Reader comments
Group recommends assimilating illegals

Bob G | 4:59 a.m. May 6, 2008

These people are out of their minds. How do you assimilate ilegal alien criminals? It's like taking prisoners out of jail and put them in our homes and in our public schools for rehabilation. These illegals are criminals that are unknown, unwanted, and an economic disaster for the american people. It cost the american people more money to harbour them that it would cost to deprot them. The war in the Middle East is cheaper to run than it is to harbour and support the illegal aliens in america. We can deport them chaaper than it cost us. The illegals and their employers defrauding the government and the american people of taxes, not paying any, then turn around and they get welfare with their lies and deceit. Embrace them and assimilate them, I think not. We need some vigilante government back at the borders and on our streets to rid america of this economic plague. They have no rights, they are not american, and they are not here legally or with permission of the american people or the american government. And it should remain that way until the are returned to Mexico under extreme protest.

Helga | 7:40 a.m. May 6, 2008

I have had the same thoughts before I read Bob's comments. If you let illegal aliens stay and give them more then the american indiens ever had, then you might just as well empty all the prisons,give them all the freebees they want, for the illegales. It shure would save the taxpayers alot of money, but it would be less save. We need our Government to stand up for the people and inforce the laws. We the american people voted our Elected Officials in, so they need to do what is right for the american people. If we need workers because there are more jobs in the summer, then give a work permit for the period off time they needed, and make it so that every body has a chance to work and make it a little better for their families and not just the ones who overun us and want every thing for free, and more rights then the americans have.

Anonymous | 8:18 a.m. May 6, 2008

they are americans. May not be U.S citizens but they are stil americans. north america, central america, south america. and all one latin america

Comments continue below

Keevinwho | 8:56 a.m. May 6, 2008

We assimilated more than a million twenty years ago. 12 million now? How many in the future. It reminds me of the gentle scolding that children often ignore as they run roughshod over their parents. The principals from S(outh)erland who relax in their comfortable lifestyles gladly want someone here to mow their lawns and clean their houses. We can implement the velvet and steel principal without signaling the third world that were pushovers. Mass roundups and very public border delivery by the USmilitary combined with humane gathering and treatment of families should all be taken into consideration....But I doubt the abilities of the Feds to pull that off....Utah does need to step forward with a plan and lead the way!

Sagacious Inquisitor | 9:08 a.m. May 6, 2008

To Anonymous,

Really? As an "all" American have you ever tried to simply walk into Mexico, buy real estate, get a driver's license, get a job, get a work permit, get free medical care, get a gun to go hunting, put your kids in school for nothing, get Mexican Social Security benefits or protest in the streets that these benefits are not freely available to you?

Try it some day.

Particularly if you are Guatemalan, or Nicaraguan, or Salvadoreno.

Take several of your friends and try it for a three or four years.

Then tell us again if we are all Americans.

bbo | 9:28 a.m. May 6, 2008

do you seriously think Utah is going to do something about it?

Anonymous | 9:35 a.m. May 6, 2008

to Sagacious, I dont mean it that way is just the BOB G wrote "they are not american" I know they should not have the same right as U.S citizens. take a chill pill, relax.

Anonymous | 9:49 a.m. May 6, 2008

Sagacious re-read Bob G's comment read it carefully. and that way you will se what i meant.

To anonymous | 11:12 a.m. May 6, 2008

Take a chill pill? Are you going to let them use your ID to work illegally? This is serious stuff and needs to be treated seriously. My parents are immigrants, but they did it legally. We spoke english in our home and we became Americans and are proud of it. If they want to stay mexicans let them do it in Mexico!

Cw | 11:13 a.m. May 6, 2008

I have a strong feeling these "Sutherland Institute" folks are part of the chamber of commerce group that held up all the immigration bills in the state legislature last year. The business groups want to be able to fatten their wallet at the expense of everyone else in the state who has to ante up the illegals medical expenses, welfare, education and jail housing expenses. As citizens, we must stand firm for the rule of law in this country and not let any special interest group try to rationalize their way around someone breaking the law! Write you legislator and let them know that we MUST have laws enforced, especially these that wind up costing the taxpayers so much when they are not enforced.

Thoughts on the S.I. bullet poin | 11:41 a.m. May 6, 2008

ï¿½ Have you been to Kearns or Midvale lately? A federal waiver permitting Utah to explicitly address illegal immigration and build these communities by deporting the problem would be great
ï¿½ Administration of work visas is already in place
ï¿½ Focusing education on the most needy AMERICAN students.
ï¿½ Charity care clinics are already in place --- Utah hospital emergency rooms, funded by Americans with health insurance
ï¿½ Families would be strengthened if they would stay together in their country of origin
ï¿½ Teaching the path to citizenship is already in place --- we wish they would get in line and learn
ï¿½ We all already support humane ï¿½legalï¿½ immigration. We donï¿½t want/need amnesty

unwise public policy | 12:48 p.m. May 6, 2008

Allowing millions of illegal immigrants from a developing nations (mostly Mexico), without high-school educations and who cannot speak proper English is unwise public policy. This is unfair to those who have respected our immigration process, and favors (mostly) Mexicans over everyone else in the world who would love a chance at the American dream.

This group's report is another effort to conflate law enforcement with intentionally distracting and misleading arguments about compassion and immigration. ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION is something altogether different. These are foreign nationals (mostly Mexican citizens) who didn't bother to respect our immigration process, and are now being accommodated at the expense of U.S. taxpayers.

Stewart | 1:13 p.m. May 6, 2008

The Southerland Institute a "Conservative" think group, thinks along the same track as the DesNews Editorial Staff only this time they have put their OPINION in the news section. This is nothing but OPINION masquerading as news. Shame on the Deseret News.

The Southerland Institute views immigration from a 18th and 19th U.S. and world perspective. They believe that capital and wealth depend on an expanding population, with as fast as possible being best. 19th Century farmers for example believed the larger their family, especially males, the better off they would be. To many of that time forced immigration (slave trade) was an economic benefit. Also, the more immigrants that came the more wages were depressed in factories and the more consumers there were to buy the "stuff."

The Sutherland Institute is following Libertarian Party philosophy. They are simply stuck in the past. What is the open border, unlimited endgame? Is it as is now the case to allow the population, totally due to immigration (legal and illegal) to reach a billion within two generations? or do we just go for broke and invite about 5 billion people that are poorer than Mexicans in to the U.S?

John | 1:36 p.m. May 6, 2008

The Sutherland Institute is turning out to be anything but a conservative group ! This idea is
bad one. What about the rule of law and order in a society ?! If this sort of thing continues, we'll soon also be a 3rd world country !

Good for Sutherland | 1:51 p.m. May 6, 2008

I completely side with Sutherland here. Too many Utahn's just say they're "illegal" and then plug their ears to anything else. Fact is, there are a lot of immigrants who are great, productive (and even tax-paying) people who weren't able to come legally due to the slowness of the US govt. They should be dealt with as assets and allowed a type of work visa so they can be part of the system instead of having to evade it. Of course, everyone will say now that instead of evading the system, they shouldn't have come in the first place, but that's easy to say when you haven't seen how desperate their lives are back home. There's nothing there for them. Let them contribute to the economy here.

Anonymous | 3:23 p.m. May 6, 2008

Many illegal immigrants are just here for the money. Did it occur to their cheering section that they may not want to be part of this country? Maybe they just want to trick out their truck, buy chrome rims, or save up enough to buy a business back in Mexico. Bottom line: They are not citizens, and we should not grant them citizenship when they didn't bother to respect our process. We need to institute a work visa. That way, maybe the chamber of commerce, certain churches, and other special interest groups won't sell the country out in the process of making a buck.

TheCremudgeon | 4:52 p.m. May 6, 2008

My ancestors came to this country 140 years ago. Some came legally some just came anyway they could. Some became citizens by making themselves known to the proper Judge and taking the citizens pledge.
Mexico along with most central and some south american countries do not make it easy to leave or emmigrate. In most cases the corruption and graft is severe.
But regardless of how these people and their families arrived they deserve some basic human rights.
I Find that most of the horror stories about abuse of welfare, criminals in their midst et al,are not typical of those that I have met.
To that end I like the Southland proposals with some minor if and's and but's. Thanks Southland.
The Cremudgeon

Pat | 10:51 a.m. May 9, 2008

..."more humane immigration policies", what about more humane taxing policies such as a flat consumption tax so immigrants pay their fair share too. The humane thing to do would be not to burden the taxpayer with those not paying taxes.

Are you suggesting that immigration law is not humane? I would suggest that current legal immigrants would agree that it is humane!
What definition are we using?

The humane thing to do would be to treat ALL immigrants the same regardless of what country they come from. They all have the basic human right to immigrate legally. What about the basic human rights of citizens to have legal immigrants?

There seems to be a mentality of group(illegal) rights at the expense of individual(legal) rights.

Enough steam for now...

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