There is no paperwork that they can go through to come here legally.
And if your grandfather came when mine did there was no paperwork necessary to immigrate other than a single form filled out by an immigration officer at Ellis Island.
@Uphemism: There is no program under which they are eligible to apply for a visa, other than a student visa. To get a visa -- even a tourist visa -- from Mexico or any other country in Central America -- you have to prove that you have a certain amount of assets, such as owning a house, having more than X dollars in the bank (not sure about the current level of X -- but it's in the tens of thousands of dollars). The people who can do this are (by design) not the ones coming illegally.
From most countries in Europe and Asia tourist visas are very easy (if not automatic) to acquire.
what paper work? all the italians and irish people who immigrated here in the 19th century and early 20th century were free to come here. they were accepted. all they did was fill out a simple form.
today, it takes years to even get accepted, if the immigrant is accepted at all. The only exception is the highly educated immigrant who has a company vouch for their work visa. It's completely different than 100 years ago.
The immigration system in this country is a goddamn mess. One of my good friends moved to America from Sweden several years ago, and his family came in the legal way. They've been waiting on their greencards for seven f**king years, and because of that my friend can't get any financial aid for college.
Many European immigrants would have come illegally if it was as hard as it is today. Besides the unreachable requirements, many immigrants have to wait for decades before they're approved to enter. Many immigrants want to come legally, but the current legal process isn't reasonable.
Maybe your grandfather might have died before he was granted entry, or maybe he would just be denied outright for not having enough savings. Today's process is only helps if you're wealthy or highly educated, and maybe if a relative is already here.
curbowb81Aug 16, 2010Buried
Yes but we gave them casinos...fair trade right?
bloodypythonAug 16, 2010Buried
I am so sick of that toyota ad flying out and talking
fenririiiAug 16, 2010Buried
Yet another thing we stole from the Native Americans.
tyger11Aug 16, 2010Buried
They also got free used blankets. Free!
crrrackAug 16, 2010Buried
There is no paperwork that they can go through to come here legally.
And if your grandfather came when mine did there was no paperwork necessary to immigrate other than a single form filled out by an immigration officer at Ellis Island.
laserfishAug 16, 2010Buried
You're afraid the Mexicans are going to give us smallpox blankets, burn our towns, rape our women and drive us into reservations?
xaevierAug 16, 2010Buried
I have nothing against immigration but I sure as hell have an issue against illegal immigration.
If people from Mexico want to move here they should have to go through all the BS paperwork that my grandfather did.
crrrackAug 16, 2010Buried
@Uphemism: There is no program under which they are eligible to apply for a visa, other than a student visa. To get a visa -- even a tourist visa -- from Mexico or any other country in Central America -- you have to prove that you have a certain amount of assets, such as owning a house, having more than X dollars in the bank (not sure about the current level of X -- but it's in the tens of thousands of dollars). The people who can do this are (by design) not the ones coming illegally.
From most countries in Europe and Asia tourist visas are very easy (if not automatic) to acquire.
daimposterAug 16, 2010Buried
what paper work? all the italians and irish people who immigrated here in the 19th century and early 20th century were free to come here. they were accepted. all they did was fill out a simple form.
today, it takes years to even get accepted, if the immigrant is accepted at all. The only exception is the highly educated immigrant who has a company vouch for their work visa. It's completely different than 100 years ago.
csfflameAug 16, 2010Buried
It's called adblock plus, learn to use it.
Also thanks for making me not feel bad about not white-listing digg
danj484Aug 16, 2010Buried
Almost literally everything.
UphemismAug 16, 2010Buried
In order for it to be illegal immigration, they would have had to have a law on immigration for it to be broken...
trainofthought6Aug 16, 2010Buried
The immigration system in this country is a goddamn mess. One of my good friends moved to America from Sweden several years ago, and his family came in the legal way. They've been waiting on their greencards for seven f**king years, and because of that my friend can't get any financial aid for college.
factorof13Aug 16, 2010Buried
Shhh.. we don't speak of that.
ferrisnoxAug 16, 2010Buried
It seems like your forgetting Manifest Destiny... it was the will of God that us decent white folks take the land from the heathen natives.
Of course I don't actually believe that... but its the official story.
mwtappAug 16, 2010Buried
Pfft, how did they get across the border?
chinaman1212Aug 16, 2010Buried
Land
teacher2beAug 16, 2010Buried
Corn...on the cob.
pintomp3Aug 16, 2010Buried
So the Europeans who came here got legal permission to commit genocide and steal land?
rburrowsAug 16, 2010Buried
Many European immigrants would have come illegally if it was as hard as it is today. Besides the unreachable requirements, many immigrants have to wait for decades before they're approved to enter. Many immigrants want to come legally, but the current legal process isn't reasonable.
Better hope you're not from Mexico or the Philippines. You could have filed for immigration in 1989 and be waiting still.
http://archive.deseretnews.com/article/700049081/Long-immigration-waits-show-why-some-come-illegally.html
Maybe your grandfather might have died before he was granted entry, or maybe he would just be denied outright for not having enough savings. Today's process is only helps if you're wealthy or highly educated, and maybe if a relative is already here.