Right on DLbiten, I neglected to mention "working papers" that could be an excellent option, Mexicans would not be considered illegal, if they obtained permission to work in the USA. Anyone know how easy/difficult the process of obtaining "working papers" is for Mexicans/foreigners wanting to work in the USA?

*Please see new idea just posted at HU Bar under new thread, Rules of War

xfiltrate

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Come on, people, this is Yuma! This has to be one of the most ignorant part of the US, but I have only lived here 4 years, and grew up in Chicago and Los Angeles, so don't have too much to compare it to (there was the 2 years I lived on the Navajo Nation in northern Arizona, but that ignorance was more to do with being isolated and distrustful of the "white way" but I guess there is the Arizona connection, too).

Yuma is full of Canadians and Mexicans who drive on their foreign plates through the year--the Canadians during the cooler months and the Mexicans flaunting theirs all year. And I know that many of the Mexicans live on this side of the border with foreign registered cars.

You should really and truly write a letter to the editor at the Yuma Sun newspaper detailing this incident. Track the blogs at the bottom of the article--the racists will go on and on about Mexicans, not speaking English, who drive without changing their plates, and how Yuma and the US will soon be taken over, blah, blah, blah, but will contain many grammatical and spelling errors. The igonorant local-yokels who were born and raised here will tell you to go home, and don't let the door hit you on the way out, again with many spelling and grammatical errors. The Mexicans will defend themselves in some way, but since English is their second language, will not make sense and not be responding to your letter directly, but will be fighting with the racists and the ignorants (who are also racists by nature). But, this is why you should write--the City really and truly wants itself to look good and perfect in every way, and will want to know the details and try to defend itself in any way possible. That in itself is quite comical! Please write your letter and write it soon!!

YumaSun

I can sum it up to the sun being too hot in this part of the US, and the collective brains get fried little by little--the cops seem to be most affected by this phenomenon!

Off the subject a little bit, but an effective strategy that works throughout the state of Arizona when it concerns getting pulled over is to carry a firearm (when one can do so legally)in your vehicle or on your person...the police seem to get distracted by this, and wonder why you are doing this ("because I want to protect myself"). They run the gun's serial numbers and such, and (provided it's) clear, they will let you go. It has worked for me 3 times in the last 4 years. [I would not recommend this if you have foreign plates, and are not a US citizen or (legal) resident. I must stress that part!]

You wouldn't have a case, at least not in Arizona. That is the reason for the continued ignorance in this state--lawsuits are severely limited or neutered; authorities have very little to worry about here. California would be a different matter, or any other lawsuit-happy state, but Arizona, not really. However, a federal lawyer might be able to take it to federal court...

If a person is caught while breaking into a store, he is a criminal. If you run a red light, and are caught, you have committed a crime and are a criminal. It will be entered into your driving record and subsequent violations will take this into consideration. If you sneak across the border and work illegally, you are a criminal. The cost of illegal mexicans to the U.S. taxpayer is 3.68 billion USD a year. They ARE criminals and should be regarded as such in every aspect including jail time and deportation. If we, as travelers, sneak into a country with no visa, no passport, and are caught, say in Egypt, Iran, any African nation, we will likely be escorted to the border after some time in jail, confiscation of our bike, and a healthy fine. Why should it be different for illegal mexicans who contribute disproportionately to the crime rate, welfare rate, and education cost. Throw them out without mercy.

Could not disagree with you more--most of the immigrants (legal or not) that I encounter are among the hardest working, most honest people I know, and are willing to do jobs that most US citizens will not. The fact is that many US businesses depend on immigrants, legal and illegal, and hire them for that reason. We need a work permit program that will allow these people to come and work without being labelled illegal.

Exactly right. If US citizens were prepared to do those jobs and businesses abide by the rules on who they employ, there would not be an incentive for illegal immigrants as they would not find work when they came. The real travesty in my mind is that there is so much poverty in their home country that they are willing to risk death to work in such a way in the first place...

S

Not my words nor facts. Check the FBI and California, Arizona, Texas, New Mexico budgetary findings on costs of illegal Mexican immigrants. For starters though, illegal Mexican immigrants have an incarceration rate 15 times higher than citizens. This incarceration rate does not include those arrested for being illegal immigrants. At 40,000 dollars a year per inmate, that is a lot of money lost. Figures of 7974 dollars per year per student K-1 -K12 and multiply that by 4 million. The facts are available. Yes, there are honest people, but honesty and industry do no obviate illegality.

Do these cost figures take into the positive effect of immigrants represented by the lower costs, for all Americans, of everything from restaurants, hotels, landscaping, housekeepers, vegetables, construction work, painting, etc.? Like it or not, these people form a crucial part of our economy. And if you think that if you drive out all of the immigrants then these businesses will simply hire citizens to take their place, ask some of the businesses involved how well they think that will work.

The 15x incarceration rate sounds hard to believe, but I'll have to take your word for it because I don't have time right now to do the relevant research.

And as to schools--people often complain that immigrants don't try hard enough to integrate into US society (ie, learn English), but then complain about having to pay for their kids to go to school!

And I'm not saying things can't be improved--I totally agree that immigrants should pay their taxes, but right now that is very difficult if not impossible for them to do so, since they have no legal status--again, we need some kind of work permit arrangement that allows/requires them to pay taxes.