GUILTY NC - Min Soon Chang, 18, killed by drunk driver, Charlotte, Nov 2005

[JanetElaine]

I'm not so sure of that. Certainly it couldn't hurt to talk to an immigration attorney. Since he's obviously been here for many years, I'd be willing to bet there are provisions for obtaining a legal status, given his marriage to a citizen.

Nope. Not unless he entered the country legally in the first place.

 

[JanetElaine]

and it is scary to be an immigrant.

Beg your pardon? There is nothing scary about being an immigrant. I'd be scared as heck though if I was here illegally. Laws are there to be enforced. If you want the laws changed, find enough people to vote them into change. That's how it works and it would be a pretty wild society, one in which I wouldn't want to live, if we just didn't care about laws anymore.

 

[imthemom]

Beg your pardon? There is nothing scary about being an immigrant. I'd be scared as heck though if I was here illegally. Laws are there to be enforced. If you want the laws changed, find enough people to vote them into change. That's how it works and it would be a pretty wild society, one in which I wouldn't want to live, if we just didn't care about laws anymore.

Okay illegal alien, if that is what you want to call them, please don't judge, jeeze. It is scary being an "ILLEGAL ALIEN". Does that make you happy we are using the right terms according to you!:doh:

 

[imthemom]

I'm not so sure of that. Certainly it couldn't hurt to talk to an immigration attorney. Since he's obviously been here for many years, I'd be willing to bet there are provisions for obtaining a legal status, given his marriage to a citizen.

Thanks for the input, we have an immigration attorney now for many years and he can't do anything. Right now we are waiting for an immigration court date and one of three things could happen, he could be able to stay in the country and get a SS in 90 days or he would have to leave right away and go back to Mexico and apply for a Visa and wait for possibly up to a year for it or he could be deported and banned from the country for 10 years. It is a big risk for us but we just hope we get a compassionate judge.

 

[JanetElaine]

Okay illegal alien, if that is what you want to call them, please don't judge, jeeze. It is scary being an "ILLEGAL ALIEN". Does that make you happy we are using the right terms according to you!:doh:

Yes, in fact it does (they're not my or 'according to me' terms by the way, they are in the law). They are doing it to themselves, too. There's a very easy fix for the being scared part.

 

[JanetElaine]

Thanks for the input, we have an immigration attorney now for many years and he can't do anything. Right now we are waiting for an immigration court date and one of three things could happen, he could be able to stay in the country and get a SS in 90 days or he would have to leave right away and go back to Mexico and apply for a Visa and wait for possibly up to a year for it or he could be deported and banned from the country for 10 years. It is a big risk for us but we just hope we get a compassionate judge.

I already mentioned the waiver option/possibility for that. Did your attorney mention this to you as well?

 

[imthemom]

I have said that yes the law does need to change, the border does need to be secured, we need to decide what to do with all the people here already. How can you tell a legal from an illegal, do they wear signs? I am just saying to have some compassion. This man who caused this accident absolutely should be sent back, I am in no way defending him. If there are illegal people here doing things like selling drugs yes send them back. There is a senetor who wants to look at everyone case by case and I think that is a good idea, I am just trying to say that all of the problems with healthcare and car accidents are not all illegals.

 

[villagespin]

I am married to an immigrant, a legal immigrant, from Europe. We went through all the proper channels for him to get the correct visas and paid all the fees and suffered all the delays and separations in order for him to be here legally. Many people come on a tourist visa, overstay, or just sneak in without a visa. Maybe that is a short term solution, but it is not right. It is illegal and immoral. There are lots of things I want, that would make my life better or happier, but I do not just take them. And that is what illegal immigration is. It really frustrates me to read that the government might just say, hey, OK, to all the people who are here illegally after I, and many others I know, paid our fees, filed our paperwork, were separated for long periods of time from our loved ones in order to follow the laws. Illegal immigration has caused great strains on our country and its healthcare and social services systems and there really is no debate on that.

 

[SewingDeb]

If we ever do legalize all the illegals in this country, would they then be able to bring their extended family into the country? Our country limits immigration, has quotas for each country allowed, etc. for a reason.

I have been throught the whole process with a family from Kosovo who came in legally (invited by the US) and it was still a long process and took many years before even one member of that family became a US Citizen. I think it is highly unfair to the ones who jump through all the hoops and do it legally to give amnesty (again).

Mexico is very strict with their immigration policy. I wonder why the US is not expected to be strict as well.

 

[Nocgirl]

Not only does Mexico have strict immigration, they think the US should open the border. Fox has done nothing to get rid of the corruption in the gov't and law enforcement. Illegal immigrants have zero rights in Mexico, even law abiding tourists get hassled and bothered and you have to bribe the police to get any help. It's a huge double standard.

I had to pay an up front fee in cash before a DR would even see me in Cancun. We don't do this at hospitals, they get treatment and many times, don't have the money to pay.

 

[Details]

Okay illegal alien, if that is what you want to call them, please don't judge, jeeze. It is scary being an "ILLEGAL ALIEN". Does that make you happy we are using the right terms according to you!:doh:

It makes a difference. Legal versus illegal is all the difference in the world! I take money from someone's pocket - legally if they give it to me, illegally if I steal it. Illegal aliens are taking jobs that American citizens need, taking our schools, taking our hospital care, taking our land, illegally.

There are lots of places worse off than Mexico, where your husband comes from - if we were just talking human rights, by all rights, he'd be asked to give your place to someone from Sierra Leone. This is no human rights issue, this purely about money.


Oh yes - and illegal alien is not synonemous with Mexican - you can love Mexicans (or be neutral towards them as the same as any other human being) and still oppose, strongly, illegal immigration. I don't care where the illegals come from, they should go home, period. No amnesty, not under any name, any form.


You're in a bit of a sticky spot - but it was your husbands choice to come here illegally, stay here illegally. For quite some time, he's gotten the benefit of that illegal action with higher wages, and all the benefits of America. Sooner or later it has to be dealt with. You'll have to make some hard choices. Just like the people put out of a job by illegal aliens have to make their own hard choices when they can suddenly no longer support their family.

 

[Details]

Mexico does provide a lot of illegal aliens - I wonder, if all those hardworking people stayed in their own country, worked hard to improve it, how much better it might be. Mexico is no poor country - they've got great natural resources, and far from the worst government in the world. There are corruption issues to address, but it's a democracy, so if enough people push hard enough, it's entirely possible to change.

By letting all the hardworking who want a better world come here, Mexico is suffering - even though the corrupt politicians benefit and don't mind at all.

 

[Nocgirl]

Details I agree that there are far worse places than Mexico. A few countries in Africa are guilty of gross human rights violations. Sierra Leona, DROC, Somalia (which essentially has had no law or government since 1993), Uganda and Zimbabwe. Not to mention the bloodshed in Rwanda in 1994. These countries have high HIV rates, complete and total lack of food, water and medical care AND the villages often get ransacked by rebels who rape, maim and kill.

Zimbabwe is about to get declared a state of emergency due to the lack of food anywhere in the country, thanks to the cruel, murderer of a president, Robert Mugabe. He has run the country right into the grown. Even millionaires go to bed hungry.

I was reading the article on one of the richest men in the world who is Mexican billionaire. Sick about how much money he has and it appears he has done nothing to improve the image of his country, or to help the infrastructure of Mexico. He doesn't have too, it's his money but you would think he would work with Fox to build Mexico up to be a welathy country, and it is still dirt poor.

 

[Jeana (DP)]

What did the guys illegal status have to do with this??

Well it has quite a bit to do with it. First of all, the person obviously didn't have a driver's license or insurance because he couldn't get them being here illegally. Next, how does one go about suing someone who is here illegally? Next, how would someone go about enforcing a judgment against someone who is here illegally?

Sure, there are plenty of people who are here legally who cause accidents and don't have insurance, but its much easier to garnish the wages or take property from someone who actually has those things available to a court of law should a judgment need to be enforced.

 

[poco]

I've already said something about this subject in another post. I fear it will never end any time soon.

LOL, I still remember when I saw a landscaping truck hit another car iun front of it. Within seconds, I saw 8-10 mexicans jumping out and running from the truck. I'm only guessing, but they were probably illegal...

that, or coincidentally they all had to pee at the same time.............

 

[Details]

Well it has quite a bit to do with it. First of all, the person obviously didn't have a driver's license or insurance because he couldn't get them being here illegally. Next, how does one go about suing someone who is here illegally? Next, how would someone go about enforcing a judgment against someone who is here illegally?

Sure, there are plenty of people who are here legally who cause accidents and don't have insurance, but its much easier to garnish the wages or take property from someone who actually has those things available to a court of law should a judgment need to be enforced.

"illegally" removes all the gatekeeping. No drivers test for your license, no check for criminal history before we let you in (and difficult to trace any criminal history after you're here, since there is a fake ID), no check for the diseases we'd prefer not to bring in here.

 

[Texana]

Hello there, I just wanted to say please don't judg all immigrants because of this accident, I know some of you aren't but there are a couple posts there. Immigration is a very heated issue right now and if there is an illegal involved we will hear about it. I am half Mexican and my husband came here from Mexico illegally when he was 14. His parents sent him and his brothers here to work to send money back so they could live. That is what most of them are doing here, they are very hard working and yes there will always be the few bad ones, but there is in every group. This is a human rights issue, not an illegal or legal issue. My husband and I have been married for 10 years and have two children. We do not live on welfare and I have finished college. He could possibly be deported leaving me and my children alone without a father and then possibly having to turn to welfare. Billions of dollars in illegals tax money is never returned to them, so yes they do help the economy. We feel the prejudice and my husband has been asked for ID when he is a passenger "because of terrorists" according to police. If they would give the illegal people drivers license like some states have suggested, that would dramatically cut down on the hit and runs and also the no insurance. Illinois just recently passed this and it will go into effect next year. It is the only solution while congress sits on their thumbs deciding what to do:doh:

My parents have a construction-related business and a large number of people purchase only in cash and get paid in cash. They aren't paying taxes.
Because they don't pay taxes, other citizens bear the cost of the roads they drive on, the medical care they receive at hospitals, the education their children receive, etc.Even sales taxes can be ignored if two parties are willing, with cash.

If you are here illegally you are only paying sales tax (if the vendor charges it and pays that themselves to the state) or paying taxes under a false identification, possibly someone else's social security number. Some may be but many more are not.

As Jeana pointed out, if you are an illegal alien, there is no way to hold you accountable for driving record or property or personal damage, or even crimes committed--because you have no legal identity. If you get that driver'slicense without the same required paperwork as legal residents/citizens, what's to stop you from just getting another one with false papers if you get a ticket or two, even with a driver's license?

If you are a legal citizen then you can take steps right now for your husband to be here legally as well without fear of being deported.

 

[txsvicki]

Hello there, I just wanted to say please don't judg all immigrants because of this accident, I know some of you aren't but there are a couple posts there. Immigration is a very heated issue right now and if there is an illegal involved we will hear about it. I am half Mexican and my husband came here from Mexico illegally when he was 14. His parents sent him and his brothers here to work to send money back so they could live. That is what most of them are doing here, they are very hard working and yes there will always be the few bad ones, but there is in every group. This is a human rights issue, not an illegal or legal issue. My husband and I have been married for 10 years and have two children. We do not live on welfare and I have finished college. He could possibly be deported leaving me and my children alone without a father and then possibly having to turn to welfare. Billions of dollars in illegals tax money is never returned to them, so yes they do help the economy. We feel the prejudice and my husband has been asked for ID when he is a passenger "because of terrorists" according to police. If they would give the illegal people drivers license like some states have suggested, that would dramatically cut down on the hit and runs and also the no insurance. Illinois just recently passed this and it will go into effect next year. It is the only solution while congress sits on their thumbs deciding what to do:doh:

As a child I was really bothered and upset by knowing that Mexcians came to work in my relatives fields for such low low wages. I was very inquisitive and thought that they should be paid more. I can only imagine living in a country where I was forced to send my young sons to another country to work in order to even live. I know that many legal and illegal immigrants are supporting family in Mexico and are very hard working. My children certainly would not do that and I don't know many who would. It's very admirable. I know that conditions are really bad for people in the large Mexico cities, but need to learn more about the real povery and conditions as a whole. I really hope that things work out for your husband and that your family isn't separated. I've always said that the U.S., especially the southwest, should naturally expect people from Mexico and South America to come to the U.S. any way they can to escape poverty since we are so close. I'd do the same thing if the positions were reversed. I've love to move to another country that has health care for all since that is what I need more than anything but have never had it here in the U.S. and Mexicans are certainly not responsible for that problem, but will now be partially blamed of course.

 

[Enrique Sparta]

Wow what an awful story. Something must be done about the illegals in this country.

 

[imthemom]

As a child I was really bothered and upset by knowing that Mexcians came to work in my relatives fields for such low low wages. I was very inquisitive and thought that they should be paid more. I can only imagine living in a country where I was forced to send my young sons to another country to work in order to even live. I know that many legal and illegal immigrants are supporting family in Mexico and are very hard working. My children certainly would not do that and I don't know many who would. It's very admirable. I know that conditions are really bad for people in the large Mexico cities, but need to learn more about the real povery and conditions as a whole. I really hope that things work out for your husband and that your family isn't separated. I've always said that the U.S., especially the southwest, should naturally expect people from Mexico and South America to come to the U.S. any way they can to escape poverty since we are so close. I'd do the same thing if the positions were reversed. I've love to move to another country that has health care for all since that is what I need more than anything but have never had it here in the U.S. and Mexicans are certainly not responsible for that problem, but will now be partially blamed of course.

Thank you for your kind words, I am so happy to see someone who is putting thereselves in other people's shoes, my son is almost nine and I could not imagine sending him away if just five years to a foreign country to work and send money back to us. My husband was 14, his parents sent him with his brother who is legal and he didn't ask questions. People say why did he not think about that before he came here illegally, he was only doing what he felt had to be done to care for his mom and dad and grandfather who was dying of lung cancer. I think a lot of people if in the same situation would do the same thing.