Controversial Topic Discussion

I can agree with most of everyone who discussed in this very, very controversial subject. Since it is so broad, even the government is having difficulty on how to control the issue. kelly1201 brought up the issue of immigrants taking advantage of our country, and many other first generation contestants mentioned they are part of the struggle. So am I.

My father used to rent houses in Illinois, and one the last tenants we had were a Mexican family who just came into the United States. The daughter had a permanent visa but we knew everyone else didn’t. She was the anchor of the family because she spoke very good English and was obviously bright. Of course, we allowed them to stay for almost a year. They were supporting more members who still lived back home.

One day we got a phone call. She said that her husband was forced to fix the windows, and she ran off a list of many other complaints about the house. We did not know about the conditions, so we figured it was our fault for overlooking. They were already behind in rent but we always compensated. My mother came from South America and her family is currently fighting to get a visa—just like them. It takes years to get over here in America, so we knew their struggles.

A few years ago, I went on vacation to a resort. Before I left, I wanted our driver to take a different route to the airport. When he finally agreed, all the fantasies and travel agencies put on display in those stupid pamphlets revealed bitter reality. I saw it all: broken houses, hungry children with rags for clothes, uncomfortable smells, and young women carrying naked babies. Everything was like it came from a movie. I never found one established school or a center to help them. I finally figured why so many people thought America was the land of the free.

Anyway, they were new to the US but I noticed the way they acted was something very routine. Since they were on the telephone, my mother told the woman to give us the receipt on everything they bought to fix the place, and then we would give them the money for the repairs they spent. She suddenly burst with anger and hung up.

Soon enough, we found the house trashed. Doors were ripped from the latches, windows were broken, carpet torn from the wooden floors, and they flooded the bathrooms by turning on all the faucets. Their complaint was that they didn’t need to show us a receipt; we were to suppose to give them the money. They lied about the whole thing because they didn't want to tell us they had financial problems. It took us two months and over 600 dollars to repair the damages.

I don’t know. I mean, there are many other bred born Americans who do this everyday. I thought these kind of people who pulled every tooth and nail to get over here were more appreciative. I have read newspapers about murders that were committed by an illegal immigrant at least once a month. Most that come here without permission are given free Medicare when there are millions of US citizens suffering because they can’t afford a bottle of pills. Sure, there are immigrants who are doing everything by the book, but the wrong ones doesn’t help anything but create more chaos.

As I said before, my mother got married and she was automatically considered a US citizen. She is slowly taking her family here, but to get approved can take many years. I really do not know my stance on this issue but I know the conditions and the problems we face at whatever decision Congress decides upon. There are millions of illegal immigrants here. We can’t kick them all out, and we can’t watch every single angle of the border.

As a political major said on the issue, “We are a democratic country. The point of a democracy is to give people a say, and if we start limiting who it is that are in the country it defeats the purpose of a democracy.”


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