Article can be found HERE.

When I bought my truck last summer the finance manager brought up the subject of an additional insurance policy…Gap Insurance

What is Gap insurance?

Gap insurance will insure one for the difference between what one would owe on a vehicle and what an insurance company says it’s worth. This insurance is a must for someone who is considering purchasing a new vehicle since a new vehicle depreciates right after it is driven off the dealer’s lot.

He went on to further explain the insurance to me with an example….assume that one of our southern neighbors without a license, insurance, or the legal rights to be here hits your car and it’s destroyed. This insurance will pay the difference between what it’s worth and what you owe.

Now I have NEVER been in an accident with an uninsured motorist before but he made a good argument. Not only that but looking at the stories that have been raised by the immigration issues, it’s not as uncommon as I would think for his exact example to become a reality. But it doesn’t stop there. The month prior to that there was a large nationwide rally (on a work day) where the latino community marched in an effort to gain rights. The finance manager was proud to let me know that the three workers they had who had taken off for the day were immediately fired and most likely wouldn’t be hired by another dealership. Interesting. So I asked the question: Did they officially take the day off? The answer…NO. They just didn’t show up. It was their way of supporting the cause. Well knowing that I would have fired them too. That’s just logical.

Something else I would like to point out is that no one has said that immigrants should not be allowed into the country; simply that they should apply and enter through legal and proper channels. There is a policy in place for a reason and other are forced to follow it strictly. Why make allowances at this point? That is the problem that I have with this fight. It’s not like there isn’t a way to legally enter the country. THERE IS and other people are using it on a daily basis…getting visas, applying for citizenship, following rules…not just running in the night. THAT is what pisses me off.

The above article mentions the impact illegal immigration is having on the school system. A struggling school system. The last time I looked (which wasn’t 5 years ago), Oklahoma’s school system ranked just above Mississippi’s and BOTH were at the bottom of the list. Every year teachers have to beg for additional money and threaten to move to Texas where they will be financially appreciated.

Well, after reading this article I sent it to a few people to get their opinions and such. I’m going to post a few.

Any policy that advocates “adopting a resolution calling on police officers
to check the immigration status of “all suspected illegal aliens.” will
beget rampant racial profiling. Exactly what makes a person suspicious of
being illegal??

I understand the pressure that border towns are under. They are usually the
first to notice influx of people near the border. In Florida it’s the
Haitians and Cubans taking over. But we have illegal immigrants everywhere
and from EVERY country. I have met so many Eastern European immigrants that
are illegal. They’re taking over the nail shop business in many areas. But
they blend in cosmetically, therefore they are not “suspect”.

My aunt worked for immigration for almost 30 years. The red tape required
to get here is unbelieveable. Many people would rather take their chances
of being caught than to wait and miss out on the opportunities available
here. They are certainly not all criminals. Here we go again with the
scary images of the “welfare queen” with her 7 kids living off the system
and the “big scary knife wielding Hispanic guy” coming here to rape our
innocent white ladies. Come to my side of town, the folks I’m scared of
look just like me. They sure as hell ain’t immigrants.

Hmmmm….well to that I say, If our issue is with the red tape involved then why not make THAT the more important issue. Not only that, but it doesn’t excuse the fact. Immigrants that are here illegally are affecting our country in ways that are eventually going to be a detriment for US (folks like you and I). What about school systems that can’t afford new books but have to have a huge program in every school to teach English as a second language to children who are born of immigrants. More and more of my tax dollars are being spent to take care of 50,000 people who ran over here in the middle of the night and then had some uninsured kids and the teachers in my state are at the bottom of the income bracket across the country! That is unfair to US. What about the immigrants who ARE here legally? We’re basically saying to them that we don’t value OUR OWN laws and that what they went through was a waste of time.

My issue (besides the obvious school district disproportion) is that all immigrants aren’t being treated equally. We are making special provisions for hispanics and no others. You brought up Florida. If a Cuban makes it to land then they can stay, but a Haitian is shipped back NO MATTER WHAT.

Another reader wrote:

I agree with this statement…
“I think that when someone comes in this country illegally, it starts a tradition or culture,” he said. “You come in illegally; everything you do from that point on is illegal. And so it’s almost impossible to get a driver’s license or insurance so you just start breaking one law after another. I think it’s seductive. I think after a while … you don’t pay too much attention to rule of law that this country was established on.”

I think it is true that once you start doing something wrong it just get easier & easier to keep doing it. And since I also agree with this statement “I’m very concerned that this last wave (of immigrants) has no interest in becoming Americanized,” he said. To me that means they have no intention to ever follow the laws of the land, because nothing drastic is happening to deter their behavior. Also, as long as they are being catered to (with pressing 2 for Spanish, etc… Funny how you don’t press 3 for Chinese, 4 for Korean, 5 for french, 6 for Italian…and so on) they have no reason to become “Americanized”.

I also think this is very important. “The Department of Homeland Security can enter into compacts with state and local law enforcement agencies to create a “force multiplier” for the federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) service, especially where federal resources are thin in the interior of the country.” I think the reason more illegal immigrants are not caught and prosecuted is because of jurisdiction and authority to do so by local law enforcement. If they don’t have the authority to hold them, then have to let them go. This is an action that needs to happen immediately if they want things to get better.

I’m also feeling this sentence… “These parents… have ultimate responsibility for their kids,” he said. “I have empathy for them … but I cannot give a waiver on the U.S. Constitution to make way for people who cause their own problem” by coming illegally. Again, I feel for the issues that they have, but there is that “you brought it on yourself” thing that lingers out there… Come into the country the legal way & you won’t have these fears. It may take longer, but it’s the best deal for the the family.

This is a quote from someone whose husband is a LEGAL immigrant to our country:

Immigration laws in the United States exist for a reason. As a person who has endured many battles with the branch of government concerned with processing LEGAL immigration, I just don’t have any patience with those who attempt to justify blatantly illegal behavior. Whether they are fruit pickers (there is fruit in Mexico), roofers(there are roofs in Mexico) or Mayors who want a latino vote (there are cities in Mexico, too). People need to respect the laws of the United States (not to mention the fact that our official language is English).

We had some very interesting conversations. There are still a few people I hope will chime in.