I don't post often at all but feel I have to put in my 2 cents here.
I manage a large convenience store in the DC Metro area, yes all of my employees are American, however a large percentage of our customers are from south of the border, few speak a word of English. You ask one if you can get them anything else, the answer is "jes" so you wait while they stand there & stare at you. You ask if they'd like a bag, the answer is "jes" so as you start to bag their purchase they yell "NONONONO" but don't you dare short them 1 penny because they know all about our currency. Now, by law they have to be able to produce a US gov't or state issued ID in order to purchase alcohol regardless of their age. If they can't provide one the sale, by law, is to be denied. Here any LEGAL resident can go into the DMV & obtain what is known as a 'walkers ID'. Simply a state issued ID card, similar to a drivers license without having the driving privileges. If an individual can't even show me a walkers ID (let alone a passport) that tells me they're not here legally. I've seen ID's from Guatemala, Honduras, Venezuela, of course Mexico, etc. & naturally one would assume that with a birth date they'd be able to secure alcohol. Needless to say they're quite dismayed when the booze is removed & placed behind the counter but when they don't speak English it's difficult to make them understand.
I digress, apologies. My point is I see MANY, MANY illegals day in & day out who are holding jobs for a lower rate of pay than, for example, one of my sons would - ie: they've taken a paying job from an American citizen. Granted part of the responsibility lies with the employer who hired the illegal(s) & they should also be held accountable.
I agree with the OP 100%.

I really think the immigration deal is a smoke screen,try and reason with a redneck,try and tell them about 1 trillion dollars going to war,bailouts etc,all they want to talk about is illegals and the damage they cause,truth be told most stay under the radar keep to themselves for fear of being deported,I agree they should abide by immigration rules,but as far as them being responsible for the demise of the Us thats pretty far fetched,being major people on welfare roles are whites and blacks,some 3rd generation

This is ironic. Americans can't really talk about immigration or population when they compare it to my country. Try fitting 1/6 of your population into an area 1/75 of the size of your country and then get back to me. See how you like that for job displacement, environment, cultural issues or whatever.

Americans talk about how many immigrants travel from all over to get to their country and yet we have immigrants passing through practically every European country to get here. They're hardly jumping the Mexican border as with the bulk of America's immigrants.

I think the problem is people do not see the difference between legal and illegal immagration. Legal immagration is not an issue here it is the illegal immagration that causes a problem, they get the bennifits but contribute nothing to the system.

Originally posted by Romans 10:9
I hear ya. Even people in the northern states here in America don't really get the full effect of the illegals.
I live in TX out in the country, and since the recession, it's not as bad....but a few years ago, wow.
Even the nice little river i live by suddenly had illegals hanging out there all the time. I couldn't let my daughter go down there and swim cause of the drunk mexicans. Their wives would do their laundry in the river, sudsing it up with soap. The men would seine the river and catch almost everything out of it.
Their kids, some that looked as old as 10, would run around naked.
My son and his buddy went down there to see if they could catch a bass before the illegals seined them all out, and my son's bike was stolen in 5 minutes of him leaving it next to the river.
Beer cans, tortillas wrappers, and bean cans were left all over the banks of the river after they left. It took everything i had not to go down there with my cousins and crack some skulls. It was like straight-up mexico 100 yards from my house. You better believe my mini-14s were locked and loaded at all times...especially at nite.
My cousin and i watched our tile-setting wages drop so low that we couldn't afford to do it anymore. We couldn't compete with them as they would do it for a fraction of the cost and get it done 5 times quicker cause there was 10 of them to our 2. They did horrible work though...3rd world craftsmenship in a 1st world country. Eventually alot of the home builders started catching on that it costed more to constantly have to hire a good craftsman to go back and fix their sh!tty work.
Anyway, yeah. If you don't experience what it's like, then STFU.


[edit on 14-5-2010 by Romans 10:9]

I hear ya. Even people in the northern states here in America don't really get the full effect of the illegals.

what are you talking about all mexico is up here in new york.