Actually, it's JUST the tip of the iceberg, so to speak. You're going to see a whole ton of states start passing these laws. Michigan, Missouri, Arkansas, Idaho, and Ohio are already working on them as we speak.

New Mexico needs to as well, we are right on the border and have a lot of problems with illegal immigration, as well as crimes committed my illegal immigrants. One of the people running for Governor here wants to crack down on border security and crimes committed by illegal immigrants by not issuing driver's licenses to illegal immigrants. I think we need to do that and more here, all border states should. I think it's great other states are starting to pass these laws as well.

I wish Texas would, as well... we have SO MANY illegal aliens here, though, I'm not even sure how they would enforce a law if we had one. I am of the mindset that if you're hear illegally, you have no right to be here, therefore you have no rights here.

Actually, Texas IS considering a law as well. Right now, there are 10 States that are in the process of writing/passing laws...

Here's part of the article I was talking about earlier:

Oklahoma is looking at passing tougher penalties for illegal immigrants caught with firearms. South Carolina might make it illegal to hire workers on the side of the road. In addition, state immigration legislation is also being considered in Idaho, Utah, Missouri, Texas, North Carolina, Maryland, Minnesota, and Colorado. In many cases, the potential legislation is merely part of the perpetual national debate about immigration, which has taken form in more than 200 state-level immigration bills being signed into law each year from 2007 to 2009

*coughs* Texas.

Do you know what it takes to get a green card or citizenship? Believe me, it's not as if these people come into the US and say "hey, instead of doing the right thing and going to the green card office, let's just be illegals and use their government resources. Mwahahahahahaha!!!". There are numerous requirements in order to get legal residency in the U.S. and even more to become a citizen, and these people cannot meet them. Every single undocumented immigrant I know would kill for a chance at a green card, so it's not like they're illegal because they want to. That's just fearmongering.

AMEN!!! I like your thinking!

Thanks, I wish more people did!

I understand that being here without documents is wrong. However you have to look at WHY they're here undocumented. They want a better life for their family. Do you know how long it takes to legally become a citizen? A long fuckin' time. A lot of these people don't have time to sit around and wait for legal entrance into the US while their family starves to death. So think about that. It's not as easy as going to the DMV and getting a license, it's a lot more than that, specifically it's a lot of waiting.

ALSO, remember that undocumented immigrants are not just getting a jolly old free ride. A large number of undocumented immigrants DO PAY TAXES because they use SSN's (although it's not theirs). So taxes are taken out of their paychecks.

I worked with a bunch of women here illegally who didn't pay taxes, or used dead people's socials to get a huge income tax return because they were low income. Low income families get everything they paid in taxes back, as well as a tax credit. And the more kids they have the more they'd get back. They also were abusing government assistance. The work it takes to get citizenship is required for a reason. If you really want to live here it should be worth is to do the work involved. You can get a green card in the mean time. If I were to go to another country to live there full time and use their resources and get the benefits offered by that country I would have to get citizenship. It's the same here, although here people are constantly making excuses why those rules shouldn't apply. The point is that it is law and by not doing it they are breaking and disrespecting the law.

Dude, again. Do you KNOW how long it takes to get a green card? Please look it up before you continue saying they can just get one in the meantime...

Clearly not.

My friend married an American and had to wait a YEAR for her greencard. She spent the first year of her marriage living on a different continent from her husband. It is not easy, and quite honestly when you're a decent hard working person (who would actually PREFER to live in the UK but are relocating for the man you love), I think it is absolutely ridiculous that it should be that difficult.

And if you moved the UK we have rules on immigration too, but I'd bet it wouldn't take you a year to get the papers required to live here.

Okay I cannot agree with this statement. I dont care if you want a better life or not, you need to do it legally and not spit on the laws this very country stands on. That makes you a criminal, nothing more.

Exactly! The point people keep ignoring is the fact that no matter how they feel or how long it take to get a green card, they are breaking the law, period! That's all that matters!.

(Repost for Ashalicious) -- You should really, really look at the system in place that's there for acquiring a green card or visa. It's a borderline cruel process that commonly takes 15-20 years to finish. It wouldn't be too cool if Americans had to go through this process at 18 in order to get the full-fledged rights any adult has, you know? But they don't, because they were born inside of an imaginary line in the middle of a desert or mountains. It doesn't make sense, considering how this country was founded.

You should really, really look at the system in place that's there for acquiring a green card or visa. It's a borderline cruel process that commonly takes 15-20 years to finish. It wouldn't be too cool if Americans had to go through this process at 18 in order to get the full-fledged rights any adult has, you know? But they don't, because they were born inside of an imaginary line in the middle of a desert or mountains. It doesn't make sense, considering how this country was founded.

(This next part isn't referring to you) -- It's funny how the "right" always goes on about forefathers and the rest of that nonsense, but so against immigration. It boggles the mind.

I understand that, but that doesn't change the fact that the law is the law and if you are not following it you are committing a crime. That doesn't change no matter how long it takes to get a green card or how bad we feel for the people. If we hate how long it takes to get a green card then we need to bust our butts advocating for changes in that! But we can't condone breaking the law. Otherwise people will make excuses to break other laws. It's illegal, that's the bottom line. I will gladly write to whomever I need to advocate and beg for them to make it easier to get a green card. But with the economy the way it is right now and our country's debt, maybe it's good that we aren't allowing so many people in right now. I don't know, that is up to the fat heads in Washington to figure out. I just think that we can't make excuses for breaking laws, we need to put our energy into changing the things we don't like about the immigration process.

But with the economy the way it is right now and our country's debt, maybe it's good that we aren't allowing so many people in right now.

But people working HELPS the economy. I mean, you could make all these points that people work for cash and don't pay taxes, but most of the time that is simply not true. Sure, it happens sometimes, but the majority of the people coming here and finding work, work for a company that simply hasn't run a background check, and the same taxes come out of their check as they do ours.

Otherwise people will make excuses to break other laws.

That's a slippery-slope and therefore fallacious. It doesn't work that way.

With so many people who can't find work right now who are citizens, is it really a good idea to bring in people to work who are illegal?? Especially illegals who will often work for less, and work more hours? And as I said before, a lot of illegal immigrants get the Earned Income Tax Credit, so they get back all the taxes they paid and more on their tax return. That's not fair. You should have to be a citizen to have the rights as a citizen. I feel that when it comes to a law like that, you either break it or not. The law is the law.

If immigrants come here and immediately get jobs, then we wouldn't have too much of a problem on the job market, would we? I'm sure they're having just as much of a problem getting a job as we are, which brings me to my next point:

Also, illegals who work less, for more hours, that whole spiel -- don't pay taxes and therefore don't earn tax credit. That's an entirely different problem, and an entirely different group of people. The people I'm making a point about are the people who take legitimate jobs. If illegal immigrants go to work for a company, and they are caught A) being illegal and B) being paid under the minimum wage, the company loses a worker and gets fined to the point where it's simply not viable to even hire illegal immigrants, so yes, illegal immigrants who find legitimate jobs get paid minimum wage and gets taxed accordingly.

Last point: having a job is not a right. What's fair or not should be disputed with the private companies who hire illegal immigrants, not the government.

I don't agree, I think the government should be in charge and it shouldn't be up to the private companies. Than they would all choose to pay illegals who work harder and can get away paying them less. That's not fair to the rest of us, who are here legally and work hard and have the right to be in this country and should be benefiting the most. I knew plenty of illegal immigrants at the daycare who worked massive amounts of hours for less, then would get everything they paid in taxes back, so they were still making more than me. Oh and they weren't as limited as overtime as I was, my employers didn't have to pay them overtime. Again, not fair and definitely not right. I do think it is easier for them to get jobs just because of the appeal of hiring workers who will do a lot more job at a lot lower cost. Oh and did you know immigration won't come out and investigate a place with illegal workers unless there are several complaints? Yeah we found that out at the daycare as well, where at least half the staff were illegal and a girl reported it to immigration. So the worry of immigration doesn't seem to be much a deterrent to companies hiring illegals. All and all they see it as being the most profitable solution. Meanwhile Americans can't get jobs.

Who private companies hire shouldn't be up to the government. That's not fair at all. I mean, there are restrictions, such as child labor laws and such, but aside from that, the government absolutely should not be involved in the affairs of a private company. That's way too much power open for loopholes and abuse.

That being said, it is 100% illegal for anyone, immigrant or citizen, to be paid under minimum wage. Companies simply don't do it because when and if the government finds out, the company pays a fine of all the unpaid labor and then some. It's simply not financially viable to lose a worker on top of the amount of shit they'll be put through by the government -- constant inspection, losing a worker, the possibility of budget cuts due to lost funds, etc. It just doesn't happen as much as you think unless it's an unofficial, payment-under-the-table company that pays in cash for extremely short hours of labor, which other Americans wouldn't take anyway, because those companies don't follow labor laws. It would be the same if a family hired a kid to mow their lawn for $5 a day.

Oh and did you know immigration won't come out and investigate a place with illegal workers unless there are several complaints?

That is so not true it hurts. It may be something that personally happens in your region, but here in South Florida, they're absolutely up your ass about hiring illegal immigrants. If someone even speaks in a tone of voice that could HINT at a complaint, you have immigration people showing up at your comapny's door.

Really? Maybe it is just here. That is ridiculous that in one state they are up your butt, but in another they don't do anything!! I mean there we at least 3 or 4 people who reported that daycare! Honestly it left me feeling disdain for immigration and seeing it as a waste of breath to even try to report them. I thought they were like that everywhere, at least some states are lucky enough to have immigration who cares. No the companies here will pay them under minimum wage! Again, maybe it's due to the lack of immigration or the government giving a crap, but I know for a fact they do. Especially in childcare, so many places are full of illegal immigrants who are working for less money and working overtime hours but not getting overtime pay. It made it so hard because we (citizens) would work our butts off and would get cut hours and lose our money because it was cheaper for the illegal immigrants to stay. And of course they would never say anything because they don't want to get into trouble, also the same reason they didn't complain much or cause any waves. Ugh. And I truly don't get why it would be so lax here since we are a border state, you would think they would be even more up the companies butts here. People would throw out "I'm calling immigration" and it literally scared no one at all.

I don't know why that would happen, man. Perhaps you have a police/immigration service that follows my viewpoint and only does their jobs when they HAVE to (which begs the question -- why do they have jobs, and whose money are they making?).

In child care? Man, there is not a company down here that wouldn't run 4 kinds of background checks, and all this other borderline unnecessary shit before you're hired to be around children.

In retrospect, my region's strictness may have a lot to do with tourism.