fruit.
Which brings up another point, Americans do not want to see illegal immigrants coming into the United States and taking OUR jobs, the problem is WE refuse to fill these positions such as harvesting fruit or other physical manual labor jobs. So may be we can all agree that not just immigrants with money that can take care of themselves deserve to be let into this country. There should be a balance of people that can take care of themselves but also let people in that may be lower income and give them an opportunity to make it in this country. Because while the wealthy rich people that come in can fend for their family and feed the economy through purchasing goods they do not contribute much to the physical work force side. I think it would be healthy for the United States to recognize that hard work is just as beneficial to the economy as wealth entering the economy. Although this hard work should be rewarded with fair wages because all though it may make it harder to compete with other companies if the workers are paid fairly at least the work is getting done because we all know that if poor or illegal workers were not willing to do the hard work Americans would not step up and do it. Therefore hard work and money are good together as well as seperate.
I think that immigration is a very big issue that should be discussed in a lot of detail. In terms of money, immigrants are dirt poor. It is a fact that people need money to get a better life. New immigrants often times come with the clothes on their back and nothing else. How can they make a successful life for themselves with no money? They simply have nothing and they cannot make a good life for themselves with nothing.
I know this from personal experience because my parents are first generation immigrants from eastern Europe. My grandma used to clean houses in Louisville, Kentucky for $10. She told me stories about how she would spend an entire day working and sweating and she only made $10. This really hurt me, because it showed me how hard my parents and grandparents had to work to make ends meat. They did all of this to make a better life for me. I am very thankful for this, and I appreciate everything they have done for me.
I think that it is very important to help immigrants settle into the United States. Our country was founded on immigration and we must do what we can to make sure that immigrants settle successfully. It gets sticky when we talk about illegal immigration because these immigrants do not really belong in our country. Then again, since our country was founded on immigrants how can we say who can and who cannot come to our country? I think that we cannot and that we need to admit most people. The only people we should not admit are criminals.
I think that immigration is an idea that is almost unique to America and I think that we need to value our immigrants. America is the melting pot of the world and it is important to understand this. No other country is the same in that respect. We have to realize what we have as a country and learn to treasure our immigrants. Many Americans often have racist attitudes when it comes to immigrants. They think that immigrants are a bother and that anyone that is not white is inferior. These people need to put their beliefs to the side, look a little bit deeper in themselves, and realize that they are no better than immigrants. Most immigrants come to America with next to nothing, and it is not ok to put them out on their own. We need to help them adjust and do everything we can to help them adjust. All Americans immigrated at one point, and whether it was recently or a long time ago we should all try to relate. We need to accept everybody.
There are so many different views on immigration and there always be two different sides of an argument of that nature that usually there is no actual right response or right view on the issue. I definitely agree with the girl in class that every immigrant coming into the United States should do it legally and become a citizen of the United States. There are borders around are country for a specific reason and that reason is to keep America prosperous and safe and keep the citizens of the United States reassured that they are living in the greatest country in the world.
It’s true that one’s financial situation forces them to cross border illegally. However, there are other available means to immigrate to United States without paying a large sum of the money. For example, H-1 visa (sometimes referred as ‘investment immigration’) requires at least five hundred thousand dollars to invest any business in United States but there are other ways that requires much lesser than that. However, there are two problems exist with such method as well. There should be at least a couple of thousand dollars required at minimum to process the fees and the quotas are so small so that applicants must wait at least 3 years to enter United States. I believe there Is noting that can be done since we cannot control the demand.
Part 1:
Thursday’s lecture was really interesting and I agree with you. I mean like you said the immigrants who come this country illegally are most likely poor therefore they don’t have the money or the requirements to come to the states legally. Not only that, but the regulations to come to the States are so strict that it’s probably another reason why there are illegal immigrants. I am glad that you brought this up because a lot of people don’t really realize this. I mean, coming to this country illegally is not by any means easy. Although there are illegal immigrants that come from all over the world, I will just use Mexico as an example. Mexicans who come to the U.S. illegally will most likely come by crossing the border this means walking through the desert! So many people die just trying to come to this country for a better life so just thinking about that is important before making stupid remarks like ( oh they are taking our jobs, and they should learn English etc..)
Part 2:
Before I go on I want to clarify something else. I am not saying that illegal immigration is right, obviously it would be ideal for everyone to come to this country legally, but unfortunately that is just not possible. The people who come to this country come in the search for better opportunities, for some people it’s even a matter of life or death because the conditions in their homelands are just impossible. When I was in high school I actually used to work as an interpreter for Spanish speaking illegal immigrants at a clinic. The people that I met were incredibly hard working and just wanted a better life for their children and in a way it made me happy to see these people grow and progress in this country. I just feel like a lot of people who are quick to judge don’t really see the human side of this issue. Yes illegal immigration is wrong, but perhaps we should change our system or create some kind of program that will prevent more illegal immigration. I also really liked the video that Sam showed in class about the European immigrants who came ILLEGALLY to the U.S. I think it’s kind of ironic how people forget about that and again this is an example of ethnocentrism.
Part 3:
I feel that whenever you are dealing with issues like this it’s important to remember history and to see it from another angle. Another thing that really bothers me too is people who say if they want to come to the U.S. they should all speak English. Well as a matter of fact many illegal immigrants do learn to speak English, but guess what many don’t have the time because they are slaving away to make enough for their families. We are quick to say that others should learn English but when we go to other foreign countries we demand and expect others to speak to us in English.
This is a really good question and could bring up a huge debate. SO MUCH of life on Earth has become dependent on money. But when people risk their lives to come to a country where they can be free (to a certain extent) and able to work for a better life, it almost seems unfair to be so against them. I'm not sure how I for sure stand on this issue (I need to research more and learn more about it first), but I did used to think that it would be okay if they just came legally. But then I remembered family friends we had from Turkey. They were here illegally; it was a long journey but they came here to make a better life for themselves and for the son (who was on the way). Here, they worked in factories and didn't have much money. They didn't have much help from their country's ambassadors and officials in the US to aid them in becoming legal immigrants, and after a lot of back and forth, they were warned about getting deported. They were about to be deported back to a country they had worked so hard to get away from, and from a country that they had been working so hard in for years. It just doesn't seem right to me. I don't have a solution, or a complete idea about what I think on the situation, but I do think that there should be SOME way to help immigrants become legal if they are here in the US, contributing to our economy. And that Americans should put themselves in their shoes so that we as a country can be more open to an idea like that.
Far from attempting to parallel the 'cost' of coming to America now and during the eighteenth century, I would say that it seems unfair now that we are tightening the belt on who can and who cannot come into the United States to gain citizenship; we ask these people who seek the ‘American dream’, as it is so proudly called, for their time and their money. I share Sam’s frustration with contradictory beliefs and hypocrisy in finding the answer to immigration reform in particular. How can we shut the door to people now, who come to this country for reasons no different than people did in the eighteenth century? It seems very selfish. On the receiving end of building a wall on the border between the United States and Mexico is the belief that we should let everyone who wants to come in, do so legally and unconditionally. I could see how some would make the arugment that this is illogical, and I suppose I could agree. Like other issues, I suppose that the real intellectual and morally sound resolution to immigration in the United States lies in the middle. We must compromise on what must be done to tackle immigration. I believe in comprehensive immigration reform that is expressed through legislation like the DREAM Act, which was a federal bill considered in the years following strict immigration laws that passed in 2006. The DREAM Act “would provide certain undocumented alien students who graduate from US high schools, who are of good moral character, arrived in the U.S. as minors, and have been in the country continuously for at least five years prior to the bill's enactment, the opportunity to earn conditional permanent residency”.
The more I think about immigration reform the more I begin to understand why it deserves attention and why it is so dynamic and difficult to find a solution for. I won't pretend like I understand all the politics and paperwork that goes behind immigration, but I have heard that immigrants who want to become citizens of the United States must wait several years before they gain their citizenship. Just what are these people waiting for? Is this a carrying capacity issue? Are we waiting for people to die off to let others in? Do we wait to investigate people for upwards of five years to insure that they are not going to harm our country before they are given citizenship? Is it like finally getting into Indigo after you've been waiting in line for hours on end? I'm not well rehearsed in the ecology of human beings and the 'consequences', if any, of at this very moment letting all who would like to come to the United States to do so without making these people wait for years on end to not even have confidence that they would gain full citizenship.
First of all it says it all in the title ILLEGAL Immigrants, how is this different than anything else that is against the law. If we start allowing people come here illegally, then how do we justify enforcing any other law that we have? I realize that this country was built on immigration and I probably would not be here if my ancestors would not have immigrated. However the people who immigrated back then did not have money either, in fact that is the reason why most people make the decision to come here because they are not leading a glamorous ritzy life where they are. Also I believe that people now are not as interested in coming here to become Americans and assimilate into our culture. The immigrants of the past even though they tended to stick by their ethnic group once arriving here made America what it is today, learned the English language, and worked hard to build this country into what it is today. These immigrants coming in now do not want to learn or culture and adjust into our society to try and better themselves, however they seem content not doing any of this and working low pay manual labor jobs. While I realize that this is all that is available to them upon their arrivals it doesn’t seem like once they get the money to become legal they do not do it, however they continue living here illegally. While the majority of these people do not commit crimes and try to fly under the radar, there are illegal immigrants, who commit violent crimes even murder, these are crimes that do not need to be here and if immigration laws were enforced would not happen. This is a very sad fact that innocent Americans have been killed by people who should not even be here. These people also do not pay taxes; however enjoy the freedoms that you earn by paying them.
I have personal experience with illegal immigration and the harm it can cause, a neighboring town to mine Hazleton Pennsylvania, has a massive problem with illegal immigration. This was a small coal town that did not have much crime at all and has become a refuge for illegal immigrants. Since this push of immigrants came into the town the crime rates have increased dramatically, and the town has turned into a so-called bad area. Property values in the town have also dropped dramatically, which has caused many residents to leave. This has many repercussions; it has made the school system not as good, and made people not want to live there. Recently Mayor Lou Barletta has made a push to deport all illegal immigrants living in the area, and has caught much heat for this. I think that this is a good policy and it should be perfectly acceptable to deport these people once they are caught.
I was on the fence when it came to immigrants coming into the United States illegally and getting paid for jobs. I mean it’s annoying to think someone who is here illegally is getting paid for a job that someone who is here legally can be getting paid for, right? I mean don’t you think if I did the same in a different country they would be annoyed that this foreigner was taking a job from one of them?
Sam out this lecture into good perspectives for me, the way he initiated the pears from that harvest that were wasted because we neglected wanting the use of immigrants working. It’s a shame to think how much is wasted each day, each month, each year, and we, as Americans, are still in this recession struggling. Well then why are we struggling, when we are wasting so much at the same time? It starts to piss me off as much as the next person because I’m not someone coming from wealth or who has it all planned out, no I need to constantly work for any time of reward or even spending money. So I do not pity anyone who doesn’t have the money, or who is homeless, or who asks me for change on the street. I’ve been working since I was twelve, that’s not even legal but guess what, it shaped me into who I am today. Would I change my past in any way, working as young as I did? Absolutely not. I am a more driven, more responsible human being. I know what I need to get done in life and how to provide for myself. This leads me to my next point.
If we don’t allow immigrants into the United States, these jobs that the immigrants are doing, people on welfare should be doing. Why the hell do we pay taxes to allow so many relax on welfare with their daily checks or food stamps to supply for themselves and their families. Anyone can argue with me but I work for a non-profit organization and I watch people come in for their checks and go to Rite Aid to buy a pack of cigarettes. That’s messed up. Why am I, a high school graduate, pursuing a college degree, and working every minute of it why am I constantly struggling with money to have as spending money. It’s so frustrating when I pull up in my shitty 95’ Malibu, to volunteer at food drives and there’s people pulling up in their Escalades collecting food. Now don’t tell me there’s nothing wrong with this picture.
Now as much as I disagreed with having immigrants taking jobs from people legally in the United States, Sam did steer my mind a little with how much is wasted in the mean time. But honestly, why can’t people already in the United States legally get off their ass and get a working class job like the rest of us.
I think that it can be such a hard cycle to break for someone to become wealthy in America. Most of the time, people get rich because they already have money. For example, a family with a lot of money can put their kid in good schools in good areas, and then prestigious colleges. With this college experience, kids can get good jobs after they are out of school and start to build their own wealth. Now, for a kid that grows up in the ghetto with a low-income family. Most of the time, they live in a bad area, with under-funded schools. The chances of these kids attending a well-respected university are a lot less than the kid that lives for a suburban middle-class family. Therefore, it is a cycle that is really hard to break into. Not surprisingly, immigrants face these same problems, and maybe even to a much more difficult extent.
Immigrants that come into this country illegally face an incredible uphill battle. They get no government aid, and have a hard time finding places to live. A lot of the time, they are coming into the country with no money. They literally have to start from rock bottom. Because of this, they have to fend for themselves and work their asses off just to scrape by. What makes it even harder is knowing that they probably will not reap the benefits of their work, and many will never be considered wealthy. They just work for the fact that it’s better than their home, and they are also giving their children and grandchildren a better opportunity.
While I believe that hard work can benefit people, in the end it usually comes down to what kind of money you already have. The cases where people do make it from poverty and become successful are usually attributed to good luck, good fortune, lots of hard work, or a combination of the three. It is this way because of the way our society is set up. The rich get richer, the poor get poorer. The impoverished and immigrants stay in the slums and most of them can’t make it out. It is a brutal cycle but is the way of life here.
It really is amazing to think that these immigrants would come to live a life like this. Many of us consider it so bad, but they are coming here because they think it is BETTER than the life they lived. I could not even imagine what kind of poverty or living conditions they had lived in in their previous country that made them want to come to a place where they worked for a miniscule amount of money and awful living.
many immigrants do not have the necessary means to come over to America the proper way to become a citizen legally and the time it takes to get citizenship could be an extreme factor. Although,I do not think this is an excuse though for people to be allowed to immigrate illegally. In my own opinion illegal immigration should not be excepted in the United States because many people are hurt by the matter, however i do understand why many people take part in the act. It is also sad that they are such a key tool to our economy because we have a national problem solving a national solution. In the end America gets hurt and we have to find a better solution. Being able to migrant legally into this country is all about our countries dependency on workers outside of our country. Although this is unfair, what else would it be based on? You cannot just open your borders to tons of foreigners who bring nothing to the country. One would say, and I fully agree that this is not a fair way of deciding who can and cannot immigrate into the country because immigration shouldn't be about America's dependency but it should be about people trying to better their lives. I think this is a way more complex issue than people think and there really is no simple answer.
I think this issue is really interesting how people have such strong views on illegal immigrants in this country. I feel that the decisions needed to be made about immigration are tough ones and it is hard for people to express their true feelings about it because no matter any proposal to the situation someone gets hurt. But the fact is that we as people cant come to a conclusion on how to tackle this situation and in the meantime the state of the economy is being effected. It certainly is not fair that this is the way it works. I am ethnocentric in that I believe I live in the greatest country in the world. Why wouldn’t people want to come live here and who are we to tell them they can’t? There has to be some kind of boundaries though. There are only so many people that can fit in this country and it would not be very fair to take all of the American’s jobs away because of the immigrants. I can definitely understand why people hire illegal immigrants and I think it is essential for our country to succeed by hiring these people for much lower wages.
I think people are way too quick to criticize the system that we already have without having a better way of doing it. I personally cannot think of a better way of doing it so I do not think I have much room to criticize. It would be nice to live in the a country where your citizenship depends on your contribution to the country as well as, your need for the country.
I do believe that people need to have money to carve out a better life for themselves. Hard work alone can only get you so far. Also, it really determines how much of a better life you’re looking for. If you’re thinking better life mean them climbing up the socioeconomic ladder, then I’d say without some cash you’re probably not going to get very far. Not to say that hard work can’t get you anywhere, but I’m saying that hard work ALONE won’t get you anywhere.
I honestly do not think there is a problem with people who come here illegally, and try to make an honest living. What I mean by that is the people who come here and just try to work not the people who come and end up committing crimes. I think that they are the ones who deserve to be here. Honestly, it is not hurting us for them to be here. I wish people would stop saying they come here to take our jobs because the jobs they do are the ones that no American takes. So why should we deny them a right to a better life. I am pretty sure some of your family members were immigrants. In all actuality, the people who came here legally are the ones taking your jobs. That is something that all of you who oppose illegal immigration need to think about.
I feel that money is something that makes the world move. We have talked about the awesome benefits of having money and being born into wealth. I look at it like this: I would rather an immigrant have money for his or her own protection of identity to survive among the society in the United States. Our culture has based so much on power and money. I feel an immigrant would avoid scrutiny if he or she had the money. It may be really superficial, but deep down there are many people who value money as some sort of factor of acceptance. It is hard to avoid people like this.
This is an issue that has lasted throughout the entire semester with this class. Can someone achieve major success with simply gold old fashioned hard work, or do they need help from their ancestors and a financial ground to stand on. I personally think that it is much easier to gain success when you have a good ancestry who has given your family financial stability. I know there are plenty of cases where people pick themselves up from nothing and become success stories, but the likelihood of that is very low. I know that I would certainly not be anywhere close to the point I am today if it was for my parents and other previous ancestors.
I think not everyone has an equal chance to success and luck has a lot to do with that factor. The question that not all illegal immigrants have the money and opportunity to become legal is very correct. If all these individuals had that opportunity then the United States will be overpopulated. Hard work is only advantageous for those who have some sort of money and has the foundation to gain potential in the future. For those that do not have any money it would be difficult to gain a foot hole to get ahead. Then the question isn’t about why doesn’t everyone just become legal so that we can avoid the issue of illegal immigration. The truth of the matter is that this would be impossible and a little beyond our reach. If people worked hard all there life then money wouldn’t become an issue to those individuals. Hard work will eventually pay off for these individuals and becoming a legal citizen will not be an unascertainable goal. Money has always been and will be a jumping start to most things, but without hard work as the roots, nothing is possible. Dr. Sam mentioned that illegal immigrants shouldn’t be a huge deal because “we” basically crossed onto this soil and claimed it as our own. We robbed the Native Americans and we pushed them to the side and we are questioning whether illegal aliens have the right to step onto this country asking and hoping for the same opportunity. We are insane if we question that to those individuals who seek that right as well. The topic of immigration is dear to my heart because my dad became an American citizen in the 60’s and worked really hard to get my mother to the United States. Fortunately, my father is a legal citizen now and my mom has a permanent citizen’s card or green card. From what my dad tells me, the test were very difficult and imagining that he knew very little English back then, made me realize the challenge he had to overcome. I am proud of his achievements and respect him even more for helping all my uncles or his brothers to the United States when becoming legal citizens were hard. For him, money was an important factor in helping him get through the process and it was also luck that brought him where he is now. So luck, money, and hard work are all important factors when it comes to the issue of immigration. Without it, you might get there eventually, but it will take quite some time and work to achieve the same result, whereas someone with money could attain in a short and brief time.
I think that if you are thinking about hard work to get health care, there are a lot of jobs that include health plans in them which would mean that there would be health care provided to them. This would mean that you don’t necessarily only need money to get health care but you should look for a job. It doesn’t even need to be a great job my friend has healthcare with his job at a family fun center which doesn’t need a ton of experience but still gets him the healthcare that he needs. I don’t think that it makes it to unreachable in that case.
In America, we tend to firmly believe in the idea that everyone has the ability to get ahead in life with just a little hard work. However, what people fail to realize, is that there will always be distinctions and different classifications so if everyone were to simply “work hard” those that get ahead would get ahead for different reasons. In class, Sam talked about how there was a starting line for the different races. There are many historical reasons why the starting line is not even or equal for everyone it is just how things are. If for example, the whites were at one specific place to begin because they already have many resources, connections, money, whatever the reason may be, everyone else has to start at a place not as advanced as where the whites started. Blacks were held back for so many years and made to feel less than people, so when the time came and they were allowed to simply live, and make it they faced challenges that white people never had to face simply because of the skin in which they were born in. So, they would have to start the race further back and away from where the whites would begin. Immigrants are people migrating from many different parts of the world. They are new to the country filled with many people already struggling. They have more to deal with such as language barriers, culture differences, and family issues. All of their hope lies in the simple trip to America. Many travel and leave everything that they have so that they could begin a new and improved life. Their optimistic outlook could possibly be an edge up on the competition; they are not afraid of working for everything that they have, they are actually most likely used to it. Whereas unemployed Americans feel like they’re too good to do the very basic labor positions, be it too large an ego, too much pride, or plain laziness they would rather collect unemployment checks then work. With that in mind, and with everyone having so much of a head-start, hard work alone cannot fix the gap. Therefore, in my opinion I feel like immigrants with money have a much better chance at making it and living the American dream than those that do not have it. A quick substitute for money could be whatever type of skills or abilities that they may have. They might not have money but they could help you make some. Americans do not want more people feeding out of the pot than they have adding to it. It is just that simple. If they do not benefit in some way, why even consider it?
I don't believe that you need to begin with a great amount of money in order to be able to make something of yourself. It is easier, granted, but it is not the deciding factor in determining one's success. Money is very hard to come by. If it were easier, most of us would be "rolling in dough" so to speak. But it's not; as such, we must work harder to attain monetary compensation, enough that would support not only ourselves, but our families. In regards to the girl stating that all immigrants must work legally for money, I believe that is a fanciful perspective. Our government does not favor "outsiders". As such, most immigrants resort to working illegally as a means of putting food on their tables. Most of these illegal jobs are illegal only because of the lack of documented evidence of the job being effected. They are not jobs selling drugs, murdering, or any such felonious activity. It is very easy for us to judge the immigrant for working illegally, but it is important that we examine the circumstances under which they are propelled to do so.
I do believe that regulations are necessary to ensure that immigrants do not take advantage of the system, and are indeed looking to become legal residents in the eventuality. I believe that though the government does not favor the immigrant community, it does not at the same time cripple them. I believe that there are multitudinous opportunities for which they can utilize to better their situation. Most of the immigrants in this nation are hard-working, but are content to be doing the same thing with no intentions to progress. I believe that that is the problem. If more incentive was provided for these immigrants to become legal, perhaps it would help to eradicate some of the problems we have with the immigrants currently living here.
It is hard enough as it is to work for little pay, but to work illegally for little pay presents a great disadvantage for the individual in that circumstance. It allows opportunities for abuse by your employer, and provides no legal benefits such as health care, etc. In the event that legal issues arise between employer and employee, it would be very difficult to go against an employer when your position in his or her employ is illegal. Attempting to contest any proposed offense would be to almost no avail on the part of the illegal worker because of their status in the U.S. system. If some of these points are stressed to the workers, perhaps it would provide a more pragmatic perspective on why it would be beneficial to attempt legality in the U.S.
In the end you have to do what you have to do to get ahead in life. If that means being an illegal immigrant and working your ass off just so you know that your child is going to have a better life and if your fine with that then go out and do it. The thing is people do that I think its fine for some one to come and do whatever it takes. People often forget that this is how this country the USA was founded. I think that there is notation that working outside makes you less of a person being it’s so great in American and everyone wants to be a millionaire. But to answer you question no people do what they do for reasons and im cool with it.
I like this video post. A lot of people dont realize that it is so hard to become a citizen of this country. And for someone who is coming here in order to make a better life for himself going through the whole process is really a waste of time. They know that they have two options to live in America; get in illegally or get in legally. If they want to do it legally it is going to take many years and it is going to cost them a lot. If they do it illegally, they can do it much faster an for free. The illegal option is a lot more attractive to someone who is already poor and doesn’t have the time or money to spend dealing with the united states governments. The point is they know they are going to have work if they come here regardless of the legality of their status. This work that they do is work that Americans do not want to do and it is work that is important for everyone else. It is funny and kind of sad that so many people are completely intolerant of “illegal aliens” yet they have no idea how big of an impact these people are having on their lives. There is a movie called A Day Without Mexican and it shows the repercussions of every Mexican in LA suddenly vanishing. And when they do people are upset about the raggy look everywhere because there are no people doing the yardwork. Bathrooms don’t get cleaned, there are just little problems that you don’t think about until they are in front of you. A main problem these people have with illegal immigrants is that they do not get taxed because they are not legal citizens, but they get to benefit form the end result of the taxes they aren’t paying. I just find it difficult to hate someone who is coming to our country to do the bullshit jobs that Americans all think they are too good to do. It is more important to get the work done no matter who does it and just because you cant take these peoples money doesn’t make them the enemy. I agree that if they are coming to America they should be legal citizens, but the fault doesn’t lie on the people. It belongs with the policies that make it so difficult for people to gain citizenship. If a immigrant could easily become a citizen after living and working in the country, no questions askied about how they got here in the first place, then this whole issue could be resolved. A lot of Americans could learn something about hard work motivation and dedication by looking at how these illegal immigrants support themselves and their families.
I honestly feel like they really do need to do it legally. If we need a passport to go to other countries, vacation there, live there, etc. that they should as well. The problem I have isn't that they want to come here and work and make a better life, it's that all of this is happening without regulation. The government is doing it's best (we think) to regulate immigration. It's not that I don't want Mexicans, Cubans, or whoever in this country, because it's not about race for me. But where does it stop? How many people are we going to let in before we say enough's enough? I just think on that day we're not going to be prepared to stop the influx at that point. It's easy to debate about this topic sitting in State College and not having to fight to keep my family alive. There's no doubt in my mind I would do whatever I had to in order to get into this country. But, at the same time, I have to follow all the rules in the world in order to keep my freedom in this country, so I don't think that it should be any different for anyone else, although that's probably a really narrow-minded way to look at this topic.
I regret to say that hard work is no longer the only requirement to get what you want or, in many cases, need. In today’s society everything is run by money. In the case of illegal immigrants and the inability to pay to legally immigrate, I am not sure that asking people to only legally immigrate is realistic. People will always want to immigrate to the United States… it’s the land of opportunity (or at least is it supposed to be) and they will do what ever it takes to get here. A green piece of paper is not going to stop them.
Having a lot of family and friends that are Nigerian I know that it can be pretty difficult for people to get their papers especially when money is in the picture. People need to learn that it is not that easy for people to get their papers. I don’t feel like illegal immigrants steal jobs from American citizens because most of the times they hold the jobs that American citizens don’t want to do. Illegal immigrants although it is wrong they are still hard workers and deserve the same respect any other hard worker gets. They should try and get their legal papers because at times they have the same benefits and opportunity that legal immigrants get.
I think that immigrants need to be legal for some reasons, but other reasons make that harder and unrealistic. Hard work is almost always going to be involved in anything that people do, especially when you are working from the bottom and trying to move up. I do agree with some of these posts that its not necessarily fair for people who have worked hard to get somewhere to pay for people who maybe have slacked off because they know they can live off others. But this is not always the case, sometimes people work very hard, and the world just doesn’t shift in their favor. I think that people that work hard are deserving, its just the slackers I have a problem with.
I'm not sure I understand your question in the way it's being phrased. I also don't think we discussed the legal immigration process in class, what people have to go through to get legal status, the money (if any) required, etc. I hear a common theme of people who say "well the legal process is too difficult." I believe that the legal process should be streamlined. However, we can't let just anyone in, however, it should not have to be based on socioeconomic status. There need to be venues for workers to immigrate and be able to work (as a documented worker) to earn legal residency status.
I also believe that part of the fact that workers must be undocumented to be able to work for wages and benefits below the minimum regulations. I am one of those people who believes that the minimum wage laws cause black markets for labor and should be reformed. I know that sounds like a cold statement, but minimum labor prevents some types of labor from being able to be legal, and labor laws like this should be relaxed.
Unfortunately the legal labor pool is not suitable for many unskilled immigration laborers. The government through its regulations and taxes has effectively legislated away many types of low skill, low wage employment from the legal labor pool. There are millions of unemployed Americans who would be happy to take low wage low benefit jobs, including some of the jobs that have been off-shored; especially recently with the recession.
I happen to believe that when the government creates black markets like this, there will be all kinds of unintended consequences. For example, drug prohibition may cause less people to use the drug but drives the market underground, forcing people to take incredible risks in a market that does not abide by the rule of law. Similarly, immigrants are forced to sneak in and risk being deported because low wage jobs such as this are illegal, and face intense, often violent competition for underground low wage jobs.
Immigrants are faced with a conundrum; they need legitimate, legal jobs that they can work in order to gain legal status, but don't have much available to them. Unless the immigrant has a marketable skill that they can enter the United States' higher education system or skilled labor pool, they are pretty much forced to work illegal jobs under constant threat of deportation. The problem is that the low skill legal jobs have effectively been legislated away.
In addition, I believe that the public should become more educated about the legal immigration process, why it is so cumbersome, and how it can be reformed to be more fair and give poor immigrants a chance to move up and succeed; though I suspect that the basic underlying cause is the patchwork of restrictive wage and benefit laws that discourage hiring.
This issue is definitely not black and white. Money is always an issue and it is what causes problems and/or happiness. Look at the worth ethic in the United States versus the work ethic in Europe. I studied abroad in Barcelona, Spain and most places were closed in the middle of the day for their siesta. By 2 PM, the metros were packed and my friends and I could never understand why no one was at work. Then you think about the U.S. and there are people who work from 9 to 7 or 8 at night. These differences are associated with the values of Americans versus the values of Europeans. Here in America, everything is based around money. When do Americans get to have lives outside of work?
I agree that some immigrants do not have the money to do it legally. Instead, they need to take hard working yet low paying jobs just to support their family. I always wonder why someone who does manual labor gets paid so much less than someone who sits at a desk all day. Physical labor is extremely extraneous and exhausting. There are so many jobs where the salary is way too low for the work that is being done and sometimes I do not understand it. I also do not think that this pertains to only immigrants. I believe there are many legal American citizens who work extremely hard and do not get compensated for it, while others work half as much or hard and get a high paying salary. There are both immigrants and American citizens who have to work 2 shifts of work a day just to get by and provide for their family. It is really unfortunate that if you do not come from money you need to work hard to get by.
My dad works extremely extremely hard as an accountant. During tax season he is up at 4 or 5 in the morning and on a train to the city by 5:30 or 6 am. There are some nights where he doesn’t walk in until 10 or 11 at night. I know he is an exceptionally hard worker and wants to provide for his family. Sometimes I feel like there are so many people who get paid so much more than he does and definitely do not work half as hard as him or the same hours as him.
I know that this question was aimed toward immigrants and what we spoke about in class, but I do not think that it is only immigrants who take illegal jobs or jobs no one would do. I definitely do believe that people need money to have a better life and if they do not have money they need to work very hard to get by in life.
Obviously people need money and hard work to succeed or even come to this country, and they need more to come across the border. To get a better life after coming over the border illegally, you need a lot more than one might think you would for startup money and continuation money when they get in to America, so I think that simply hard work is nowhere near enough. In fact, I would assume that it takes an extreme amount of luck in addition to simply just getting over the border. Overall, I think that it takes a lot of work either way, but unless you are well connected you are in for a very hard time.
The fact of the matter is that, yes, not everyone that comes over here can afford to legally come here. Obviously the amount of illegal immigrants is alarming and something needs to be done. I however think a different approach needs to be taken in effect of this. We will not find everyone who illegally jumped the border and came into this country. Obviously hard work sometimes is not enough to earn your way in here. People are less fortunate than us, it is a fact. We can not help every person out to come over and live here. It is sad, and in no way am I saying that it is their fault. We just can not allow anyone who thinks they can strike it rich here to walk over and be invited. Becoming a citizen is a right that should be held to those who qualify.
This is a tough question. I do believe that there needs to be some structure on how we allow immigrants to become citizens. Like Sam said every country has border control. I dont believe you should have to have money to have a better life. I wish everyone could enjoy the benefits I have in the United States but unfortunately its not possible. I believe that if you work hard enough that you will become successful. Its really hard to take a certain side on this one.
I think if people needed money to obtain their legal rights, then that’s just extremely hypocritical and goes against the whole MO of America. I know when my ancestors came to Ellis Island, they, along with pretty much everyone else on the boat, were dirt poor. Yet they turned it around and put in their blood, sweat, and tears into their work. A main reason why everyone comes to America is because they don’t have money and want to make a better life for themselves and their families. Having to buy legal rights may shut down immigration altogether and those who do purchase legal citizenship will hardly even appreciate it, because it wasn’t even earned.
I think that hard work should always be rewarded in generally, and especially when it comes to immigrants. However, we discussed in class that in the early 1900s and late 1800s, when immigrants were coming to this country in droves (and coming in legally), they had literally nothing in terms of money or clothes or other possessions. Now, when money is worth more and is more available, immigrants should be doing things the same way as long ago. I may be a cynic, but I doubt people will be entering this country illegally just because they do not have the money. More likely they do so because it is convenient and much more simple than doing it the "right way." If people are willing to work hard, they should also be willing to put in the extra time to come into the country legally. The only people who get punished by this not happening are the legitimate American citizens. I would like to believe that hard work is all people need to succeed and be happy, but that is just not the case in today's world.
This whole argument about illegal immigrants taking jobs that Americans don't want versus illegal immigrants taking jobs away from "hardworking Americans" is a little tiresome for me to have to listen to. I don't necessarily believe that either side is true all the time. Lots of times I think the former is true, that immigrants take jobs that most Americans don't want, (or, as Sam talked about Tuesday in class, that they aren't legally allowed to take) but also there are those extremely destitute Americans who can only take jobs where they scramble to make ends meet. In most cases, these people, just like the immigrants in the video we saw, can't make ends meet.
The belief that we as Americans are brought up with is that we can do anything we set our minds to, and with hard work, we can achieve anything. Unfortunately I think that is much more true for us as naturalized citizens than it is for immigrants, illegal or legal. This basically says that despite how a immigrant enters the country, the "right way" or the "wrong way", it won't matter because Americans have the upper-hand. While I would prefer immigrants to enter the country in a legal way, as long they are prepared to work honestly and hard, they should be given all the chances of naturalized citizens here. The way our immigration issues are progressing, I think incentives will be increased to legal immigrants who enter the country the proper way, and this will also increase the number of hardworking immigrants in this country. While I disagree with the use of incentives or "hooks" to get people to do things (rather than having motivation to do things because they are right), I understand why incentives are used
This is a really good question and I think I need more information to answer it correctly. However, from what I understand plenty of people migrated to the United States in the past with not even “two dimes to rub together” and some how they managed to make it in the United States legally. It takes not only a lot of hard work but a lot of courage to pick yourself up and move with no where to live or to work, but there are plenty of people in this country that have done just that. Some times not everyone can hack it, sometimes people have worse luck than others, but when it comes down to it, it can be done.
Just like we talked about “King of the Mountain” in past classes, life is not only about hard work but it is about luck of the draw as well. Someone could work their butt off and still fail, when someone else could just be at the right place at the right time and manage to be successful in life. This shows that it is not fair and maybe some things should be done to equal the playing field, however, life is not fair so why should we try and make it? However, there are plenty of other ways the United States tries to make this country fair, like affirmative action, so why shouldn’t they come up with a fair way for immigrants to have a fighting chance at a good life in the United States? Immigrants tend to be the ones who are willing to the “dirty” work and manual labor jobs, apparently legal Americans are too good to work those jobs, however these immigrants are paid at very low wages. One could say that they deserve to be paid minimum wage, but if the ones doing the work are illegal immigrants, who they usually are, they don’t have to pay taxes so making less than minimum wage would be ok. There should be a program in which immigrants can do these jobs and work towards citizenship in the United States.
I still stand by my original point, where I believe all immigrants should get their citizenship legally, like so many have done in the past. However, I also understand that times have changed and if the United States can offer programs to help equal the playing field for its own citizens, perhaps it is time to create one for those who wish to become citizens. These immigrants tend to do the dirty and manual labor jobs that most citizens would never take on, however there is a current rise in unemployment so allowing more and more immigrants to come into the United States may not be feasible. It would take time and research but I think a solution is out there to this problem, we just need to find it.
I think that most immigrants come to this country to better their lives and the lives of their families. The United States has always been the place where someone can rise from humble origins to become successful, productive or maybe just satisfied, with a good life. Although some immigrants may think it is easy to earn a living, most would likely realize that it takes hard work, perseverance and maybe some good fortune to be a “success.” I think that hard working people who are trying to improve their lives should not be criminalized by a system that forces them to utilize a process that is difficult and expensive. When a person proves that she will be a productive member of society this should pave the way for her to achieve her dreams.
I do not think that success in America is all about money. Being a hard worker goes a long way in this country, and even if you start at an entry level position you can rise through the ranks and be successful. Also, everyone has their own definition of success so one person may think it is to have a million dollars, others may think that it is just having a healthy family. If illegal immigrants can’t afford to get here legally, maybe they should work a little harder in their country, save, and then do it legally. We cannot just give handouts to these people.
To me people need both a good work ethic and money to achieve things. However you don’t necessarily need to have the two balanced because either one can work in place of the other and you can see examples of this all through out society. We all know someone here at Penn State who was only accepted because his or her parents have money. It isn’t a hard concept to understand. The vice versa of this is also true. We all know someone who has gotten where they are solely on their ability and determination. I can not remember exactly who said it but I recall in one of the short stories from the book Crossing the Boulevard someone said life is like a set of stairs. We can all get to the top but some of us start much higher up than others. This sums up my basic views with money and hard work. Immigrants start at some of the lowest stairs not only because of money, but also because of the language barrier between them. This can either sink someone or act as a catalyst for the intellectual hard worker on the inside. It would be ideal if everyone migrated here legally but that is simply unrealistic. Through out Crossing the Boulevard the story was the same. The immigrant was in a war torn country and had to choose between leaving everything they knew behind or risk death. The people in the stories all were lucky enough to get visas but people who don’t get visas are also faced with that same choice. I for one would not choose death so I would therefore have to become an illegal immigrant. Once they are in the United States they would hopefully be able to obtain a green card and stay here, perhaps even attaining citizenship. I realize that a lot of illegal immigrants are putting strain on the system but I feel the majority of them had very little choice in their decision. My one hope is that more immigrants would take what they have learned in the United States and take it back to their countries and try to make a positive effect on their homelands. I am not saying the United States is perfect, because it is far from it. However the United States is one of the few countries where hard work will result in success. If we were to adopt more European policies and become a more laid back, conservative, government we could truly get close to an efficient and fair system. If we were to develop that system then hard work WOULD be enough the vast majority of the time. With that example for other nations to follow the world could become a much better place.
The best way I can answer this question is that life isn't fair. I now that's a harsh way to put it but it's the reality. We can't have people coming into our country illegally because it fucks with out jobs and our economy. So I think that immigrants need to come in legally and try their hardest to get in. If they can't then they just have to work with what they have. Our government can't make everyone happy, but right now, they aren't making anyone happy. They have to do something because as of now they are stuck in the middle and it's causing a lot of problems.
Illegal immigration as we all know and have experienced in class, is a very controversial topic. However, this video brings up a good point about simply getting through life through hard work. I definitely agree that you do not always need to be rich or have a lot of money to get by in life or succeed. Of course, money can definitely assist with getting far in life, but that is not the only way to do it. While I do not really discriminate against illegal immigrants, I am still unsure about how I feel the situation should be handled.
Hard work should be rewarded, but it’s sad that immigrants work so hard and don’t get rewarded, plus like everyone else said immigrants do the jobs that American’s don’t want and have no desire to do. Most of the time they get paid less then minimum wage and have no benefits and can’t really get any. Also for the people who say that they are taking government money with all the programs, they are illegal immigrants so they can’t get the programs. So I feel that if you really want to stop the immigrants from taking the jobs that “all American’s want” then go after the companies that hire them
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I think this is a really interesting question. I used to get mad about illegal immigrants coming to the United States and "taking" jobs from Americans who needed and wanted them. The more I started to think about it though, most immigrants are not "taking" jobs from Americans. In fact, many of the jobs that immigrants take, are jobs that many Americans refuse to do. There is this idea of pride in America where many homeless people and people who have been laid off refuse to take some of these jobs that immigrants will happily take. Many illegal immigrants take these jobs because they want to build a better life for their families. I know a very smart man who was laid off, and has remained jobless for years because nothing is up to his standards. If that were me, I would take almost any job to support my family. Maybe working at McDonalds or picking fruit from a pear field in California is not the most glorified of jobs, but they are jobs that will help an individual to support himself and/or his family. Many immigrants come with nothing, but a goal to make a better life. If they are working hard to provide better lives, then really what is the issue.
It is kind of like what Sam said in the beginning of the semester. Many Americans just happened to be lucky enough (or unlucky enough depending on your views) to be born here in the United States, so why does that give us the right to decide who can and cannot come into this country? Just because we were born here, we get to make these decisions? If were getting technical, almost all of us are children of immigrants because there was no one on this land before the English took over other than the Native Americans. Many of us know people in prior generations who immigrated here.
Those who do have the money to immigrate legally in the first place are probably living well beyond the standard of living in their original country. They may not be the ones who need the change the most. The problem is though, if we start to relax our rules on immigration, where do you draw the line of cheating the system? Moving to a new country with different rules and customs and different ways of living is huge so to just relax border patrol to allow anyone into the country is not going to work. There needs to be some type of system in place to still be selective about living in US. The problem is, so if we allow illegal immigrants to stay and come to the US with no problem, how do we address other hot button issues?
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This issue really sucks, and it is a part of life. Some people can afford to work, and others cannot. Some people need to come here for a better life or go elsewhere, but they just do not have the resources to do so. I feel as though a lot of people’s lives are determined simply by luck and resources. It sort of goes with the idea of “survival of the fittest”. It is not fair, but not everybody can be on top or be successful and live comfortable lives. Otherwise there would be no variation and positions of power in the world.
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I completely agree with this girl! Thank you! I mean like I don’t even think she was all that informed at how things work. To become a citizen or even be considered costs a lot of money and quite frankly when people from another country who are far more poor than Americans try and go somewhere to provide a better life for their country its all of a sudden a terrible thing. Like how do people just say that its not okay when they preach all the time saying with hard work you get to where you want, yet when they try and do that it becomes impossible.
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Am I for illegal immigration- yes. I think that most people who come here illegally are only doing so to create a better life for their children and families. They are not trying to “invade” the United States or anything of that matter, they are just trying to make a living and give their children a great education.
I have done a lot of research on this topic. For some of my classes, I have studied and focus on the rights of illegal immigrants and how they effect the United States, and us. I feel that the United States should make it easier for illegal immigrants to become legal citizens. How can the U.S. government expect illegal immigrants to pay the very high amount to become a citizen. Most of them are poor people just trying to give their children a better life.
If illegal immigrants were to become legal citizens they would pay taxes to the government. By U.S. law, when an illegal immigrant has a child in the United States, the child is automatically a U.S. citizen. That gives them the right to education, and so forth. If these illegal families were granted citizenship, they would be able to use tax money to help pay for their children’s education. These illegal immigrants would not have to live in constant fear of being caught, and they can actually begin to live their lives.
This also helps the fact that so many companies hire illegal immigrants and pay them under the table. By making these illegal immigrants citizens, they will be on a pay roll, and the businesses will actually have to report that these immigrant/citizens are now working for them, basically giving the government more money. There are so many ways that the U.S. government will benefit from making illegal immigrants U.S. citizens, that I believe the positive aspects far outweigh the negative aspects.
And what about medical bills you may be wondering? In the state of California alone, hospitals are in millions of dollars of debt because these illegal immigrants living in California seek medical care in hospitals and then cannot pay the hospital bills. By law, any United States hospital must give medical care to all individuals whether they have health insurance, whether they are legal citizens, or whether they are illegal citizens. If these illegal immigrants become citizens, they can earn benefits and have medical insurance. This factor alone will help with the United States debt.
So in all, the U.S. government should make it cheaper and easier for illegal immigrants to become citizens, because in the end they will actually make back some money from it. There are so many positive aspects, that far outweigh the costs.
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This is a really tough question because after seeing the videos comparing the pilgrims to immigrants today it seems like the immediate answer should be all hard-working people who have nothing in their countries should be able to pack up and move to America where they can start new and better lives for them and their families. Sam was saying in class that the story of these people coming with nothing in a crowded ship for a journey that lasts months is such an amazing story. However how are we as a country able to support such an increase in people? We cannot.
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This is a really good question and I think that the immigrants need the money before they can have do anything else. It all comes down to money and that is what people usually judge each other on. For example someone who migrated here and worked very hard and didn't have much pay based on the amount of hard labor that would be put in would be looked at as modern America as a unsuccessful person. I think that is pretty shallow for people to do this because we all come from different walks of life and some f us are more blesses then others.
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You pose an excellent question that really comes back to the whole concept of free will vs. determinism. Looking at the two most extreme examples whereby free-will means that you should be able to achieve whatever you want if you work hard enough and that you should and can do whatever necessary to overcome the many obstacles placed in your path. In contrast, determinism would involve some sort of understanding about the situations and circumstances that people were born into and how that affects their ability to be successful in life and their opportunities to become “King of the Mountain.” I believe that most people fall somewhere in between. Putting these concepts into practice with regards to your ideas about how immigrants can get ahead, I think they absolutely do need some money at least so that they can sustain themselves after first becoming integrated into American society. As Sam mentioned, most of the immigrants that are allowed here are fairly affluent because the government wants to bring people into society that are self-sufficient, not people who rely on government aid and/or welfare programs. With that being said, America is a land of opportunity and the cliché goes that anyone can make it in America if they work hard enough. You really cannot understate the fundamental importance of hard-work as it will pay off in the long-run if you are presented with some luck. Therefore, to completely answer your question, I don’t think that people need to be filthy rich but they do need to have a substantial portion of money and they should have a hard-working mentality in order to get ahead in society.
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I feel like money is key to life. Hard work really doesn't do the job these days. If you have money you can get anywhere in life but if you work hard you can only do so much depending on your socioeconomic status. It is said to say that hard work will do the job but in reality money rules over everything. If you have money then you can get good grades because you have money and connections. If you work hard then you can become really good and really skilled but you can never stack up to the money makers because you don't have money. Money gives you rights and abilities that you normally would never have. Hard work is great and I am trying to make it on hard work myself but money really does help and it does make a difference. It sucks but it is the truth money and elitism are what rules America.
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Most people think that immigrants are a big problem to the economy and the United States in general but they are far from right. Immigrants help the economy by taking the jobs that are not wanted by anyone else. They work hard for low wages to help support their family. They have gone through a lot while moving to the United States and still suffer from discrimination and segregation. Immigrants have to learn a new language, adapt to a new culture, and start over their lives. Just once, imagine yourself, quitting your job and leaving your family. Selling all your belongings, just so you can afford an airplane ticket. After all that hard work, you finally move to a country where you are searching for hope and freedom but instead you are mistreated and judged by your accent or color, how would you feel?
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This is a very interesting question however it is hard to answer. I say that because the people that have money or are wealthy are mostly not the hardworkers. I mean they may have worked hard to get where they are or benefited from nepotism but they either no longer do the hard work because they can afford to pay someone else to do the back breaking work that is if we assume by hard work as physical labor. This also shows that the hard workers most likely do not have a lot of money. Because if they were wealthy then they would not settle for hard physical work or just hire someone that is desperate for money. Therefore it is hard to say. I think it would be great if everyone experienced hard physical labor and then try to move up in the world. I feel if everyone had a background with hard work then they could better appreciate the hard work that many illegal workers or some immigrants endure. I think also that may be if we (people already living in the united states) would all experience hard work then may be there would not be so many vacancies for jobs such as harvesting fruit from fruit farms as we saw rotting in class because Americans were above the idea of picking fruit.
Which brings up another point, Americans do not want to see illegal immigrants coming into the United States and taking OUR jobs, the problem is WE refuse to fill these positions such as harvesting fruit or other physical manual labor jobs. So may be we can all agree that not just immigrants with money that can take care of themselves deserve to be let into this country. There should be a balance of people that can take care of themselves but also let people in that may be lower income and give them an opportunity to make it in this country. Because while the wealthy rich people that come in can fend for their family and feed the economy through purchasing goods they do not contribute much to the physical work force side. I think it would be healthy for the United States to recognize that hard work is just as beneficial to the economy as wealth entering the economy. Although this hard work should be rewarded with fair wages because all though it may make it harder to compete with other companies if the workers are paid fairly at least the work is getting done because we all know that if poor or illegal workers were not willing to do the hard work Americans would not step up and do it. Therefore hard work and money are good together as well as seperate.
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I think that immigration is a very big issue that should be discussed in a lot of detail. In terms of money, immigrants are dirt poor. It is a fact that people need money to get a better life. New immigrants often times come with the clothes on their back and nothing else. How can they make a successful life for themselves with no money? They simply have nothing and they cannot make a good life for themselves with nothing.
I know this from personal experience because my parents are first generation immigrants from eastern Europe. My grandma used to clean houses in Louisville, Kentucky for $10. She told me stories about how she would spend an entire day working and sweating and she only made $10. This really hurt me, because it showed me how hard my parents and grandparents had to work to make ends meat. They did all of this to make a better life for me. I am very thankful for this, and I appreciate everything they have done for me.
I think that it is very important to help immigrants settle into the United States. Our country was founded on immigration and we must do what we can to make sure that immigrants settle successfully. It gets sticky when we talk about illegal immigration because these immigrants do not really belong in our country. Then again, since our country was founded on immigrants how can we say who can and who cannot come to our country? I think that we cannot and that we need to admit most people. The only people we should not admit are criminals.
I think that immigration is an idea that is almost unique to America and I think that we need to value our immigrants. America is the melting pot of the world and it is important to understand this. No other country is the same in that respect. We have to realize what we have as a country and learn to treasure our immigrants. Many Americans often have racist attitudes when it comes to immigrants. They think that immigrants are a bother and that anyone that is not white is inferior. These people need to put their beliefs to the side, look a little bit deeper in themselves, and realize that they are no better than immigrants. Most immigrants come to America with next to nothing, and it is not ok to put them out on their own. We need to help them adjust and do everything we can to help them adjust. All Americans immigrated at one point, and whether it was recently or a long time ago we should all try to relate. We need to accept everybody.
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There are so many different views on immigration and there always be two different sides of an argument of that nature that usually there is no actual right response or right view on the issue. I definitely agree with the girl in class that every immigrant coming into the United States should do it legally and become a citizen of the United States. There are borders around are country for a specific reason and that reason is to keep America prosperous and safe and keep the citizens of the United States reassured that they are living in the greatest country in the world.
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It’s true that one’s financial situation forces them to cross border illegally. However, there are other available means to immigrate to United States without paying a large sum of the money. For example, H-1 visa (sometimes referred as ‘investment immigration’) requires at least five hundred thousand dollars to invest any business in United States but there are other ways that requires much lesser than that. However, there are two problems exist with such method as well. There should be at least a couple of thousand dollars required at minimum to process the fees and the quotas are so small so that applicants must wait at least 3 years to enter United States. I believe there Is noting that can be done since we cannot control the demand.
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Part 1:
Thursday’s lecture was really interesting and I agree with you. I mean like you said the immigrants who come this country illegally are most likely poor therefore they don’t have the money or the requirements to come to the states legally. Not only that, but the regulations to come to the States are so strict that it’s probably another reason why there are illegal immigrants. I am glad that you brought this up because a lot of people don’t really realize this. I mean, coming to this country illegally is not by any means easy. Although there are illegal immigrants that come from all over the world, I will just use Mexico as an example. Mexicans who come to the U.S. illegally will most likely come by crossing the border this means walking through the desert! So many people die just trying to come to this country for a better life so just thinking about that is important before making stupid remarks like ( oh they are taking our jobs, and they should learn English etc..)
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Part 2:
Before I go on I want to clarify something else. I am not saying that illegal immigration is right, obviously it would be ideal for everyone to come to this country legally, but unfortunately that is just not possible. The people who come to this country come in the search for better opportunities, for some people it’s even a matter of life or death because the conditions in their homelands are just impossible. When I was in high school I actually used to work as an interpreter for Spanish speaking illegal immigrants at a clinic. The people that I met were incredibly hard working and just wanted a better life for their children and in a way it made me happy to see these people grow and progress in this country. I just feel like a lot of people who are quick to judge don’t really see the human side of this issue. Yes illegal immigration is wrong, but perhaps we should change our system or create some kind of program that will prevent more illegal immigration. I also really liked the video that Sam showed in class about the European immigrants who came ILLEGALLY to the U.S. I think it’s kind of ironic how people forget about that and again this is an example of ethnocentrism.
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Part 3:
I feel that whenever you are dealing with issues like this it’s important to remember history and to see it from another angle. Another thing that really bothers me too is people who say if they want to come to the U.S. they should all speak English. Well as a matter of fact many illegal immigrants do learn to speak English, but guess what many don’t have the time because they are slaving away to make enough for their families. We are quick to say that others should learn English but when we go to other foreign countries we demand and expect others to speak to us in English.
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This is a really good question and could bring up a huge debate. SO MUCH of life on Earth has become dependent on money. But when people risk their lives to come to a country where they can be free (to a certain extent) and able to work for a better life, it almost seems unfair to be so against them. I'm not sure how I for sure stand on this issue (I need to research more and learn more about it first), but I did used to think that it would be okay if they just came legally. But then I remembered family friends we had from Turkey. They were here illegally; it was a long journey but they came here to make a better life for themselves and for the son (who was on the way). Here, they worked in factories and didn't have much money. They didn't have much help from their country's ambassadors and officials in the US to aid them in becoming legal immigrants, and after a lot of back and forth, they were warned about getting deported. They were about to be deported back to a country they had worked so hard to get away from, and from a country that they had been working so hard in for years. It just doesn't seem right to me. I don't have a solution, or a complete idea about what I think on the situation, but I do think that there should be SOME way to help immigrants become legal if they are here in the US, contributing to our economy. And that Americans should put themselves in their shoes so that we as a country can be more open to an idea like that.
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Far from attempting to parallel the 'cost' of coming to America now and during the eighteenth century, I would say that it seems unfair now that we are tightening the belt on who can and who cannot come into the United States to gain citizenship; we ask these people who seek the ‘American dream’, as it is so proudly called, for their time and their money. I share Sam’s frustration with contradictory beliefs and hypocrisy in finding the answer to immigration reform in particular. How can we shut the door to people now, who come to this country for reasons no different than people did in the eighteenth century? It seems very selfish. On the receiving end of building a wall on the border between the United States and Mexico is the belief that we should let everyone who wants to come in, do so legally and unconditionally. I could see how some would make the arugment that this is illogical, and I suppose I could agree. Like other issues, I suppose that the real intellectual and morally sound resolution to immigration in the United States lies in the middle. We must compromise on what must be done to tackle immigration. I believe in comprehensive immigration reform that is expressed through legislation like the DREAM Act, which was a federal bill considered in the years following strict immigration laws that passed in 2006. The DREAM Act “would provide certain undocumented alien students who graduate from US high schools, who are of good moral character, arrived in the U.S. as minors, and have been in the country continuously for at least five years prior to the bill's enactment, the opportunity to earn conditional permanent residency”.
The more I think about immigration reform the more I begin to understand why it deserves attention and why it is so dynamic and difficult to find a solution for. I won't pretend like I understand all the politics and paperwork that goes behind immigration, but I have heard that immigrants who want to become citizens of the United States must wait several years before they gain their citizenship. Just what are these people waiting for? Is this a carrying capacity issue? Are we waiting for people to die off to let others in? Do we wait to investigate people for upwards of five years to insure that they are not going to harm our country before they are given citizenship? Is it like finally getting into Indigo after you've been waiting in line for hours on end? I'm not well rehearsed in the ecology of human beings and the 'consequences', if any, of at this very moment letting all who would like to come to the United States to do so without making these people wait for years on end to not even have confidence that they would gain full citizenship.
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First of all it says it all in the title ILLEGAL Immigrants, how is this different than anything else that is against the law. If we start allowing people come here illegally, then how do we justify enforcing any other law that we have? I realize that this country was built on immigration and I probably would not be here if my ancestors would not have immigrated. However the people who immigrated back then did not have money either, in fact that is the reason why most people make the decision to come here because they are not leading a glamorous ritzy life where they are. Also I believe that people now are not as interested in coming here to become Americans and assimilate into our culture. The immigrants of the past even though they tended to stick by their ethnic group once arriving here made America what it is today, learned the English language, and worked hard to build this country into what it is today. These immigrants coming in now do not want to learn or culture and adjust into our society to try and better themselves, however they seem content not doing any of this and working low pay manual labor jobs. While I realize that this is all that is available to them upon their arrivals it doesn’t seem like once they get the money to become legal they do not do it, however they continue living here illegally. While the majority of these people do not commit crimes and try to fly under the radar, there are illegal immigrants, who commit violent crimes even murder, these are crimes that do not need to be here and if immigration laws were enforced would not happen. This is a very sad fact that innocent Americans have been killed by people who should not even be here. These people also do not pay taxes; however enjoy the freedoms that you earn by paying them.
I have personal experience with illegal immigration and the harm it can cause, a neighboring town to mine Hazleton Pennsylvania, has a massive problem with illegal immigration. This was a small coal town that did not have much crime at all and has become a refuge for illegal immigrants. Since this push of immigrants came into the town the crime rates have increased dramatically, and the town has turned into a so-called bad area. Property values in the town have also dropped dramatically, which has caused many residents to leave. This has many repercussions; it has made the school system not as good, and made people not want to live there. Recently Mayor Lou Barletta has made a push to deport all illegal immigrants living in the area, and has caught much heat for this. I think that this is a good policy and it should be perfectly acceptable to deport these people once they are caught.
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I was on the fence when it came to immigrants coming into the United States illegally and getting paid for jobs. I mean it’s annoying to think someone who is here illegally is getting paid for a job that someone who is here legally can be getting paid for, right? I mean don’t you think if I did the same in a different country they would be annoyed that this foreigner was taking a job from one of them?
Sam out this lecture into good perspectives for me, the way he initiated the pears from that harvest that were wasted because we neglected wanting the use of immigrants working. It’s a shame to think how much is wasted each day, each month, each year, and we, as Americans, are still in this recession struggling. Well then why are we struggling, when we are wasting so much at the same time? It starts to piss me off as much as the next person because I’m not someone coming from wealth or who has it all planned out, no I need to constantly work for any time of reward or even spending money. So I do not pity anyone who doesn’t have the money, or who is homeless, or who asks me for change on the street. I’ve been working since I was twelve, that’s not even legal but guess what, it shaped me into who I am today. Would I change my past in any way, working as young as I did? Absolutely not. I am a more driven, more responsible human being. I know what I need to get done in life and how to provide for myself. This leads me to my next point.
If we don’t allow immigrants into the United States, these jobs that the immigrants are doing, people on welfare should be doing. Why the hell do we pay taxes to allow so many relax on welfare with their daily checks or food stamps to supply for themselves and their families. Anyone can argue with me but I work for a non-profit organization and I watch people come in for their checks and go to Rite Aid to buy a pack of cigarettes. That’s messed up. Why am I, a high school graduate, pursuing a college degree, and working every minute of it why am I constantly struggling with money to have as spending money. It’s so frustrating when I pull up in my shitty 95’ Malibu, to volunteer at food drives and there’s people pulling up in their Escalades collecting food. Now don’t tell me there’s nothing wrong with this picture.
Now as much as I disagreed with having immigrants taking jobs from people legally in the United States, Sam did steer my mind a little with how much is wasted in the mean time. But honestly, why can’t people already in the United States legally get off their ass and get a working class job like the rest of us.
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I think that it can be such a hard cycle to break for someone to become wealthy in America. Most of the time, people get rich because they already have money. For example, a family with a lot of money can put their kid in good schools in good areas, and then prestigious colleges. With this college experience, kids can get good jobs after they are out of school and start to build their own wealth. Now, for a kid that grows up in the ghetto with a low-income family. Most of the time, they live in a bad area, with under-funded schools. The chances of these kids attending a well-respected university are a lot less than the kid that lives for a suburban middle-class family. Therefore, it is a cycle that is really hard to break into. Not surprisingly, immigrants face these same problems, and maybe even to a much more difficult extent.
Immigrants that come into this country illegally face an incredible uphill battle. They get no government aid, and have a hard time finding places to live. A lot of the time, they are coming into the country with no money. They literally have to start from rock bottom. Because of this, they have to fend for themselves and work their asses off just to scrape by. What makes it even harder is knowing that they probably will not reap the benefits of their work, and many will never be considered wealthy. They just work for the fact that it’s better than their home, and they are also giving their children and grandchildren a better opportunity.
While I believe that hard work can benefit people, in the end it usually comes down to what kind of money you already have. The cases where people do make it from poverty and become successful are usually attributed to good luck, good fortune, lots of hard work, or a combination of the three. It is this way because of the way our society is set up. The rich get richer, the poor get poorer. The impoverished and immigrants stay in the slums and most of them can’t make it out. It is a brutal cycle but is the way of life here.
It really is amazing to think that these immigrants would come to live a life like this. Many of us consider it so bad, but they are coming here because they think it is BETTER than the life they lived. I could not even imagine what kind of poverty or living conditions they had lived in in their previous country that made them want to come to a place where they worked for a miniscule amount of money and awful living.
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many immigrants do not have the necessary means to come over to America the proper way to become a citizen legally and the time it takes to get citizenship could be an extreme factor. Although,I do not think this is an excuse though for people to be allowed to immigrate illegally. In my own opinion illegal immigration should not be excepted in the United States because many people are hurt by the matter, however i do understand why many people take part in the act. It is also sad that they are such a key tool to our economy because we have a national problem solving a national solution. In the end America gets hurt and we have to find a better solution. Being able to migrant legally into this country is all about our countries dependency on workers outside of our country. Although this is unfair, what else would it be based on? You cannot just open your borders to tons of foreigners who bring nothing to the country. One would say, and I fully agree that this is not a fair way of deciding who can and cannot immigrate into the country because immigration shouldn't be about America's dependency but it should be about people trying to better their lives. I think this is a way more complex issue than people think and there really is no simple answer.
I think this issue is really interesting how people have such strong views on illegal immigrants in this country. I feel that the decisions needed to be made about immigration are tough ones and it is hard for people to express their true feelings about it because no matter any proposal to the situation someone gets hurt. But the fact is that we as people cant come to a conclusion on how to tackle this situation and in the meantime the state of the economy is being effected. It certainly is not fair that this is the way it works. I am ethnocentric in that I believe I live in the greatest country in the world. Why wouldn’t people want to come live here and who are we to tell them they can’t? There has to be some kind of boundaries though. There are only so many people that can fit in this country and it would not be very fair to take all of the American’s jobs away because of the immigrants. I can definitely understand why people hire illegal immigrants and I think it is essential for our country to succeed by hiring these people for much lower wages.
I think people are way too quick to criticize the system that we already have without having a better way of doing it. I personally cannot think of a better way of doing it so I do not think I have much room to criticize. It would be nice to live in the a country where your citizenship depends on your contribution to the country as well as, your need for the country.
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I do believe that people need to have money to carve out a better life for themselves. Hard work alone can only get you so far. Also, it really determines how much of a better life you’re looking for. If you’re thinking better life mean them climbing up the socioeconomic ladder, then I’d say without some cash you’re probably not going to get very far. Not to say that hard work can’t get you anywhere, but I’m saying that hard work ALONE won’t get you anywhere.
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I honestly do not think there is a problem with people who come here illegally, and try to make an honest living. What I mean by that is the people who come here and just try to work not the people who come and end up committing crimes. I think that they are the ones who deserve to be here. Honestly, it is not hurting us for them to be here. I wish people would stop saying they come here to take our jobs because the jobs they do are the ones that no American takes. So why should we deny them a right to a better life. I am pretty sure some of your family members were immigrants. In all actuality, the people who came here legally are the ones taking your jobs. That is something that all of you who oppose illegal immigration need to think about.
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I feel that money is something that makes the world move. We have talked about the awesome benefits of having money and being born into wealth. I look at it like this: I would rather an immigrant have money for his or her own protection of identity to survive among the society in the United States. Our culture has based so much on power and money. I feel an immigrant would avoid scrutiny if he or she had the money. It may be really superficial, but deep down there are many people who value money as some sort of factor of acceptance. It is hard to avoid people like this.
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This is an issue that has lasted throughout the entire semester with this class. Can someone achieve major success with simply gold old fashioned hard work, or do they need help from their ancestors and a financial ground to stand on. I personally think that it is much easier to gain success when you have a good ancestry who has given your family financial stability. I know there are plenty of cases where people pick themselves up from nothing and become success stories, but the likelihood of that is very low. I know that I would certainly not be anywhere close to the point I am today if it was for my parents and other previous ancestors.
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I think not everyone has an equal chance to success and luck has a lot to do with that factor. The question that not all illegal immigrants have the money and opportunity to become legal is very correct. If all these individuals had that opportunity then the United States will be overpopulated. Hard work is only advantageous for those who have some sort of money and has the foundation to gain potential in the future. For those that do not have any money it would be difficult to gain a foot hole to get ahead. Then the question isn’t about why doesn’t everyone just become legal so that we can avoid the issue of illegal immigration. The truth of the matter is that this would be impossible and a little beyond our reach. If people worked hard all there life then money wouldn’t become an issue to those individuals. Hard work will eventually pay off for these individuals and becoming a legal citizen will not be an unascertainable goal. Money has always been and will be a jumping start to most things, but without hard work as the roots, nothing is possible. Dr. Sam mentioned that illegal immigrants shouldn’t be a huge deal because “we” basically crossed onto this soil and claimed it as our own. We robbed the Native Americans and we pushed them to the side and we are questioning whether illegal aliens have the right to step onto this country asking and hoping for the same opportunity. We are insane if we question that to those individuals who seek that right as well. The topic of immigration is dear to my heart because my dad became an American citizen in the 60’s and worked really hard to get my mother to the United States. Fortunately, my father is a legal citizen now and my mom has a permanent citizen’s card or green card. From what my dad tells me, the test were very difficult and imagining that he knew very little English back then, made me realize the challenge he had to overcome. I am proud of his achievements and respect him even more for helping all my uncles or his brothers to the United States when becoming legal citizens were hard. For him, money was an important factor in helping him get through the process and it was also luck that brought him where he is now. So luck, money, and hard work are all important factors when it comes to the issue of immigration. Without it, you might get there eventually, but it will take quite some time and work to achieve the same result, whereas someone with money could attain in a short and brief time.
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I think that if you are thinking about hard work to get health care, there are a lot of jobs that include health plans in them which would mean that there would be health care provided to them. This would mean that you don’t necessarily only need money to get health care but you should look for a job. It doesn’t even need to be a great job my friend has healthcare with his job at a family fun center which doesn’t need a ton of experience but still gets him the healthcare that he needs. I don’t think that it makes it to unreachable in that case.
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In America, we tend to firmly believe in the idea that everyone has the ability to get ahead in life with just a little hard work. However, what people fail to realize, is that there will always be distinctions and different classifications so if everyone were to simply “work hard” those that get ahead would get ahead for different reasons. In class, Sam talked about how there was a starting line for the different races. There are many historical reasons why the starting line is not even or equal for everyone it is just how things are. If for example, the whites were at one specific place to begin because they already have many resources, connections, money, whatever the reason may be, everyone else has to start at a place not as advanced as where the whites started. Blacks were held back for so many years and made to feel less than people, so when the time came and they were allowed to simply live, and make it they faced challenges that white people never had to face simply because of the skin in which they were born in. So, they would have to start the race further back and away from where the whites would begin. Immigrants are people migrating from many different parts of the world. They are new to the country filled with many people already struggling. They have more to deal with such as language barriers, culture differences, and family issues. All of their hope lies in the simple trip to America. Many travel and leave everything that they have so that they could begin a new and improved life. Their optimistic outlook could possibly be an edge up on the competition; they are not afraid of working for everything that they have, they are actually most likely used to it. Whereas unemployed Americans feel like they’re too good to do the very basic labor positions, be it too large an ego, too much pride, or plain laziness they would rather collect unemployment checks then work. With that in mind, and with everyone having so much of a head-start, hard work alone cannot fix the gap. Therefore, in my opinion I feel like immigrants with money have a much better chance at making it and living the American dream than those that do not have it. A quick substitute for money could be whatever type of skills or abilities that they may have. They might not have money but they could help you make some. Americans do not want more people feeding out of the pot than they have adding to it. It is just that simple. If they do not benefit in some way, why even consider it?
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I don't believe that you need to begin with a great amount of money in order to be able to make something of yourself. It is easier, granted, but it is not the deciding factor in determining one's success. Money is very hard to come by. If it were easier, most of us would be "rolling in dough" so to speak. But it's not; as such, we must work harder to attain monetary compensation, enough that would support not only ourselves, but our families. In regards to the girl stating that all immigrants must work legally for money, I believe that is a fanciful perspective. Our government does not favor "outsiders". As such, most immigrants resort to working illegally as a means of putting food on their tables. Most of these illegal jobs are illegal only because of the lack of documented evidence of the job being effected. They are not jobs selling drugs, murdering, or any such felonious activity. It is very easy for us to judge the immigrant for working illegally, but it is important that we examine the circumstances under which they are propelled to do so.
I do believe that regulations are necessary to ensure that immigrants do not take advantage of the system, and are indeed looking to become legal residents in the eventuality. I believe that though the government does not favor the immigrant community, it does not at the same time cripple them. I believe that there are multitudinous opportunities for which they can utilize to better their situation. Most of the immigrants in this nation are hard-working, but are content to be doing the same thing with no intentions to progress. I believe that that is the problem. If more incentive was provided for these immigrants to become legal, perhaps it would help to eradicate some of the problems we have with the immigrants currently living here.
It is hard enough as it is to work for little pay, but to work illegally for little pay presents a great disadvantage for the individual in that circumstance. It allows opportunities for abuse by your employer, and provides no legal benefits such as health care, etc. In the event that legal issues arise between employer and employee, it would be very difficult to go against an employer when your position in his or her employ is illegal. Attempting to contest any proposed offense would be to almost no avail on the part of the illegal worker because of their status in the U.S. system. If some of these points are stressed to the workers, perhaps it would provide a more pragmatic perspective on why it would be beneficial to attempt legality in the U.S.
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In the end you have to do what you have to do to get ahead in life. If that means being an illegal immigrant and working your ass off just so you know that your child is going to have a better life and if your fine with that then go out and do it. The thing is people do that I think its fine for some one to come and do whatever it takes. People often forget that this is how this country the USA was founded. I think that there is notation that working outside makes you less of a person being it’s so great in American and everyone wants to be a millionaire. But to answer you question no people do what they do for reasons and im cool with it.
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I like this video post. A lot of people dont realize that it is so hard to become a citizen of this country. And for someone who is coming here in order to make a better life for himself going through the whole process is really a waste of time. They know that they have two options to live in America; get in illegally or get in legally. If they want to do it legally it is going to take many years and it is going to cost them a lot. If they do it illegally, they can do it much faster an for free. The illegal option is a lot more attractive to someone who is already poor and doesn’t have the time or money to spend dealing with the united states governments. The point is they know they are going to have work if they come here regardless of the legality of their status. This work that they do is work that Americans do not want to do and it is work that is important for everyone else. It is funny and kind of sad that so many people are completely intolerant of “illegal aliens” yet they have no idea how big of an impact these people are having on their lives. There is a movie called A Day Without Mexican and it shows the repercussions of every Mexican in LA suddenly vanishing. And when they do people are upset about the raggy look everywhere because there are no people doing the yardwork. Bathrooms don’t get cleaned, there are just little problems that you don’t think about until they are in front of you. A main problem these people have with illegal immigrants is that they do not get taxed because they are not legal citizens, but they get to benefit form the end result of the taxes they aren’t paying. I just find it difficult to hate someone who is coming to our country to do the bullshit jobs that Americans all think they are too good to do. It is more important to get the work done no matter who does it and just because you cant take these peoples money doesn’t make them the enemy. I agree that if they are coming to America they should be legal citizens, but the fault doesn’t lie on the people. It belongs with the policies that make it so difficult for people to gain citizenship. If a immigrant could easily become a citizen after living and working in the country, no questions askied about how they got here in the first place, then this whole issue could be resolved. A lot of Americans could learn something about hard work motivation and dedication by looking at how these illegal immigrants support themselves and their families.
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I honestly feel like they really do need to do it legally. If we need a passport to go to other countries, vacation there, live there, etc. that they should as well. The problem I have isn't that they want to come here and work and make a better life, it's that all of this is happening without regulation. The government is doing it's best (we think) to regulate immigration. It's not that I don't want Mexicans, Cubans, or whoever in this country, because it's not about race for me. But where does it stop? How many people are we going to let in before we say enough's enough? I just think on that day we're not going to be prepared to stop the influx at that point. It's easy to debate about this topic sitting in State College and not having to fight to keep my family alive. There's no doubt in my mind I would do whatever I had to in order to get into this country. But, at the same time, I have to follow all the rules in the world in order to keep my freedom in this country, so I don't think that it should be any different for anyone else, although that's probably a really narrow-minded way to look at this topic.
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I regret to say that hard work is no longer the only requirement to get what you want or, in many cases, need. In today’s society everything is run by money. In the case of illegal immigrants and the inability to pay to legally immigrate, I am not sure that asking people to only legally immigrate is realistic. People will always want to immigrate to the United States… it’s the land of opportunity (or at least is it supposed to be) and they will do what ever it takes to get here. A green piece of paper is not going to stop them.
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Having a lot of family and friends that are Nigerian I know that it can be pretty difficult for people to get their papers especially when money is in the picture. People need to learn that it is not that easy for people to get their papers. I don’t feel like illegal immigrants steal jobs from American citizens because most of the times they hold the jobs that American citizens don’t want to do. Illegal immigrants although it is wrong they are still hard workers and deserve the same respect any other hard worker gets. They should try and get their legal papers because at times they have the same benefits and opportunity that legal immigrants get.
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I think that immigrants need to be legal for some reasons, but other reasons make that harder and unrealistic. Hard work is almost always going to be involved in anything that people do, especially when you are working from the bottom and trying to move up. I do agree with some of these posts that its not necessarily fair for people who have worked hard to get somewhere to pay for people who maybe have slacked off because they know they can live off others. But this is not always the case, sometimes people work very hard, and the world just doesn’t shift in their favor. I think that people that work hard are deserving, its just the slackers I have a problem with.
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I'm not sure I understand your question in the way it's being phrased. I also don't think we discussed the legal immigration process in class, what people have to go through to get legal status, the money (if any) required, etc. I hear a common theme of people who say "well the legal process is too difficult." I believe that the legal process should be streamlined. However, we can't let just anyone in, however, it should not have to be based on socioeconomic status. There need to be venues for workers to immigrate and be able to work (as a documented worker) to earn legal residency status.
I also believe that part of the fact that workers must be undocumented to be able to work for wages and benefits below the minimum regulations. I am one of those people who believes that the minimum wage laws cause black markets for labor and should be reformed. I know that sounds like a cold statement, but minimum labor prevents some types of labor from being able to be legal, and labor laws like this should be relaxed.
Unfortunately the legal labor pool is not suitable for many unskilled immigration laborers. The government through its regulations and taxes has effectively legislated away many types of low skill, low wage employment from the legal labor pool. There are millions of unemployed Americans who would be happy to take low wage low benefit jobs, including some of the jobs that have been off-shored; especially recently with the recession.
I happen to believe that when the government creates black markets like this, there will be all kinds of unintended consequences. For example, drug prohibition may cause less people to use the drug but drives the market underground, forcing people to take incredible risks in a market that does not abide by the rule of law. Similarly, immigrants are forced to sneak in and risk being deported because low wage jobs such as this are illegal, and face intense, often violent competition for underground low wage jobs.
Immigrants are faced with a conundrum; they need legitimate, legal jobs that they can work in order to gain legal status, but don't have much available to them. Unless the immigrant has a marketable skill that they can enter the United States' higher education system or skilled labor pool, they are pretty much forced to work illegal jobs under constant threat of deportation. The problem is that the low skill legal jobs have effectively been legislated away.
In addition, I believe that the public should become more educated about the legal immigration process, why it is so cumbersome, and how it can be reformed to be more fair and give poor immigrants a chance to move up and succeed; though I suspect that the basic underlying cause is the patchwork of restrictive wage and benefit laws that discourage hiring.
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This issue is definitely not black and white. Money is always an issue and it is what causes problems and/or happiness. Look at the worth ethic in the United States versus the work ethic in Europe. I studied abroad in Barcelona, Spain and most places were closed in the middle of the day for their siesta. By 2 PM, the metros were packed and my friends and I could never understand why no one was at work. Then you think about the U.S. and there are people who work from 9 to 7 or 8 at night. These differences are associated with the values of Americans versus the values of Europeans. Here in America, everything is based around money. When do Americans get to have lives outside of work?
I agree that some immigrants do not have the money to do it legally. Instead, they need to take hard working yet low paying jobs just to support their family. I always wonder why someone who does manual labor gets paid so much less than someone who sits at a desk all day. Physical labor is extremely extraneous and exhausting. There are so many jobs where the salary is way too low for the work that is being done and sometimes I do not understand it. I also do not think that this pertains to only immigrants. I believe there are many legal American citizens who work extremely hard and do not get compensated for it, while others work half as much or hard and get a high paying salary. There are both immigrants and American citizens who have to work 2 shifts of work a day just to get by and provide for their family. It is really unfortunate that if you do not come from money you need to work hard to get by.
My dad works extremely extremely hard as an accountant. During tax season he is up at 4 or 5 in the morning and on a train to the city by 5:30 or 6 am. There are some nights where he doesn’t walk in until 10 or 11 at night. I know he is an exceptionally hard worker and wants to provide for his family. Sometimes I feel like there are so many people who get paid so much more than he does and definitely do not work half as hard as him or the same hours as him.
I know that this question was aimed toward immigrants and what we spoke about in class, but I do not think that it is only immigrants who take illegal jobs or jobs no one would do. I definitely do believe that people need money to have a better life and if they do not have money they need to work very hard to get by in life.
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Obviously people need money and hard work to succeed or even come to this country, and they need more to come across the border. To get a better life after coming over the border illegally, you need a lot more than one might think you would for startup money and continuation money when they get in to America, so I think that simply hard work is nowhere near enough. In fact, I would assume that it takes an extreme amount of luck in addition to simply just getting over the border. Overall, I think that it takes a lot of work either way, but unless you are well connected you are in for a very hard time.
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The fact of the matter is that, yes, not everyone that comes over here can afford to legally come here. Obviously the amount of illegal immigrants is alarming and something needs to be done. I however think a different approach needs to be taken in effect of this. We will not find everyone who illegally jumped the border and came into this country. Obviously hard work sometimes is not enough to earn your way in here. People are less fortunate than us, it is a fact. We can not help every person out to come over and live here. It is sad, and in no way am I saying that it is their fault. We just can not allow anyone who thinks they can strike it rich here to walk over and be invited. Becoming a citizen is a right that should be held to those who qualify.
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This is a tough question. I do believe that there needs to be some structure on how we allow immigrants to become citizens. Like Sam said every country has border control. I dont believe you should have to have money to have a better life. I wish everyone could enjoy the benefits I have in the United States but unfortunately its not possible. I believe that if you work hard enough that you will become successful. Its really hard to take a certain side on this one.
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I think if people needed money to obtain their legal rights, then that’s just extremely hypocritical and goes against the whole MO of America. I know when my ancestors came to Ellis Island, they, along with pretty much everyone else on the boat, were dirt poor. Yet they turned it around and put in their blood, sweat, and tears into their work. A main reason why everyone comes to America is because they don’t have money and want to make a better life for themselves and their families. Having to buy legal rights may shut down immigration altogether and those who do purchase legal citizenship will hardly even appreciate it, because it wasn’t even earned.
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I think that hard work should always be rewarded in generally, and especially when it comes to immigrants. However, we discussed in class that in the early 1900s and late 1800s, when immigrants were coming to this country in droves (and coming in legally), they had literally nothing in terms of money or clothes or other possessions. Now, when money is worth more and is more available, immigrants should be doing things the same way as long ago. I may be a cynic, but I doubt people will be entering this country illegally just because they do not have the money. More likely they do so because it is convenient and much more simple than doing it the "right way." If people are willing to work hard, they should also be willing to put in the extra time to come into the country legally. The only people who get punished by this not happening are the legitimate American citizens. I would like to believe that hard work is all people need to succeed and be happy, but that is just not the case in today's world.
This whole argument about illegal immigrants taking jobs that Americans don't want versus illegal immigrants taking jobs away from "hardworking Americans" is a little tiresome for me to have to listen to. I don't necessarily believe that either side is true all the time. Lots of times I think the former is true, that immigrants take jobs that most Americans don't want, (or, as Sam talked about Tuesday in class, that they aren't legally allowed to take) but also there are those extremely destitute Americans who can only take jobs where they scramble to make ends meet. In most cases, these people, just like the immigrants in the video we saw, can't make ends meet.
The belief that we as Americans are brought up with is that we can do anything we set our minds to, and with hard work, we can achieve anything. Unfortunately I think that is much more true for us as naturalized citizens than it is for immigrants, illegal or legal. This basically says that despite how a immigrant enters the country, the "right way" or the "wrong way", it won't matter because Americans have the upper-hand. While I would prefer immigrants to enter the country in a legal way, as long they are prepared to work honestly and hard, they should be given all the chances of naturalized citizens here. The way our immigration issues are progressing, I think incentives will be increased to legal immigrants who enter the country the proper way, and this will also increase the number of hardworking immigrants in this country. While I disagree with the use of incentives or "hooks" to get people to do things (rather than having motivation to do things because they are right), I understand why incentives are used
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This is a really good question and I think I need more information to answer it correctly. However, from what I understand plenty of people migrated to the United States in the past with not even “two dimes to rub together” and some how they managed to make it in the United States legally. It takes not only a lot of hard work but a lot of courage to pick yourself up and move with no where to live or to work, but there are plenty of people in this country that have done just that. Some times not everyone can hack it, sometimes people have worse luck than others, but when it comes down to it, it can be done.
Just like we talked about “King of the Mountain” in past classes, life is not only about hard work but it is about luck of the draw as well. Someone could work their butt off and still fail, when someone else could just be at the right place at the right time and manage to be successful in life. This shows that it is not fair and maybe some things should be done to equal the playing field, however, life is not fair so why should we try and make it? However, there are plenty of other ways the United States tries to make this country fair, like affirmative action, so why shouldn’t they come up with a fair way for immigrants to have a fighting chance at a good life in the United States? Immigrants tend to be the ones who are willing to the “dirty” work and manual labor jobs, apparently legal Americans are too good to work those jobs, however these immigrants are paid at very low wages. One could say that they deserve to be paid minimum wage, but if the ones doing the work are illegal immigrants, who they usually are, they don’t have to pay taxes so making less than minimum wage would be ok. There should be a program in which immigrants can do these jobs and work towards citizenship in the United States.
I still stand by my original point, where I believe all immigrants should get their citizenship legally, like so many have done in the past. However, I also understand that times have changed and if the United States can offer programs to help equal the playing field for its own citizens, perhaps it is time to create one for those who wish to become citizens. These immigrants tend to do the dirty and manual labor jobs that most citizens would never take on, however there is a current rise in unemployment so allowing more and more immigrants to come into the United States may not be feasible. It would take time and research but I think a solution is out there to this problem, we just need to find it.
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I think that most immigrants come to this country to better their lives and the lives of their families. The United States has always been the place where someone can rise from humble origins to become successful, productive or maybe just satisfied, with a good life. Although some immigrants may think it is easy to earn a living, most would likely realize that it takes hard work, perseverance and maybe some good fortune to be a “success.” I think that hard working people who are trying to improve their lives should not be criminalized by a system that forces them to utilize a process that is difficult and expensive. When a person proves that she will be a productive member of society this should pave the way for her to achieve her dreams.
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I do not think that success in America is all about money. Being a hard worker goes a long way in this country, and even if you start at an entry level position you can rise through the ranks and be successful. Also, everyone has their own definition of success so one person may think it is to have a million dollars, others may think that it is just having a healthy family. If illegal immigrants can’t afford to get here legally, maybe they should work a little harder in their country, save, and then do it legally. We cannot just give handouts to these people.
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To me people need both a good work ethic and money to achieve things. However you don’t necessarily need to have the two balanced because either one can work in place of the other and you can see examples of this all through out society. We all know someone here at Penn State who was only accepted because his or her parents have money. It isn’t a hard concept to understand. The vice versa of this is also true. We all know someone who has gotten where they are solely on their ability and determination. I can not remember exactly who said it but I recall in one of the short stories from the book Crossing the Boulevard someone said life is like a set of stairs. We can all get to the top but some of us start much higher up than others. This sums up my basic views with money and hard work. Immigrants start at some of the lowest stairs not only because of money, but also because of the language barrier between them. This can either sink someone or act as a catalyst for the intellectual hard worker on the inside. It would be ideal if everyone migrated here legally but that is simply unrealistic. Through out Crossing the Boulevard the story was the same. The immigrant was in a war torn country and had to choose between leaving everything they knew behind or risk death. The people in the stories all were lucky enough to get visas but people who don’t get visas are also faced with that same choice. I for one would not choose death so I would therefore have to become an illegal immigrant. Once they are in the United States they would hopefully be able to obtain a green card and stay here, perhaps even attaining citizenship. I realize that a lot of illegal immigrants are putting strain on the system but I feel the majority of them had very little choice in their decision. My one hope is that more immigrants would take what they have learned in the United States and take it back to their countries and try to make a positive effect on their homelands. I am not saying the United States is perfect, because it is far from it. However the United States is one of the few countries where hard work will result in success. If we were to adopt more European policies and become a more laid back, conservative, government we could truly get close to an efficient and fair system. If we were to develop that system then hard work WOULD be enough the vast majority of the time. With that example for other nations to follow the world could become a much better place.
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The best way I can answer this question is that life isn't fair. I now that's a harsh way to put it but it's the reality. We can't have people coming into our country illegally because it fucks with out jobs and our economy. So I think that immigrants need to come in legally and try their hardest to get in. If they can't then they just have to work with what they have. Our government can't make everyone happy, but right now, they aren't making anyone happy. They have to do something because as of now they are stuck in the middle and it's causing a lot of problems.
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Illegal immigration as we all know and have experienced in class, is a very controversial topic. However, this video brings up a good point about simply getting through life through hard work. I definitely agree that you do not always need to be rich or have a lot of money to get by in life or succeed. Of course, money can definitely assist with getting far in life, but that is not the only way to do it. While I do not really discriminate against illegal immigrants, I am still unsure about how I feel the situation should be handled.
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