Is the bashing of "illegal" immigrants warranted or racist?

[itsmesgd]

Poll question: Is the bashing of "illegal" immigrants warranted or racist?

Lou Dobbs and other shows have taken to blaming every problem in the US on "those illegals". I find it funny to call any person "illegal".

So my question is, is the immigrant bashing warranted or blatant racism?

btw, I'm part Native American and I think everybody should leave.

[Bronyraurus]

1. It is a push poll

I don't think anyone blames *every* problem on illegal immigration. I think you need to figure out if someone is just using immigrants as a scapegoat. If so, there is likely a racist component. But there is also plenty of room to criticize our immigration policy and seeming unwillingness to enforce our own laws, and a thoughtful critique of that is probably not due to racism.

[LostInAnomie]

2. Depends on what you define as "bashing".

A lot of people consider using the term "illegal immigrant" as bashing, even though every part of the word is factually correct. Some people think pointing out that illegal immigrants are here illegally is bashing. Some people think that asserting that illegal immigrants hurt the lower and working classes by lowering wages is bashing. Some people think that pointing out that our southern border is a virtual revolving door and serves as a useless barrier is bashing.

I, for one, do not.

[itsmesgd]

5. Lou Dobbs makes a point everyday of pointing out some immigration issue

and running it into the ground. Today on a Cafferty email someone critized the Walker Reed problem and said that it's a shame that the troops get poor treatment while "illegals" get "top knotch treatment on our tax money". This appears to me to be nothing more than an outlet of hate. I agree that we need to control who comes in to the country and for what reasons, but blatant name calling is reminiscent of the "Irish - Need Not Apply" signs from the 40's.

It's one thing to point out problems and suggest resolutions, but a far different thing to just blame everything on a particular race or status of people.

[porphyrian]

3. If I'm adopted and can't vouch for my genetic identity, can I stay?

;)

[Flarney]

4. We have an illegal employer problem, not an illegal immigrant problem...

..."hey" to my fellow Thom Hartmann listeners. :hi:

[Warren DeMontague]

6. I think you need to define "bashing". Pointing out that people are here illegally

is not the same thing as scapegoating those people for all sorts of problems. Philosophically, i agree with the part Native American in you (although I wonder how you're going to kick out the rest of yourself) yes, we're all immigrants.

However, we are also a nation of laws, even if those laws were set up by the folks who stole the continent from other people. It's not factually incorrect to say that some folks are here illegally. If the argument is that we should have absolutely no control over who enters the country and how, then make that argument- but I don't see anyone really making that argument.

Personally, I live in California; I can see with my own eyes how much of the economy is driven by illegal or so-called illegal immigrants. I think there are several questions and/or problems, not the least of which has to do with the companies that hire them- often circumventing minimum wage or other laws. I think that's where any "get tough" enforcement ought to focus. And I think it may really be time to accept that this is a part of our labor force, and adapt with a guest worker or some similar strategy; because there are two ends of the spectrum that aren't going to happen- on one side, you are not going to have a situation where everyone who wants to come into this country can be a US citizen, and on the other side, you're never going to "send back" all these folks- folks who contribute so much to the economy.