Immigration protest of May 1

The more this issue comes up, the more that they don't change my mind on the issue. My opinion is still the same: the folks who are here illegally should work on their legal status before they can talk about their rights in this country. The issue of amnesty is frequently brought up, and if, by that, they mean "grant them citizenship simply because they happen to be in this country at this certain date", then I think that from a political standpoint, it's going to hurt whoever supports it --especially politicians. I think that the best thing that should be done is the federal government to declare a grace period of a certain amount of time (perhaps 3 or 4 months) in which any person here illegally will be made immune from prosecution so long as they declare their intent to become citizens of the U.S. and that they start the process of becoming a citizen.

The argument frequently coming from pro-amnesty groups is that this nation is made up of immigrants, so this is only a continuation of that tradition. Not even the Sean Hannitys and Rush Limbaughs deny this, and they've both said that it's not immigration that they have a problem with, it's that these folks are here illegally and they want to be rewarded for it. And for those who want to talk about how the crew of the Mayflower came here without asking the native population whether they could stay, I know how the conservatives will answer this. They will say that this was before the country of the U.S.A. came into existence, and that these were also decisions made from a previous time, so the U.S. and today's citizens can't be held accountable for the decisions made from a previous time and for which they had no control over (in other words, "Should the sins of the father be payed by the son?"). I know that this will be their response, so anyone wanting to use the Mayflower argument should be prepared to answer the reponse that I listed above.

This issue is being made more complex than it needs to be, and it makes me suspicious of the motives of those who are trying to complicate this issue more than it needs to be. What could the motive be for making an issue with an easy answer into some sort of boondoggle? Does this effort of complicating and obfuscating the issue benefit the very people for who it is supposed to help? I truly don't think so. Those who seek to confuse and obfuscate (regardless of what issue they are trying to confuse and obfuscate) are almost always out for themselves and their interests rather than those they purport to be helping. I think that there are some devils in disguse among these alleged angels of aid and assistance.

For my part, as an American-born Hispanic, I want a greater representation of people of my culture, but I also want them to do this by the book. If they're happy and proud to be in this country, then they should show it by starting the process of becoming a citizen. Hispanics have much to offer this country, and I would be overjoyed if we could share those gifts to this great country. And Americans can learn a lot from us in regards to family, religion, and especially food! :-)