50 shades of black + 254 August 13, 2019 Immigrants play an increasingly pivotal role in the U.S. economy. They are overrepresented in our labor force, relative to their share of the population, but they also have a higher propensity to launch businesses, compared to those born in the United States. This fact sheet is the fourth of a seven-part series examining the various roles immigrants play in our economy. It highlights research illuminating the role of immigrant entrepreneurs in starting businesses, creating jobs and revitalizing communities. Immigrants are much more likely to start businesses than the U.S.- born. The percentage of adults, both U.S.-born and immigrant, who became entrepreneurs in any given month during 2016, was .31 percent, or 310 out of every 100,000. The entrepreneurship rate for immigrants during the same time period was higher at .52 percent, about twice the rate of the U.S.-born (.26 percent). In other words, for every 100,000 immigrants, 520 became entrepreneurs in a given month... Â https://immigrationforum.org/article/immigrants-as-economic-contributors-immigrant-entrepreneurs/ Â 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Pavel + 384 PP August 13, 2019 These rules have existed for decades. I mean, it's not normal to stay here and expect that someone pays for your inactivity 1 2 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BALBOA + 37 BR August 13, 2019 Upholding the law. At the same time don't forget it's a thin border between xenophobia and law enforcement. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
rainman + 263 August 13, 2019 During history the USA is a nation of immigrants - legal immigrants account for most of the successful businesses in the US, and we have some of the lowest population densities in the developed world. 2 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
francoba + 93 fb August 13, 2019 14 minutes ago, Pavel said: These rules have existed for decades. I mean, it's not normal to stay here and expect that someone pays for your inactivity Yet most of us, children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren of immigrants would not be here, was this the law at the turn of the century. Â Most Italians, Irish, Germans, and Polish came over with no jobs and little in their pockets. 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Danlxyz + 63 DF August 13, 2019 Almost all people in the USÂ are immigrants, refugees or the descendants of them. (I'm not sure how to classify descendants of slaves) The exceptions are the native americans and I guess they would also be immigrants or refugees. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ceo_energemsier + 1,818 cv August 13, 2019 All the rules and requirements for a green card have been on the books for decades, I recall vividly so many people I know personally did everything right and worked hard to be able to get a green card and then work harder to maintain the status of the green card. They were either lawyers, doctors, engineers, scientists, business owners or had 2 jobs or more to keep going and keep supporting themselves and their families. The media is now just playing games as are certain politicians. Illegal aliens have become "immigrants" now. The absurdity boggles the mind. 1 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Jan van Eck + 7,558 MG August 14, 2019 (edited) The whole idea of "Border Control" in large part stems from the efforts of Woodrow Wilson attempting, as President of the Executive Branch of the US Government, to control both the entry and the exit of anyone and everyone in or out of the USA "during war." So he Ordered the institution of "Passports," which were then found to be way beyond his powers as President.  Perhaps to no surprise, a pliant Congress obligingly then passed the "War Measures Act of 1918," which became colloquially known as the Travel Control Act. This Act prevented anyone from either entry or exit in the USA "during time of war." Well, the war (WWI) ended, but the new bureaucracy did not. Woodrow Wilson went back to Congress and asked them to "extend" the wartime control act for another year so that the Administration could once again control who goes in and who goes out (which is what they do today in Cuba, with the Permiso de Salida, and which is heavily criticized by anyone and everyone, including me).  Although the Act stemmed primarily from the "unregulated flow of people across borders" during the war, it rapidly became institutionalized, and given the unlimited discretion of those new "border control officers," it became impossible as a practical matter to travel without having that passport. From this was born the first efforts of "White people" to control the movements of "brown people," particularly useful in places such as India and South Africa. Bureaucracies being what they are, they expanded and morphed into ever more complex documentation, so that the Visa system arrived to further scrutinize who could arrive and who would be kept out. Remember though that it all stemmed from Woodrow Wilson and his request to the Congress for that "one-year extension" of the Travel Control Act, and that rationale was that a lift on travel restrictions to and from the United States would welcome an increase in immigrants, including those "undesirable, from the point of view of becoming future citizens," and those whose "origin and affiliations make it inadvisable that they should be permitted to enter" the country. From this we can see that the great Irish migration of the 1800's was entirely without passports or visas or anything else: you got on the boat at one end and walked off as an immigrant at the other, and nobody bothered you. Your "papers-please" requirement was Zero. Today's system is exclusively about "control," and the people doing the controlling are all emotionally disturbed individuals who have latched onto cushy govt jobs, and then expand those programs exponentially in order to expand jobs security (and be able to hire their chums). The current version of this Control mentality is facial-recognition software, taken to the extreme by the Communists in China, where the Uighurs are required by "Law" to have locational tracking software installed in their phone, have to present internal passport ID at lots of internal checkpoints, and if they irritate any checkpoint controller, then to be seized and shipped off to a Gulag camp for "re-education," Stalin style, probably never to emerge, at least not while alive.  And that, folks, is where you are headed. Edited August 16, 2019 by Jan van Eck 1 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ceo_energemsier + 1,818 cv August 14, 2019 9 minutes ago, Jan van Eck said: The whole idea of "Border Control" in large part stems from the efforts of Woodrow Wilson attempting, as President of the Executive Branch of the US Government, to control both the entry and the exist of anyone and everyone in or out of the USA "during war." So he Ordered the institution of "Passports," which were then found to be way beyond his powers as President.  Perhaps to no surprise, a pliant Congress obligingly then passed the "War Measures Act of 1918," which became colloquially known as the Travel Control Act. This Act prevented anyone from either entry or exit in the USA "during time of war." Well, the war (WWI) ended, but the new bureaucracy did not. Woodrow Wilson went back to Congress and asked them to "extend" the wartime control act for another year so that the Administration could once again control who goes in and who goes out (which is what they do today in Cuba, with the Permiso de Salida, and which is heavily criticized by anyone and everyone, including me).  Although the Act stemmed primarily from the "unregulated flow of people across borders" during the war, it rapidly became institutionalized, and given the unlimited discretion of those new "border control officers," it became impossible as a practical matter to travel without having that passport. From this was born the first efforts of "White people" to control the movements of "brown people," particularly useful in places such as India and South Africa. Bureaucracies being what they are, they expanded and morphed into ever more complex documentation, so that the Visa system arrived to further scrutinize who could arrive and who would be kept out. Remember though that it all stemmed from Woodrow Wilson and his request to the Congress for that "one-year extension" of the Travel Control Act, and that rationale was that a lift on travel restrictions to and from the United States would welcome an increase in immigrants, including those "undesirable, from the point of view of becoming future citizens," and those whose "origin and affiliations make it inadvisable that they should be permitted to enter" the country. From this we can see that the great Irish migration of the 1800's was entirely without passports or visas or anything else: you got on the boat at one end and walked off as an immigrant at the other, and nobody bothered you. Your "papers-please" requirement was Zero. Today's system is exclusively about "control," and the people doing the controlling are all emotionally disturbed individuals who have latched onto cushy govt jobs, and then expand those programs exponentially in order to expand jobs security (and be able to hire their chums). The current version of this Control mentality is facial-recognition software, taken to the extreme by the Communists in China, where the Uighurs are required by "Law" to have locational tracking software installed in their phone, have to present internal passport ID at lots of internal checkpoints, and if they irritate any checkpoint controller, then to be seized and shipped off to a Gulag camp for "re-education," Stalin style, probably never to emerge, at least not while alive.  And that, folks, is where you are headed. It snot the 1800s anymore and each and every country you go to have very strict entry and exit requirements (majority of countries). Countries without secure borders and immigration enforcement turn into , well descend into complete chaos as has been proven in EU. And the citizens opinions about even regulated immigration and immigrants turns negative. I travel all over the world and the US is one of the easiest countries to travel in and out of and within. I have been to countries where you have to show your papers @ every turn 2 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Jan van Eck + 7,558 MG August 14, 2019 23 minutes ago, ceo_energemsier said: I travel all over the world and the US is one of the easiest countries to travel in and out of and within. That is an interesting observation. Have you tried flying into Cork? Coming off the ferry at Hook of Holland? How about the Border on the A-16 from Antwerp to Dordrecht? The train border at Bad Bentheim?  Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ronwagn + 6,290 August 14, 2019 11 hours ago, francoba said: Yet most of us, children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren of immigrants would not be here, was this the law at the turn of the century.  Most Italians, Irish, Germans, and Polish came over with no jobs and little in their pockets. That is true Francoba but that was an age of great need for manual labor. Today we need more skilled immigrants and can take our pick if we choose to. We need standards and secure borders. 1 2 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ronwagn + 6,290 August 14, 2019 52 minutes ago, Jan van Eck said: The whole idea of "Border Control" in large part stems from the efforts of Woodrow Wilson attempting, as President of the Executive Branch of the US Government, to control both the entry and the exist of anyone and everyone in or out of the USA "during war." So he Ordered the institution of "Passports," which were then found to be way beyond his powers as President.  Perhaps to no surprise, a pliant Congress obligingly then passed the "War Measures Act of 1918," which became colloquially known as the Travel Control Act. This Act prevented anyone from either entry or exit in the USA "during time of war." Well, the war (WWI) ended, but the new bureaucracy did not. Woodrow Wilson went back to Congress and asked them to "extend" the wartime control act for another year so that the Administration could once again control who goes in and who goes out (which is what they do today in Cuba, with the Permiso de Salida, and which is heavily criticized by anyone and everyone, including me).  Although the Act stemmed primarily from the "unregulated flow of people across borders" during the war, it rapidly became institutionalized, and given the unlimited discretion of those new "border control officers," it became impossible as a practical matter to travel without having that passport. From this was born the first efforts of "White people" to control the movements of "brown people," particularly useful in places such as India and South Africa. Bureaucracies being what they are, they expanded and morphed into ever more complex documentation, so that the Visa system arrived to further scrutinize who could arrive and who would be kept out. Remember though that it all stemmed from Woodrow Wilson and his request to the Congress for that "one-year extension" of the Travel Control Act, and that rationale was that a lift on travel restrictions to and from the United States would welcome an increase in immigrants, including those "undesirable, from the point of view of becoming future citizens," and those whose "origin and affiliations make it inadvisable that they should be permitted to enter" the country. From this we can see that the great Irish migration of the 1800's was entirely without passports or visas or anything else: you got on the boat at one end and walked off as an immigrant at the other, and nobody bothered you. Your "papers-please" requirement was Zero. Today's system is exclusively about "control," and the people doing the controlling are all emotionally disturbed individuals who have latched onto cushy govt jobs, and then expand those programs exponentially in order to expand jobs security (and be able to hire their chums). The current version of this Control mentality is facial-recognition software, taken to the extreme by the Communists in China, where the Uighurs are required by "Law" to have locational tracking software installed in their phone, have to present internal passport ID at lots of internal checkpoints, and if they irritate any checkpoint controller, then to be seized and shipped off to a Gulag camp for "re-education," Stalin style, probably never to emerge, at least not while alive.  And that, folks, is where you are headed. Most of those immigrants came through Ellis Island, and had to pass basic health and other requirements. We now need higher standards for our modern society. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ellis_Island 1 2 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Jan van Eck + 7,558 MG August 14, 2019 11 minutes ago, ronwagn said: Most of those immigrants came through Ellis Island Nope. Immigrants in the 1800's were without "inspection."  Ellis Island only had a 60-year run. Millions upon millions poured in with no inspection or controls whatsoever. Does the USA now need "higher standards"? Depends on what you mean by higher standards. The USA has accepted lots of Haitians recently, with no demonstrable skills, in the aftermath of the big earthquake. The USA accepts all Cubans, as long as they land with a "dry foot" on US soil, and are fleeing the Communists (which they all are).   "Higher standards" is a bit a a flexible concept, depending on the speaker. Cheers. 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Boat + 1,324 RG August 14, 2019 The conversation should start by looking a couple hundred years into the future and determining what resources will be available and how clean should basics like water and air should be. Not to mention how much of it will be left. Whether we decide the optimum level of humans to create a sustainable lifestyle means less population or more population it should be determined by study and foresight. I understand this concept will explode some brains and I will be thought of as a greenie fascist but the planet is getting hotter, oceans filled with plastic, coastal communities will face displacement or very high costs etc. etc. We have a political class that can’t even talk about the interest on 20 trillion of debt and trillion dollar deficits. The populations of the future I fear will be disgusted with our lack of commonsense and how we dumped impossible situations on their backs. 1 2 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
WienerischMitRico + 4 RK August 15, 2019 Actually I think the need is for unskilled immigrants. The kinds of people who do the jobs that nobody wants to do. The hundreds that work in the meat packing plants, farm labor, landscaping etc.... All the thankless jobs that need to get done, but the reward vs. effort just isnt there. Who is going to go to the US if they are skilled? By the time you get skilled, you are well into your 30s and the US is just not that great of an option anymore. Maybe for a few who want a change of scenery or from India, but the USA is hardly going to get flooded by tool and die makers from Europe so they can make the same or less. I live in an eastern european EU country and even here the situation has improved to the point that it is less and less worthwhile to try and emigrate. Several collegues had the green card and even returned after they decided it wasnt worth the hassle. Here there is also a problem with lack of labor (probably due to skewed demographics towards the elderly), so there is a policy that allows 'third country' nationals legal right to work. Of course they are not doing the skilled work, but the cleaning, picking, and labor stuff. Because that is where the demand for workers is. 1 3 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Douglas Buckland + 6,308 August 15, 2019 Need to differentiate between legal immigrants and illegal aliens in this discussion. 1 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Jan van Eck + 7,558 MG August 15, 2019 On 8/14/2019 at 12:05 AM, Boat said: We have a political class that can’t even talk about the interest on 20 trillion of debt and trillion dollar deficits. The populations of the future I fear will be disgusted with our lack of commonsense and how we dumped impossible situations on their backs. I am already disgusted, and that is in the Here and Now.  1 2 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Rasmus Jorgensen + 1,169 RJ August 15, 2019 6 hours ago, Douglas Buckland said: Need to differentiate between legal immigrants and illegal aliens in this discussion. It was my understanding that the vast majority of illegal immigrants are actually visa overstayers that came into the US legally. If this is correct maybe the only way to meaningfull change start looking at immigration differently altogether? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Douglas Buckland + 6,308 August 15, 2019 6 minutes ago, Rasmus Jorgensen said: It was my understanding that the vast majority of illegal immigrants are actually visa overstayers that came into the US legally. If this is correct maybe the only way to meaningfull change start looking at immigration differently altogether? No, if you overstay you visa, you are in the country illegaly. Your visa will state the duration of your visa so ignorance is not a defense. America is not the only country which tries to enforce visa provisions. Try overstaying your visa in almost any country in the world and see what happens. I was caught offshore Angola when my visa expired, in the middle of a job that ran over. It was a nightmare once I got ashore. I overstayed my visa in South Africa by one day (remember that ignorance is no defence). I had actually lived there for years. I was given 24 hours to leave the country. Illegal aliens in the US should not be rewarded for criminal behavior...just like everywhere else. 1 1 3 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Rasmus Jorgensen + 1,169 RJ August 15, 2019 30 minutes ago, Douglas Buckland said: No, if you overstay you visa, you are in the country illegaly. Your visa will state the duration of your visa so ignorance is not a defense. Never said it was. ---------------- The point I was trying to make is that people tend to migrate to find work. Maybe if you find a way to reduce the demand; the supply will reduce too... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Douglas Buckland + 6,308 August 15, 2019 7 minutes ago, Rasmus Jorgensen said: Never said it was. ---------------- The point I was trying to make is that people tend to migrate to find work. Maybe if you find a way to reduce the demand; the supply will reduce too... Wouldn't this also apply to their country of origin? 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Rasmus Jorgensen + 1,169 RJ August 15, 2019 Just now, Douglas Buckland said: Wouldn't this also apply to their country of origin? I am not sure I understand? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Douglas Buckland + 6,308 August 15, 2019 Reducing demand in the US would achieve the same result as increasing demand in their country of origin. The wages and lifestyle may be less desireable, but that is not for the US to address. Nowhere on a student visa, or a temporary work permit, is it implied that their services will be required once the visa/permit expires. They knew this, or should have known this, when they applied for the permit/visa. Overstaying your visa/permit, like entering the country illegally, is a premeditated criminal act. This mentality should not be rewarded. It is a pain in my backside to go through the immigration paperwork in Malaysia every five years to renew my spousal visa, but it is the law, so I do it. 1 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Douglas Buckland + 6,308 August 15, 2019 On 8/13/2019 at 11:40 PM, francoba said: Yet most of us, children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren of immigrants would not be here, was this the law at the turn of the century. Â Most Italians, Irish, Germans, and Polish came over with no jobs and little in their pockets. Are you saying that the country now is the same as it was back when immigrats were flooding the country 200 years ago? Times change. Back in that time the US needed people, now not so much. The immigrants you are talking about built the country and didn't expect the citizens already there to provide them a living. As has been said, we WERE a country of immigrants, we no longer are. 1 2 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
butasha + 123 BR August 15, 2019 I have no problem with legal immigration. What I have issue is the way the system is manipulated today. Many without skills come here and the only thing they truly want to learn is how to get as many handouts as possible. If someone wants to come here and contribute to the country and at least try to assimilate into society then by all means please gets here as fast as you can. My wife is second generation from Poland. While growing up her parents demanded that they speak English at home as that was the language of the country. Today there are way to many kids here in South Texas that were born here and when they start school have little to know basic understanding of the English language. 2 1 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites