Isn't this a no brainer?

[cjwilhelmi]

Law stops renting to illegal immigrants

ESCONDIDO, Calif. - City leaders have approved an ordinance prohibiting landlords from renting to illegal immigrants, the latest in one of many efforts by local governments across the country to crack down on undocumented workers.

More than 100 police officers and sheriff's deputies in riot gear were on hand for the 3-2 vote Wednesday. After the measure was approved, one person ran outside the council chamber and yelled, "The USA wins!" prompting opponents and supporters gathered on the lawn to shout at each other for 30 minutes. Police said no arrests were made.

[jessexy]

some council member in a small community near Dallas tried to propose a law similar to this and they nearly took him out back and shot him right there. not many people agreed with his viewpoints.

[Campbell]

It disturbs me that the ACLU is going to fight this. I generally support the ACLU, but I don't view illegal immigrants as Americans. Maybe if there was an ICLU or something fighting this, but even then this is an American issue based on American laws. Illegal immigration is a huge problem in this country and I think this ordinance is a step in the right direction. What is confusing is how can a landlord currently rent to an illegal immigrant and not be in violation? Could the same landlord rent to an escaped convict, know they are an escaped convict, and not be found to be aiding the criminal in some way?

[StrykerFSU]

I don't think that we, as a nation, are even capable of having intelligent conversation on this issue until we can come to agreement as to what the definition of illegal is. Too many people blur the line between immigration and illegal immigration for political reasons. You jump the fence, you are illegal. You apply for a green card and get one, you are legal. It really seems simple to me.

[Beta]

American Civil Liberties Union... Don't you have to be an "American" to get American rights?

[Sonny]

American Civil Liberties Union... Don't you have to be an "American" to get American rights?

Apparently not.

[UofMLaxGoalie11]

[TexOle]

As a conservative student who is working on his license to teach ESL I have some issues. I am not going to say that illegal immigrants do not have rights. Everyone in America should be entitled to basic liberties guarunteed to all people living in this country. We have laws and as resident (legal or not) of this country you have to live by those laws. The problem is not this law in the United States. I feel that our borders for legal immigration should be expanded. This also comes from someone who believes that we have some of the most open immigration of any nation. The problems are the other countries. Mexico and other Latin American countries refuse to fix their problems so their citizens come to America looking for something more. President Fox has protested our laws against immigration reform. Right now Mexico is seeking a UN resolution to block a fence to stop illegal immigration. People are starving and dying in other countries, but they still refuse to solve those problems. Those problems then move to the United States where we are forced to take resources we need to focus on helping others. If the US and other countries could work to fix the problems that lead to this illegal immigration such as providing food and other needs then the problems of immigration would diminish.

Domingo Garcia is pushing a legal action against the Royce City PD after an officer forcefully took down an illegal immigrant that did not speak English. The officer had suspicion the person in question was drinking at a school event and issued orders in English. I used to be a major supporter of Garcia, but this is an area where I feel he is using an incident to push another culture on Americans. While America has no official language we do have a common language. We also have a common culture. If someone is going to succeed in America they must work to embrace what is American. Americans must also embrace other cultures, but we also have to keep our culture. One problem we see especially in Texas is certain groups expecting everyone else to change to their culture which creates friction. This is where major disasters occur. I will stop this discussion here for my own sanity since I just got done discussing this for 2 hours in class, and I have better things to do on my birthday.

[Sonny]

Everyone in America should be entitled to basic liberties guarunteed to all people living in this country. We have laws and as resident (legal or not) of this country you have to live by those laws.

American CITIZENS have rights. Not everyone "living" in America. There is a distinction there.

If the US and other countries could work to fix the problems that lead to this illegal immigration such as providing food and other needs then the problems of immigration would diminish.

How much aid do we provide the UN and other countries right now?? We already provide the lion's share of international aid annually. Immigration problems aren't going to go away if we provide even more aid.

The US already takes in more people via legal immigration every year then any other country. Its almost as if some people think we shouldn't have any borders at all.

[Campbell]

The illegal immigrants do have rights, but they dont have priviledges, I think that is the distinction. Some of our rights may not apply, but basic human rights do. Since we rarely put illegal immigrants on trial and typically deport them there is no need for us to examine their legal rights. That being said, illegal immigrants have broken the law, however significant or insignificant we make think it is. I have no problem with the US helping Mexico solve their problems, strong neighbors are strong allies, and it is all the better for North America. I don't think the solution is having a US weak on immigration. As little as the 9/11 events have to do illegal Mexican immigrants, it certainly opened our eyes to the weakness of our borders. If that means building a fence or wall, then so be it.

I'm speculating here, but I don't imagine illegal immigrants are paying taxes, investing most of their money back into our economy, serving jury duty, or registering for selective service. They reap the benefits of living in the US without the responsibility and without substantive contribution. Without controlled and regulated immigration we risk people coming into our country who are criminals or carry transmittable health problems. I think the actions in Escondido are good measures. If the law doesn't crack down on the people enabling illegal immigration it will never stop.

[Brent Burns]

How much aid do we provide the UN and other countries right now?? We already provide the lion's share of international aid annually. Immigration problems aren't going to go away if we provide even more aid.

Just a point of interest... next Tuesday, October 24 is the United Nations Day.

[laxfan25]

How much aid do we provide the UN and other countries right now?? We already provide the lion's share of international aid annually. Immigration problems aren't going to go away if we provide even more aid.

From a Wikipedia article on the US Agency for International Development (which distributes non-military aid for the gov't)

At the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro in 1992, the world's governments adopted a program for action under the auspices of the United Nations–Agenda 21, which included an Official Development Assistance (ODA) aid target of 0.7% of gross national product (GNP) for rich nations, roughly 22 members of the OECD, known as the Development Assistance Committee (DAC).

US levels for foreign aid fall short of this goal (the US currently ranks last among the world's wealthiest countries at about 0.1 percent of GNP.) However, in absolute amounts, the United States is currently the world's top donor of economic aid, providing $16.254 billion in 2003 according to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.

In 2001, the United States gave $10.9 billion, Japan $9.7 billion, Germany $4.9 billion, the United Kingdom $4.7 billion, and France $4.3 billion. As a percentage of GNP, however, the top donors were Denmark, Norway, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, and Sweden. The Netherlands (pop. 16.3 million) gave $3.2 billion in 2001 — almost a third of what America contributed.

Many people have the idea that we give away tons of money in foreign aid - 1/10 of 1% isn't all that much.

Regarding the UN, this is from the Global Policy Forum:

The United Nations and all its agencies and funds spend about $20 billion each year, or about $3 for each of the world's inhabitants. This is a very small sum compared to most government budgets and it is just a tiny fraction of the world's military spending. Yet for nearly two decades, the UN has faced a debilitating financial crisis and it has been forced to cut back on important programs in all areas. Many member states have not paid their full dues and have cut their donations to the UN's voluntary funds. As of June 30, 2006, members' arrears to the Regular Budget topped $1,005 million, of which the United States alone owed $675 million (67% of the regular budget arrears).

Considering we're blowing about $2 billion per week on our excellent adventure, our foreign aid numbers (the spending of which might actually enhance our global reputation) kind of pale in comparison.

I don't understand why increasing foreign aid wouldn't decrease the pressure on immigration. TexOle suggested that poorer countries need to improve their own circumstances - wouldn't this help?

I was listening to a conversation on the radio the other day on the immigration issue, and the point was raised that the biggest driver of illegal immigration is by employers that hire them. They work cheap, don't complain, and really do jobs that most Americans would never accept, especially at the pay rates they receive. There are laws in place to control the hiring of illegals, but they are not enforced. If we really want to get serious with the problem, emphatic enforcement of those regulations is what is required. Since many of the business owners are influential - it's easier to rail against the problem than actually enforce our laws.
Building a 700 mile fence is not the answer - just another $17 billion dollar boondogle. As long as the demand is there for cheap labor, they're going to keep coming.

[laxfan25]

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) is a major American non-profit organization whose stated mission is "to defend and preserve the individual rights and liberties guaranteed to every person in this country by the Constitution and laws of the United States". It works through litigation, legislation, and community education. According to its annual report, the ACLU had over 500,000 members at the end of 2005.

Lawsuits brought by the ACLU have been influential in the evolution of U.S. constitutional law through judicial interpretation. The ACLU provides legal assistance in cases in which it considers civil liberties to be at risk. Even when the ACLU does not provide direct legal representation, it often submits amicus curiae briefs.

Outside of its legal work, the organization has also engaged in lobbying of elected officials and political activism. The ACLU is independent and hard to classify on the left/right political spectrum. The ACLU has been critical of elected officials and policies of both Democrats and Republicans. Its views are often controversial and criticised by both parties.

Yeah, who needs those pesky individual rights and liberties granted to us by the Constitution - don't you know we're at war with the terrorists?

Signed,
a 20+ year card-carrying member of the ACLU (and proud of it).

[Campbell]

yeah but is all our foreign aid getting funneled through the UN? Maybe we just dont give the UN a lot of money. According to the Greenbook, in 2004 we gave over $26 Billion dollars for foreign economic development through the US Agency for International Development.

http://www.usaid.gov/

[Sonny]

yeah but is all our foreign aid getting funneled through the UN?

Correct. Lots of aid we provide directly to foreign governments.

Many people have the idea that we give away tons of money in foreign aid

And they are correct.