Illegal Immigrants (2) Appointed to City Council Seats?

Have you read about these men? Very admirable! I wish I could say I have donated so much time and energy to my community!

These guys are UNPAID advisers who have spent countless hours volunteering in their Hispanic community. They have no governing power. When Hispanics make up over 58K in a 61K population as they do in Huntington Park it's pretty obvious there's a large undocumented group. He appointed them in order to reach out to the community he represents.

Wanna come visit me in Monterey County? I'll find you THOUSANDS of illegal WORKERS in a single afternoon. They are employed by mostly white, well off agricultural businessmen. Should we prosecute the farm owners for breaking employment laws? What about the restaurant owners? Here in CA our economy would literally collapse if all the illegal immigrants were deported.

Illegal immigrants pay taxes, 11.84 BILLION in state and local in 2012. They do not receive public assistance unless it's directly for their children who are American citizens. To say they should all just pack up and leave is laughable. Don't you want to eat your greens?

This is a very complicated issue with no easy answer. The anecdotes about personal family immigration history mean nothing in today's world. We were trying to populate America at that point, even still many of those immigrants were illegal as well. How does the fact that your Italian (or Swedish, or Irish) ancestors came here legally have anything to do with this situation today? Unless you're Native American we ALL came here at some point, who cares?

If we spent some time educating ourselves about the issue and it's complexity we might be able to find some solutions. "Deport them all" would hurt all of us in ways many Americans don't even understand. I hear so many strong opinions from people that don't seem to know much about the issue. Knee jerk reactions hurt us all.

According to news sources, these 2 people are appointed to commissions, not the council. They will not be paid (because that is a violation of federal law) and they will not have the power to determine policy. So they are working in an advisory or liaison capacity with the substantial population of undocumented immigrants in the community. Like it or not, many undocumented people are here in this country, and many have children. Many are hardworking individuals, and it's absolutely not feasible to deport them, from a logistical or financial standpoint.

Most of us are descended from people who came to the US without documentation - from the Pilgrims to the slaves to the great waves of Irish, German and Italian immigrants, to those from Southeast Asia and survivors of the Holocaust. Most were discriminated against, fought through it and many then resented later waves of immigrants from another area.

There are many who think we need to engage with these communities, bring them out of the shadows, and put them on a path to citizenship and full participation. It may be that using other undocumented immigrants who are clearly heavily involved in volunteering is the best way to improve the situation.

http://losangeles.cbslocal.com/2015/08/04/tempers-flare-w...

ETA re citizenship for elective office. Julie isn't quite correct - the President does have to be born a citizen though not necessarily on US soil (e.g. John McCain and Ted Cruz were not born in the US, neither was former Sec. of State Madeline Albright). They were born to American parents who were working or living elsewhere at the time. Federal officials (senators, members of congress, etc.) must be citizens but do not have to be born in the US. They can be naturalized citizens (e.g. US Senate is 9 years as a citizen). Naturalized citizens have served extensively in public office and the armed forces for centuries (think Henry Kissinger).

I am also going to applaude K-Bell. Very well said. I am really tired of hearing about generalizations of Mexicans and other immigrants. And, I am sorry, but it really hits me the wrong way when someone says Mexicans (generally meaning ANYONE that comes from South of the border) are criminals, rapists, and now incest. Seriously, that is how they live? I do not know one single family like that. There are criminals from all countries unfortunately. There are 8th generation Americans that do horrible things.

I actually typed more but I think I will leave it at this. The hot topic really gets me due to extreme generalizations that have been made over and over. Having a sponsor and money makes it one hell of a lot easier to gain legal status than coming on your own, with or without your family, to build a life in a place you don't know anyone.

My husband came here illegally. BUT with full intention of making it right. He is a naturalized citizen. Took his oath almost 16 years ago.

My grandfather came here on a visa from Europe at 8 and then returned without one at 18. The FBI checked him out numerous times to make sure he was not doing anything illegal. He worked his butt off to support his family.

Thank you, Thank you K-Bell! Perfectly said! I am so sick and tired of Americans claiming Hispanics are the only race that is here illegally. I am Mexican American and yes my family is here legally now, but i am sure somewhere down the line i do have family that entered this country illegally. Two reasons why people from Mexico cross the border is #1, they live in a third world country where crime is at it's highest, there are no medical facilities, no running water, no proper housing and incest in families is not uncommon, in fact it is a way of their lives. Yes, that is not our fault but it is not their fault either. Wouldn't you run and try and find a better way for your family to live? Shoot, i would! Secondly, if it costs thousands of dollars to become "legal" how fair is it to say they should pay for their citizenship? how in the heck do you think they can afford it? They can't... hence the reason for them coming here undocumented. We share our country with many illegals, not just Hispanic population.

So as a business I can't hire illegals because its against the law BUT a councilman can appoint two illegals to commissions and that is a grand idea? Wow.

I don't care WHAT country you are from. If you do not have legal authority to be in this country, you are ILLEGAL. Your make that decision, you live with the consequences.
_____________
ETA - Some of y'all need to get off your high horse and stop throwing the word "racist" around. I see that and I tune you out. Any point to be made is gone. The question was a great question and I like to see what others think. Make your stand but know that I might not agree. Doesn't make me racist or stupid, just means I don't agree and see it differently than you.

I wouldn't say that NumbersUSA has more information. Information implies facts, but that Facebook page is nothing more than biased drivel.

My dear friend was a fantastic community liason for our Hispanic population. She was a part of our police commission and a mentoring program, and worked as a translator, among other things. She resided here illegally during that time. She is now an American citizen and is an incredible resource for people trying to navigate the naturalization process. I'm glad Huntington Park has amazing people who volunteer in their community. It's past time for American citizens to get the racist stick out of their butts and value every human being regardless of their citizenship.

If it's legal it shouldn't be, and even volunteer jobs should be for legal Americans.

Yes, my family came from other countries and became Americans the legal way (through Ellis island). I am getting tired of people flooding our country and getting all kinds of assistance when there are Americans that really need it, including our veterans.

The undocumented people need to leave and take their children with them. If their countries are so bad, then why don't they revolt against their own governments and change it.

You know the way our founding fathers did???

It shouldn't be legal. My great-grandparents immigrated legally from Poland through Philadelphia. We have the paperwork to prove it. And the receipts - they had to pay fees to both Poland and the U.S. for paperwork. As a matter of fact, they had to get a visa for their time in Britain and we have that paperwork also.

There is a process for immigrating here. My sister married a boy from Ecuador and brought him here on a K-1 visa, commonly known as a Fiance Visa. It cost them a lot of money - over $10K for his legal process. He has been here since January and although he has had work authorization for two months, only got his social security card yesterday! She has had to sustain the two of them on her salary - for over 8 months!!

Anyone who comes here illegally is a criminal the moment the foot hits the soil. (Except Cubans - but that is a different story.) That means that person has a criminal background - he/she broke the law. Even if we can't deport them (and I think we could make it very uncomfortable for them to stay - look at the Dominican Republic's policies towards illegals from Haiti). If the DR can do it, we can too, we just need the will power. I am tired of paying for all of these criminals to take advantage of the services my tax dollars fund.

I might even vote for Trump!
C.

K-Bell said it perfectly.

http://losangeles.cbslocal.com/2015/08/04/tempers-flare-w...

If it is legal, it shouldn't be.

It would make me have to join a movement to have the councilman who made these appointments either recalled or voted out of office.

It's not too much to ask that our government officials actually represent the VOTERS/CITIZENS that put them into office.

"Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free".

Get over it.
It's a poem - it's not government policy.
My ancestors came here roughly 25 years after the Civil war was over and they came legally.
My Mom actually has a photo copy of permission from the Kaiser to emigrate for a great grandfather.

Additional:
Ok, so we have a community on US soil where the vast majority of people in it are not citizens.
How exactly is that an ok situation?

not sure off the top of my head. what i can say is that the detroit city council members do get paid and quite handsomely at that. in fact, once the bandruptcy was resolved they asked for raises. and now i've decided to use my "inside voice."

Don't quote me on this but I am pretty sure only President has citizen requirements.