American-flag waving protesters blocked three Homeland Security buses, carrying illegal immigrant children and families, from reaching a suburban processing center (Murrieta U.S. Border Patrol) on Tuesday in San Diego. This protest came as a result of Mayor Alan Long urging residents to complain to elected officials about the plan to transfer the illegal immigrants to California to ease crowding at the Texas-Mexico border. Buses had to be rerouted to a freeway and then to a customs and border facility in San Diego.
Earlier that day a plane landed in San Diego with 136 immigrants on board. It was the first flight planned for California in an effort to ease crowding in the Rio Grande Valley and deal wit the massive amount of Central American children and families fleeing to the United States. Another flight was expected to take 140 illegals immigrants to El Centro, California today, Wednesday. The government is also planning another trip to regions in Texas, other regions of California, and Arizona.
Many protestors are concerned with the influx of illegal immigrants to their area. Signs read, “Stop illegal immigration” and “illegals out!” One Nancy Greyson of Murrieta told a reporter, “We can’t start taking care of others if we can’t take care of our own.”
More than 52,000 unaccompanied children have been detained after crossing the Texas-Mexico border since October. Many of the illegals were detained while fleeing violence and extortion from gangs in Guatemala, El Salvador, and Honduras. President Obama has called this a humanitarian crisis giving the illegals the impression that they will receive leniency from United States authorities.
This has stirred quite a debate between the humanitarians and the legalists. Juan Silva, from Chula Vista, begs the question, “How would they [the protestors] feel if it was their kids?” He says that people in the town [Murrieta] should not be against little kids. “We’re not talking about rapists,” he said.
After the illegal immigrants are processed in Murrieta, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) will decide who can be released while awaiting deportation proceedings.
How do you feel about the influx of illegal immigrants to this country? Do you feel “illegal is illegal”? Or, do you take a more humanitarian standpoint (they are children and families fleeing from violence)? If you do believe they should be able to stay, how do you propose we pay for the children in the country, their medical needs, schooling the children, and housing the families? If you have a more legalist perspective what is the alternative because if we send them back we are knowingly placing families in danger?
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This is a very informative article on a hot button issue in today’s society. Immigration is near and dear to my heart since my family and I were granted asylum after we escaped from the war in Bosnia. I think that everyone who is truly being affected by dire conditions at home should be able to stay, but a line has to be drawn somewhere. I believe that everyone who is being directly persecuted and whose life is in danger should be able to stay in the United States. But if the influx of people running for the border is primarily because of gang violence in his/her surrounding area, then he/she will be subject to gang violence in the United States or anywhere else for that matter. If America had the resources for more people then the more the merrier, but the fact is that the more people that receive asylum under the pretense of danger, the less resources America will have to care for it’s own citizens. I think the reason many Americans are upset is because there are many people crossing over for a chance at the American dream, and not to escape grave danger, and if Americans themselves are struggling each day, a bigger population of illegals will only intensify the problem, and everyone struggling here together and sharing in the poverty in the United States is not the solution.