It is interesting that Americans always want to force others to speak English. While the majority of Americans speak english, this is due to the belief that the White Anglo-Saxon Protestant culture is dominant. What about indiginous or "native" cultures that Americans have dominated? For instance, the American take over of Louisiana and the pressure they continue to weigh on Cajuns not to speak French. Lets look at it historically, such as the force Americans used to "convert" the Amerindians or the American settlement of the Mexican province of Tejas and its succession from the Mexican Republic. Again and again Americans flex their might in dominating another culture; however, when a culture infiltrates our own, we are irrate.

American culture is the dominant culture in the world, mainly because of our corporate empires that span the globe (McDonalds, Walmart, Microsoft, etc). We enter the markets of foreign countries and monopolize the economy using predatory pricing, the exportation of natural resources, and the exploitation of low-wage labor. Manufacturing companies have moved out of the United States to exploit cheap labor in other countries. By buying these products you are supporting the American cause, world domination strategically through economic means. We glorify captialism and democracy but complain when others want a piece of the pie. And people wonder why other nations hate us...

In reference to immigration, we should review the history of the United States. First, the United States founded by immigrants. Secondly, after the United States was established, John Lewis O'Sutherland advocated the settlement of North America by European immigrants from sea to sea, and coined the term Manifest Destiny.

Texas, a northern province of Mexico, was largely unsettled by 1820. The Mexican government granted the use of Mexican land in Texas to Moses Austin. His son, Stephen F. Austin, invited Americans to settle in this Mexican territory. Austin settled Mexico so successfully that by 1835, the Mexican government attempted to stop all American immigration into Texas. However, the Mexican government was powerless to close off the border with the United States. In 1835, Americans outnumbered Mexicans in the Mexican province of Texas 3 to 1. The Americans completely disrespected the Mexican laws and refused to speak the local language of the people. Mexico has outlawed slavery in the 1820s and the Americans brought countless slaves into Texas illegally. In March of 1836, the American majority of Texas declared its independence from Mexico. Santa Anna, furious over the hostile take over by the Americans, built up an army and attacked the American rebels in San Antonio. The Americans held their ground at an abandoned Catholic mission called the Alamo. After winning the Battle at the Alamo, Santa Anna marched on San Jacinto, near present-day Houston, and attacked General Sam Houston's forces. President Santa Anna lost and Sam Houston forced the president to sign a treaty that declared Texas independence. From 1836 to 1845, Americans in the former Mexican province of Texas form the Lone Star Republic. In 1845, Texas is admitted as a slave state to the United States.

In 1846, a land dispute in southern Texas brings the United States and Mexico to war. By 1846, the United States captured Mexico City. In February of 1848, the Mexican government signed the Guadalupe Hidalgo Treaty with the United States, which gave the United States over a million square miles of land. This land included California, Nevada, New Mexico, Arizona, Utah, and Wyoming. Mexicans had already settled all of this territory sparsely.

We need to make immigration into the United States easier, not harder. We need to share our wealth with those who want to work and better themselves. The vast majority of immigrants do not come here to live off government aid, they come here make better lives for themselves. And the vast majority of immigrants are not "illegal." Also, the assumption that most Hispanics are of Mexican descent is wrong. Millions are natural born American citizens born in Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, and southern California. You can tell the difference in their accents, since natural born Mexicans have a rough but fluid accent and American-Hispanics have that "ghettofied" accent (for lack of a better way to describe them). Their language dialects are entirely different (as constrasting as Cuban and Mexican accents).

One of the problems in hispanic society is based on class (which is not based on economic status). The last name of the individual says a lot about the person, whether they are from a Castilian family or not. MY Puerto Rican Spanish teacher explained this to us last semester. She said in Latin America, there is a strong contrast between the high and lower classes and with no middle class. Even though the lower class makes money and tries to get out of a ghetto, social stigma forces them to stay there. It is the same thing that happened between blacks and whites in the 1950s in the US. She actually made a little chart comparing the situations. So, immigrants are not only coming here from Mexico to work, they are coming to be treated as equals. And as rude as Americans are to them, they are treated far better here than there.

On the note of cooporations in Mexico... The wages are close to slave labor and child labor laws are not enforced. You have 13 year olds working the looms for Fruit of the Loom. Fruit of the Loom factorys were once spread across south Louisiana (in communities where cotton farming was the greatest). However, since the mid-1990s, Fruit of the Loom has closed all of their factories in Louisiana and moved them to northern Mexico. We still ship our cotton to them, but it left thousands without jobs.

I do not know what the economy is like for the rest of the US right now, but is South Louisiana, southern Mississippi, and southeast Texas, the economy is booming. For the most part, South Louisiana (not the New Orleans region) is about 80% complete with hurricane reconstruction. Hundreds of new civil projects from our local governments are going up. All the oil field and industrial companies are highing unskilled workers with training being offered. However, no one wants to take the jobs. Most of these jobs are between $15 and $20 an hour, which is very, very good for this area. Thousands of hispanics from Texas (mostly from Houston) have taken these technical jobs. Most of the new applicants for offshore drilling are Hispanics from Texas.

Where are the white and black Americans? Well, they are sitting at home bitching for more FEMA money. GET INSURANCE AND GET A JOB like everyone else. I wrote to the newspaper and expressed my frustration with lazy Americans who refuse to better themselves and are relying on the government to do everything. It is the same people who complain about big government and communism but they want free government handouts!

As far as amesty goes, I do not think we should let illegal alien off the hook. However, we cannot build a wall to keep everyone out. A wall has never solved anything, and I absolutely mean NEVER. This is how we should deal with illegal immigrants:

1) All illegal immigrants should be fined $2000 (which is the cost of immigrating to American about).
2) Allow illegal immigrants to become perminate aliens, but since they got here illegally, they could never become full citizens (however, the children of immigrants will be able to become citizens).
3) In order for illegal aliens to become eligible for social security programs, they must have resided in the United States for more than 15 years.
4) In order to remain in the United States, illegal aliens must prove that they have worked in the United States for a proportional amount of time and are not receiving government aid.

In order to deal with incoming immigrants:
1) Open our borders up completely, however, an extensive background check must be performed.
2) Lower the cost of paperwork to enter the United States.
3) Failure to maintain a job would result in deportation (unless injured or becoming sick once entering the US).

The United States should discontinue:
1) Offering government aid to illegal immigrants (I do not know how this even happens, but it does)
2) Offering full-paid scholarships to foreigners (we need to educate our own first!); instead, we should offer work study programs for undergraduate foreign students and research internships for graduate foreign students.
3) Offering social security to immigrants who come to the United States who are over the age of 55 (If you never paid into Social Security and you immigrated to this country, you should not get shit).

If the United States discontinued offering such aid to immigrants, they would not be such a drain on society and they could better themselves.