Most of the people in the United States are descendants of immigrants.

[rbrnmw]

I like how the teaper's think they are murican's and nobody else should come here for the freedoms they are always screaming about. The hatred of these refugee children is shocking and disgusting. Shame on them for their cruelty and smugness.
They aren't acting very American at all.

[Borchkins]

1. My ancestors

were on the Mayflower, I am an 12th generation American, but still descended from immigrants.

The actions of the teabagger's are deplorable. There is plenty for all in this country if those in the 1% would only take their share and no more.

B

[historylovr]

12. Hey, some of mine too.

Until I started working on my family tree I thought all my colonist ancestors took the southern route. I was surprised, to say the least.

[Borchkins]

17. I'm descended from both Samuel and Edward Fuller.

How about you?
B

[historylovr]

19. Degory Priest and Richard Warren.

At least according to what I've found. I'm triple checking the latter though, just to be sure.

[yeoman6987]

2. Ellis Island is proof that all of us came through that beautiful island

We wanted a better life. I wonder how long it took to process through Ellis Island.......probably not as long as it has these folks. Why not reopen Ellis Island? Wouldn't that help the process along like we all went through it? What ever happens, we cannot keep treating these immigrants this way.

[SummerSnow]

4. Those who came through Ellis Island came through via ships.

Now we have way more people coming here in all parts of the country by airplane or crossing the borders. Ellis Island wouldn't work.

[yeoman6987]

5. You know what....you are right

It would be probably be difficult for the immigrant to have to transport themselves (even if government helped) to Ellis Island. I forgot that most arrived by ships back in the day. Thanks for the reminder.

[Igel]

15. Nope.

A lot of immigration happened before Ellis Island was anything official.

They arrived before 1892.

When they arrived, most of Ellis Island hadn't been made yet. It's mostly landfill.

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

3. My grandmother (origianally from Ireland) crossed the border in 1919 to steal American jobs.

She and her 4 daughters crossed the Can-Am border after stealing Brit and Canadian jobs. Her 2 sons were adopted out in Canada and stayed there.

[unblock]

6. read between the lines. it has little to do with migration and a lot to do with bigotry.

do you really think the anti-immigration people have a serious problem with british or german people coming here?

it's mostly hispanic immigration the object to. also asian, indian sub-continent, etc., and of course anyone with overly dark skin.

they resent those people already in this country. they can't kick them out, so they find other ways to treat them miserably. the immigrants, though, they can try to keep out, so that's what they do. they'd do the same to those already here if they could.

[rbrnmw]

7. you are so right.

There is very long list they would throw out if they could. That list includes forward thinking people. I am sure I would be thrown out.

[unblock]

18. with me and quite a lot of du'ers in the same boat!

[napkinz]

8. ...

[Spider Jerusalem]

9. I'm the descendant of colonists, mostly, not immigrants.

My earliest ancestor in what would later become the United States arrived when there were fewer than a thousand English colonists in Virginia, years before the Mayflower. There's a subtle difference between colonists and immigrants: Colonists seek to establish a society like the one they left, immigrants are coming to an already-established society which may be of a different culture.

Opposition to immigration is fundamentally about opposition to people from other cultures; it always has been (from Ben Franklin railing about "Palatine boors" in the 1700's, to the 1800's establishment of lineage societies like the Mayflower Society and the DAR as a way of saying "we who can trace our ancestry back to the beginning are Real Americans", to Teddy Roosevelt asserting that "there is no room in our country for hyphenated Americans", to Minuteman yahoos with bumper stickers that say "welcome to America, now speak English" setting up their own border patrols in the hope of catching some hapless border-crosser.

[rbrnmw]

11. I could be a member of DAR my Aunt and Cousin are members

I never had a desire to join. My mother is mostly of Scotch-Irish ancestry (Kincaid). Where my Dad's side are descendants of Governor Morris (Morris). I am a very mixed bag.

[historylovr]

13. Good points. nt

[NCTraveler]

10. Our current immigration laws have created a humanitarian crisis.

They need to be overhauled completely. Unfortunately, so much of that hinges on what to do with those here who are currently undocumented. That is our faults. Republican and Democrat. There is no one party to blame. Fact is, the borders need to be sealed up tight in order to stop the crisis. Our immigration policy must change. We must continue to accept people from all walks of life all over the world. We must know who is coming, going, and staying. We cannot have a free society without these measures.

[jwirr]

14. It would be interesting to know when the idea of documenting immigrants first started. If I am not

mistaken there were many of our ancestors who just got off the boat and walked ashore. No questions asked.

[KamaAina]

16. Essentially all of us are

even most members of tribal nations have some immigrant blood in them.