What is your opinion on this?

So Cat, you are an Italian, eh???
I am 100%, both of my parents were born and raised there. They later came here to the US for the opportunities, etc.
I love my heritage, and I completely agree about the "family unit". Our family is very close. And I love it that way.

Lots of us Italians running around! I'm 50% - from my Dad's side. My Grandmother came from Italy with her family when she was very young. They moved to Chicago. When Grandma got married to Grandpa and they started the family business (that later turned into a huge corporation) they moved to Nebraska so the company was next to the natural resources used in the business. (A special type of grass, grown on company property, used to make targets for Archers to practice.) Family was always a big deal. That is definately something Grandma was adamant about. FAMILY. It didn't matter to her if you were mad at eachother or not, you treated everyone with respect and love, even while you were cussing them out in Italian. (some of my first words were very harsh on delicate Italian ears. :LOL: )

Most Mexicans that come here, is for job opportunties. Up until a year ago, Mexico was governed for 7 years by the PRI(a political party). During this time, there was alot of corruption. Low wages, most families stricken by poverty, drug wars. Many politicans were involved in drug-trafficking. I remember, when there was an election and a candidate for the opposing political party was going to win, he was murdered. Because of the harsh conditions in Mexico, many mexicans(mostly men) had to leave Mexico, often crossing the hot desert, to find jobs so they can send money to their families. Many people often worked at jobs nobody else wants like hotel housekeeping(mexican women are famous for their house cleaning abilities), labor, etc.) They also want to escape all the dirty politics that are there. Now, there is hope. About the same time as the American elections between George Bush and Al Gore, Vicente Fox became the new president of Mexico. And he was from another party. Through his government, he is cracking down on drugs and other crime, he is creating more stable and well paying jobs so that there will be more people staying home.
I never came to the US as an illegal resident. My mother fell in love with an American and married him. I became a legal resident through him. I've become a US citizen, voting and paying taxes. My mother is a citizen of both Mexico and the US. I am also in the process of obtaining my dual citizenship. Most people who come here come for only one thing. To work and to have a better life. I think we should block those with high criminal records, abuse the welfare system, and just not working. This is my opinion and is based on experiene. I know alot of people who are ilegal, yet, they work hard and pay taxes.

I can understand people coming here for a better life. But I don't think there is an excuse to be here "illegaly". My mother had to take her naturalization test when she turned 18 so she could become a citizen. She spent a lot of time and effort to obtain it. She deserved it for all she went thru. If you are here illegaly, then you probalby are not paying taxes. You have to have a SS number to pay taxes and you can't get one unless you have a green card as far as I know.......so I don't have much sympathy for those that are here milking the system. Like you said Nena, there are people from mexico that come to work and send money to their family, but unless they do it legally, then I don't believe they belong here, until they can get the proper papers.

Nena,

I'm confused about something:

I was under the impression that the US required people to give up their prior citizenship in order to become US citizens. And if I gave up my US citizenship, I couldn't get it back.

As far as I know, the only exception is minors (under 18) whose parents have citizenship in different countries. Like the children of servicemen (and women) who marry citizens of the countries where they are posted.

So how can you have dual citizenship?

I think Sunlion is correct. My husband had dual citizenship to Germany until he was 18 and then he had to choose if he wanted to be German or American .He chose American.
I believe dual citizenship is only for minors.

No, a couple of years ago during Bill Clinton's presidency, the government passed an amendment saying that Mexicans who had been US citizens can now get dual citizenship. Its kind of hard for me to explain. I have to talk the consulate about it so that I can explain it more. But my mother is dual to both countries. When I receive mine, I can try an explain more.

We have a family from the Pacific Islands living in my town. These people get catered to constantly, and they still find fault. A couple of examples, they get food and clothing donated to them from their church, they get special treatment at work, and they have just purchased a home, but no one understands how they could have gotten a loan to do so. These people send momey back to their family, and they talk about eventually going back home. These people have no loyality to the U.S., they are just here to benefit from our system, and don't deserve any special treatment.

Another point worth considering is that some of the people who have come to the US and Canada to find better jobs and take full advantage of the system ,take jobs that could otherwise be filled by residents born and raised here. We have plenty of people on the unemployment line or on social assistance who could use these jobs, without compounding the problem by adding more people to the equation. I totally respect the fact that a person can retain love for their former country of origin, and I have the utmost respect for people like your husband, Daniela, who truly contibute to our society. What I don't have respect for are people who leach off of the system and give nothing back.

you guys are ignorant!! The only citizens in this country is the Native American.. My father worked his butt off to make sure there was food on our plates.. We came to this country with nothing! He taught us the value of life and made sure we respected everyone no matter what race or religion that person was.. So before you put your 2 cents in educate yourself.. BTW my dad works for the DOD ( department of Defense) .. I am proud to be Afghan American and a Marine

Just a reminder this post is from 2001 and most of the users in the thread possible wont see any replies

-_aj_- said:

Just a reminder this post is from 2001 and most of the users in the thread possible wont see any replies

Click to expand...

LOL, I wondered why I didn't recognize any of the posters except for Hissy! I didn't even look at the year. Who dug this out of the archives!