The obvious solution that both the two conservative commentators Linda Chavez and Heather MacDonald and Michel Martin did not examine was that immigrants should not assimilate. If the first-generation act in the way we prefer, but it is their children and grandchildren who have worryign behavior, then it is not the foreign culture that we need to worry about.

The so-called underclass culture that MacDonald and Chavez decry is a US invention. The problem is not that immigrants do not assimilate, but that they assimilate too well. Deported immigrants bring home US gang culture.

The problem here is not immigration, but our own culture. We need to work on ourselves. The immigrants just are not the problem in this case.

Sent by Joseph | 3:44 PM ET | 06-11-2007

Interesting. You are right Joseph. Not only did I not examine your idea, it never occured to me....thanks for the rigor. I wonder how I could pursue the hypothesis...

Sent by Michel Martin and the Tell Me More team | 7:16 PM ET | 06-11-2007

I agree with Joseph, in part. But it frightens me that the Mexican/Central/South American culture of graft, corruption in politics, terrible poverty, wealth held rigidly by a few, and subservience to religion, should be the norm here. Then I look around at the culture we actually have, and have to laugh. We have Cheney/Bush/Halliburton, hungry children, gangs, Enron, and rabid fundamentalists.

So let's have immigration be aboveboard. Let everyone in who wants to be here (except those with a criminal record), for free. Interview them at the border, assign bar-coded picture identity cards, add them to a database, grant access to whatever health care we still have, and schools, and look them up in 9 months to a year. If the adults have not achieved rudimentary skill in English reading & writing, and found a job, back they go, together with family - no exceptions. Elsewise, in five years, they would be eligible for full citizenship. Any undocumented immigrant found would be summarily deported, as well.

Ah, but the kicker is, they would have to be paid fairly, and cheating employers would have to be jailed.
Think it would fly? Fat chance.

Sent by Pen | 7:07 PM ET | 06-13-2007

I feel for the woman in the Latina article and do not blame her for breaking the law. She has enriched her family at a personal sacrifice to herself. She has also enriched her employer who is able to circumvent fair employment and wage laws. This is not fair and in a sense I think the US strives for fairness.

Fairness also needs to apply to those waiting in line to become legal immigrants. I lived with many Argentinians and Uruguayans who desired to immigrate legally to the US and would make great workers and citizens. They were all denied visas and have had to wait and wait for their turn. If "amnesty" passes, they will second guess the reason why they just didn't come to visit Disneyland and stay for the rest of their lives.

As the Trilingual (Port. and Span.)caucasian father of 2 adopted Guatemalan children I disagree with the assimilation argument that MacDonald makes. My children are who they are and can be who they want to be. I hope they grow up to live in my beloved mid-western community surrounded by lifelong friends and family. I wish the same for young woman in the Latina article. I just hope she does it legally. If she does it legally, she and my children will integrate into US society in different economic and cultural ways, but at heart, they will both become a part of the US.

That is fair.

Sent by Bruce Currie | 2:09 PM ET | 06-15-2007

We move forward by tightening border security to prevent people from coming over the border unchecked, create stiffer penalties for companies that hire illegal immigrants and actually enforce these laws, give amnesty to the immigrants already here (what else do we do, send them back?), and by changing the immigration system to have open immigration (no more visas), but still require security checks to keep out the criminals and terrorists.

Sent by Scott K. | 10:14 PM ET | 06-15-2007

I recently moved to Florida (reason: marriage). I was a public school teacher in California. My classroom was 80% Hispanic so I talked frequently to Hispanic citizens and non-citizens. What struck me as interesting is the fact that most of the Hispanics I talked with all had the same opinion of immigration. They said that many of the Hispanics from Mexico would love to live in Mexico but the government is so corrupt that its difficult for the average citizen to make a decent living. For example, one of my teaching partners, was teaching English after school to many parents. She invited me to an "end-of-the year" party. I struck-up a conversation with the woman sitting next to me. We discussed her progress in the class and how happy she was, then suddenly her face grew somber and she reached in her purse to retrieve photos of her family. She began to cry when she showed me photos of her mothers house which she exclaimed wasnt a house at all but a "mud hut." She said there were no glass windows (which I could see in the photos) and just dirt for flooring. I began to cry as she explained that the little girl in the photo was her niece and didnt have any shoes. She went on to explain that her sister and niece lived with her mother and if she didnt send money, they would probably starve to death. She said: "My family and I do not want to live in the United States. We want to live in our own country but the government in Mexico is so corrupt we cant make enough money."
I have to ask myself, why the United States would want to spend so much money on a useless fence when that money could be used to help the poor in Mexico. What is wrong with our government! Especially the present administration. Pres. Bush is willing to overthrow the government of Iraq for oil, why not overthrow the government of Mexico, which is known to be corrupt also and often takes kick-backs for smuggled drugs. The U.S. could set up a more democratic government with strict labor laws where the poor can earn decent wages. There are many governments in South America also that have unfair labor laws and corrupt governments.

Sent by Sandra | 4:59 PM ET | 06-19-2007