Immigration

[Kitsune]

So, did anyone notice any disruptions yesterday during the walkout? I have a feeling this is going to backfire on the protestors, as I don't think anything major came about because of their actions.

...and why do we suddenly care so much about this, anyways? It is not as though illegal immigrants are anything new to this country in recent months or anything. What the hell?

[glatt]

Originally Posted by Kitsune

So, did anyone notice any disruptions yesterday during the walkout? I have a feeling this is going to backfire on the protestors, as I don't think anything major came about because of their actions.

I honestly didn't notice a thing. I forgot it was even the day until the next morning when I heard some news about it on the radio.

When they had the big demonstrations a few weeks ago, there was MUCH more of an impact. At least where I was.

[MaggieL]

Originally Posted by Kitsune

...and why do we suddenly care so much about this, anyways?

Because a bill passed the House making being an illegal alien or helping one a felony, so a big campaign has been mounted to lobby against it. Kind of an uphill struggle given that we're pretty sure illegal aliens can't vote.

So far, anyway.

"Helping illegal aliens" must be a growth industry, based on how many US citizens who are doing it for a living that I've seen on mainstream media lately.

[Kitsune]

Originally Posted by MaggieL

Because a bill passed the House making being an illegal alien or helping one a felony, so a big campaign has been mounted to lobby against it. Kind of an uphill struggle given that we're pretty sure illegal aliens can't vote.

I mean, why does the congress suddenly care about it? The American people didn't really care about illegals until someone stirred up this big pot of shit, so why are lawmakers pushing this through? I'll die of laughter if this originally started out as a "we need to prevent al qaeda from crossing the border" bill.

[glatt]

Originally Posted by Kitsune

I mean, why does the congress suddenly care about it?

The Republicans are trying to find an issue to distract us from everything else, because everything else isn't going so well.

[MaggieL]

Originally Posted by Kitsune

The American people didn't really care about illegals...

Depends which American people you're talking about. I bet the aformentioned house painter does. A bunch of other "American people" do too...like those competing with H1-Bs who are doing another set of "jobs Americans won't do".
That description is true enough if the job is defined with a fixed compensation level set at the whim of the employer, rather than being a variable subject to market forces.

This may have something to do with where the media input that generates your idea of "what the American people care about" comes from.