"We consent that we violate some of your laws, but we did it because of necessity.” How much luck do you think I'll have using that line the next time I get pulled over?

I have an idea for comprehensive immagration law, everyone here that is illeagal go home and apply to come to this country legaly.

Apparently its not working!

Bobo are you willing to work in the fields?

"undocumented workers are subject to raids and long separations from families while immigration status is worked out in the legal system."

There are no "undocumented workers".

You're here legally or you're not!

They should have their "separations" shortened by being immediately deported. Dump Anais Tomezsko South of the Border, too.

Immigration reform: Follow the law, do not cross border, do not collect 200 dollars. It's as simple as a board game.

Or maybe that was: Go to jail, directly to jail, do not collect 200 dollars.

Make them all legal so they can get free

healthcare. That was the plan all along.

Illegal to undocumented. What a nice

way to not say illegal.

samaqan, i worked in the fields and if were still able would do it again. what is wrong with that? don't you have any pride. work is work if it puts food on your table and pays your bills

benoddway...good viewpoint. its one that most people in this country are too pampered and spoiled to have...you know the one that you have to work (even if its terrible) to make a living and that no one else should have to do it for you. make the working illegals legal and allow them to work and deport all the non-working pariahs and maine state-funded welfare cases back to mexico for the drug lord gov't. to take care of...its more their thing anyways.

Broke laws out of necessity? H-m-m, that should help welcome more of them. Well all you supporters take financial and legal responsibility, say you'll let us sue you when you allow problems.

Ah yes in the land of immigrants, no one now cares, that we slaughtered the original inhabitants, negotiated the poorest lands to 'house' them on reservations, gave them diseases, religion they lacked, and otherfun stuff, then stole their land for basically zero but it WAS ALL LEGAL THEFT!

Illegal Immigrants haven't hurt this country, legal immigrants like the CEO and money barons from Wall St, NAFTA, Enrons, WorldCOms, Countrywides, and Madoffs are the ones who have made-off with our short term futures, and these trillions and trillions lost in 401ks, pensions, mortgages, and increase taxes to pay for the War on terrorism, and TARP bailout are sucking us dry.

Many illegal immigrants actually joined the military to give back too and most work and pay taxes into a system.

SO, lets deport the 'real criminals', to jail, and get over this Rush/Dobbs/Hannity, urban myths about immigration problems, as even former President Gearoge Bush as labeled as the a myth.

The farmers are exploiting these people, because they don't want to pay a decent wage.

When these people are deported, throw the farmers they are working for in the slammer!

The whole idea to have ilegals work in the fields is cheap labor, not because nobody here wants to work in the fields.....

They get free health care,food stamps,and schooling for their children,don't pay taxes, and send all their earings back to Honduras.

Their children dress in Tommy Hilfiger clothes,have gold chains around their necks, and they get more in benefits in the state than those of us that lived here all our lives and worked to support our families.

I say if they want to live in the US then the me should serve our country in the armed forces for at the minimum of 3 years.

To many free bs benn handed down to them. If one who was from Honduras came to the US and got one of our daughters pregnant then he would also qualify for free medical , food, and housing,,,, we need to start taking care of our own people especially the way the economy is....

I always thought that Mr. Rogers was full of it now i know.

What kind of work are they doing in the fields around here this time of year,if thier migratory workers why arn't they migrating.

The only solution for immigration reform is the DEPORTATION of all ILLEGAL CRIMINAL ALIENS, nothing less will do !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Ironic how the Illegal Criminal Aliens pick and choose what American laws they want to violate. American citizens don't have that choice. You break a law you go to jail. Yet it is all right for Illegal Aliens to break laws as they feel like. Deport these Criminals

If employers were penalized for hiring illegals then the illegals would not have a reason to come here. The businesses would still have to get the work done and would have to pay a high enough wage to get American workers to apply. And end welfare as we know it so those Americans have the choice of work or go hungry.

As for the border. A nice wide mine field and electrify the fences will solve most of that problem. A few of those predator drones with hellfire missiles would help as well.

The seeker has found the answer!

Why have any immigration at all. Wide open borders. Save money on Homeland Security, who needs it. Fred Rogers can start deporting all the conservative tax payers, and welcome the needy and desperate freely onto American soil. O that's right he hates America because our ancestors killed the natives, maybe he should be deported with the rest of us?

Why don't we see any protests like this in Iran or Cuba?

Can you imagine waking up at night with a burglar standing in your room protesting the fact that you didn't welcome him and his family and give them all your money?

We really have all lost our minds haven't we?!?

Reform welfare; not immigration!

I use to pick 100 barrels of potatoes, most every day for.20 cents a barrel..picked rocks, did haying, beets;etc...todays youth don't have to do this because of 'WELFARE' Give me a break! The work never killed me.

The Wyman's and others want the illegals because they don't pay them as well as they should...Stop immigration!

Work the states' people and get them off their A** and welfare!

7:51 am, That's a tough choice. I wonder what would work better, penalizing the employers or murdering the illegal immigrants? I'm guessing that our nation will continue to stay soft on the employers, and that the corporate interests will continue to play the American people as pawns in this profitable charade of chess.

Sen. Hastings, if we allow them to work here legally, then employers won't be able to take advantage of them. Don't you get it? There wouldn't be any jobs for them here if employers had to pay the minimum wage and employment taxes. Zilch, nada, nunca.

anne, could it be that the imaginary bottomless well of money small businesses have is less than you think? Legally force companies to provide wages and benefits that they cannot afford and they will either close down or employ "under the table". We can't have it all can we... except for the evil business owners and corporate America!

A little compassion folks. Undocumented workers have found employment here and have become important to our economy, particularly in agriculture. For those of you saying they are taking our jobs, maybe you should look at the welfare rolls and notice that many wouldn't step up to work before the influx of immigrants in Maine.

At least many of the immigrants have a work ethic. If you want to purge somebody, purge the people who, though physically able to work, choose not to because they can collect welfare, food stamps, etc. I'm not talking about the working poor here, just the lazy, unmotivated people that drag our state and country down. If I had a dollar for every time I heard an unemployed person dismiss a job for being "below" them I wouldn't be reading BDN, I'd be checking out the Wall Street Journal for my next company to buy. Lets just swap the leeches for the workers and call it a good day!

Whats-that-Smell. you don't have a clue up in the county the workers have all medical paid for schooling for the children free housing and high school kids started working to pick brocctoli and found out that the mexican workers were paid more that they were, so don't tell me that the farmers are exploiting them get your facts right.

I have all the compassion in the world...truly. If they should be here, then CHANGE THE LAW. In the meantime, they are here illegally.

Round them up in the middle of the night? No. But send the people who employ them to prison, and not just for a couple of months.

Don't beat them and terrorize them...make it impossible for them to be here illegally.

Mr."Seeker", I like your style. When do you plan on running for the U.S. Presedent's position? I will certainly cast my vote to you. Thanks for your welcomed, no nonscence ideas. If we put some teeth into our fight on illegal immigration, like you suggest, I am sure we could win the war! JB2

I too am for immigration reform as long as those immigrants who came nhere illegally are sent back. These people add to the skyrocketing costs of our infrastructure. It is sad that they have to come here illegally to try to better themselves but do it the right way.

windy 2

viking:

They are not only working in the fields and it isn't because our people don't want to work it's called CHEAP LABOR...

They not only work in the fields,they also get free housing,free medical ,,food stamps,free education,,do not pay taxes, and then they turn around and send all their earnings back to Honduras,,,They are taken care of than our own people who can not get any assistance what so ever...

Many illegal immigrants actually joined the military to give back too and most work and pay taxes into a system

Smoke another one Fred. Must be some good stuff.

Build big cement walls around the border....Keep these filthy people where they belong....

I have my own "comprehensive immigration" plan:

Employers who hire illegal immigrants are sentenced to pay all of their legal employees $2 an hour more for one year.

The second offense results in a loss of business license for 5 years. A third offense results in owner's and board members subject to jail time (preferably on a chain gang scrubbing out public bathrooms.) .

All people found to be here illegally are fined 25% of the wages they earned while they were here. These fines go directly to Homeland security and are dedicated to strengthening our southern border. The illegals are also deported, a second offense results in a fine of 100% of all monies earned here, and a tatoo on the forehead in type 20 font which says "Illegal" and deported again. the third time all monies are confiscated, and the miscreant is tried as a habitual offender. after he serves his sentence (preferably on a chain gang) he is deported again.

I would end the anchor-baby provisions, and empower local law enforcement to arrest and detain anyone who can not prove legal residence.

I would institute a "bounty program" where any legal citizen who reports an illegal would receive $100 for their trouble, after the illegal status is confirmed. for 12,000,000 people that could be as high as 1.2 Billion dollars, which would be a cheap price to pay to get rid of the trash.

I like your thinking Harry.

They need to make it tough.

On the employer’s and on the illegal immigrant.

No, you are not "in this country together" when you are here illegally and taxing our systems after not having paid a dime into them.

HomerMaine wrote: "Make them all legal so they can get free healthcare. That was the plan all along. Illegal to undocumented. What a nice way to not say illegal".

This is what caused the congressman to yell out "you lie" to Obama after Obama sadi no illegal immigrant would be getting free healthcare. Obama made that statement knowing full well that Pelosi and Reid were working on legislation to give amnesty to the 13 million illegal immigrants living here thus giving them access to healthcare.

Geez, the government will take your homes, property and now yourcamps to make sure you pay....but illegals get it al for free.

“We ask you to accept immigration reform in order to obtain greater social welfare for our families. … We are working people. We are not criminals. We consent that we violate some of your laws, but we did it because of necessity.”

We broke your laws because we had to. But we are not criminals.

The forward thinking of an illegal immigrant. O course, because they had to break the laws they should not be punished. Right?

How to enter the U.S. Simply go to the Mexican border and say "I work for minimum wage." and you will be allowed to enter. That's how all the terror cells get into the country. If you come through Canada, you need a passport. The US/Mexican border is wide open. Instead of giving them all a free ride, send them home along with their illeagally born children.

The Denver Post article reported:

“[T]he citizenship of 16,031 members of the Army, Air Force, Navy and Marines is listed as ’unknown.’ That’s about one in 100 active-duty military members who might be U.S. citizens, legal immigrants—or just about anybody else.”

“Data on citizenship in the military, provided by the Army, comes from September 2003. Military officials were unable to explain why the citizenship of so many is hazy. ’Of the number we have that are unknowns, I’m sure that some are citizens and some may not be citizens,’ said Lt. Col. Stan Heath, spokesman for the U.S. Army Human Resources Command … ’We just don’t know’ how many may be illegal, Heath said. ’We’re trying to clean up the database to make sure we have a good accountability. We are working on it.’

This is like Liberalism squared, we are not even concerned about the citizens of this country anymore we've moved on to Mexico. You know if your concerned about people, there are plenty of people in this country that are getting screwed over ( the American Tax payer).

They are giving est 30,000 Haitians a free stay in the states ......

They are here and now they can stay......

anonon:

Give me a break, they cant get food stamps or free education, they would then be documented and deported. And if they did, I think i'd rather see a working person getting something than somebody who is nothing more than a drain on the system, just because they are from here. We do need to keep tighter controls on the borders for security reasons, but I dont see a reason to hate people that came here with no other purpose than to make a better life for their family. If they pose no threat, they are gainfully employed, have no criminal record, give them a card and tax them to death like the rest of us.

Bobo_1 Amen to that, and scottcom36 I agree, I will need to try that the next time I am pulled over.. Fredrogers, Madoff broke the law, he is in jail, why is it right for others to break the law? I agree many of them have gone to serve in the armed services, but the fact remains. They are BREAKING THE LAW.

A few weeks ago if I recall correctly someone that was dealing pot was to get a potential 10 years in prison. (I can't find the article) but if someone is here illegally, they simply march in front of the law enforement for rights? Can I smoke a joint in front of a cop? If they arrest me can I say well you bypassed an entire string of people that are breaking the law. I don't get it I really don't. the Law is the law. There is no gray area..

But they DO get free education. You don't see this in Waterville so much, but there are plenty of places in the country where illegal children DO attend public schools. And they certainly do use health and public services, and cities and states turn a blind eye to it. Mainly because it alienates certain demos of legal voters.

Funny how I don't hear the teachers complaining about class size when it comes to immigration.

viking :

Where are you located anyway? Where I am there is crime and violence with ileagals, and yes they do get food stamps,health care and free education and no they do not have to be documented, It's called fake documentation. If you have been following the cases in Downeast maine you would see how many have been caught and deported, and how many of them have been incarserated, also people that they are hireing from other countries in Bar Harbor have also been in the paper for numerous reasons. When there is a widespread of some fatal disease brought into the US from outside then you can tell me how nice it is to have them here. We need to start taking care of our own people in need.

Come in legally or be prepared to be escorted out. Crack down on employers who 'look the other way.' Close the borders.

IT,S UP TO THE PEOPLE TO GET THESE ALIANS OUT OF OUR STATE THE GOV AINT GOING TO DO IT. THEY DRIVE OUR WAGES DOWN AND BRING THERE CRIME HAPPY TEENS WITH THEM. THE OLDER MEXICANS MAY HAVE SOME WORK ETHIXS BUT THERE KIDS SURE THE HELL DONT

Illegal aliens are criminals and parasites, one and all. Their very presence here and practically everything they do on U.S. soil is illegal. They need to be ferreted out, rounded up like cattle, punished for their numerous crimes, then booted back to whence they snuck in from with such extreme prejudice that they will never, ever think of violating our sovereignty again. Enough is enough. 

THE COPS SHOULD HAVE BEEN THERE ARRESTING THE ILLIGALS THAT WERE PROTESTING

Undocumented = Illegal plain & simple. Our government has already granted amnesty for illegal aliens twice & still there are many who continue to violate the law. What would happen if the situation were reversed & we went to their countries illegally & tried to demand all the same rights & privileges they are demanding here? We'd be thrown in jail for a long time or get deported. If they want rights & privileges, let them return to thier own country & enter ours legally like thousands of others have, by applying through the proper channels.

Close the borders. If they're not of white European Heritage, round them up and ship them out.

Immigration Reform is simple - lets reform the way we enforce the existing immigration laws.

Congradulations MagicCity, your the racist of the day.

fredrogers,

You don't have to be a citizen to serve in the US military but you have to have a greencard. Just because a military service member is not a citizen doens't mean they are "illegal". Illegals don't get to work toward their citizenship through military service.

Are you stupid?

" On 1/14/10 at 10:01 PM, samaqan wrote: Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

Bobo are you willing to work in the fields?"

Makes a solid point. Are people so insure of the employment and the employment status of our nation that a bunch of illiterate, illegal immigrants are going to compete for your jobs. Are employers so desperate to make a buck that they are willing to break the law. The issue that is of a grave concern is the H1B visa for skilled workers. One of the Bangor area mental health facilities has tips on the H1B process for a Social Worker with a Masters. Maine does not need a Social worker from Mexico or Canada. That social agency can put its efforts on training and schooling a citizen, Canadian American borned in the Arcadian region of Maine or a Mexican American borned in Texas. I am sure the UofM at Orono grants a Master of Social Work.

An inexpensive reform: fine the offending employer XX,000 dollar fine per undocumented worker, give that worker 90% of that XX,000 dollar fine (XXX,000 for gross offenders) and send the person back to their home country. The offending employers will get the message, when being financially bleed dry. the offender will be well off on their home country and not comeback. Should the come back, process repeats with fewer and fewer employment selections till no one hires. (may even get undocumented turning themselves in to the ICE looking for a piece of the fine to go home with)

The Obama administration appointed an "Open Borders" politician Janet Incompetano, as the head of our Homeland Security Dept. She has issued orders for law enforcement on the border not to "harrass" illegals pouring over the border. The "reform" that the Dems. want is to legalize all the criminal aliens so they in turn become Dem. voters. It is criminal....Illegal aliens murder 25,000 AMerican citizens every year, not counting the thousands that they kill on the roads while driving drunk. DEPORT THEM ALL NOW!!!!

The FBI reports the murder rate for the whole country to be around 16,000 in 2006. Has it gone up?

On 1/15/10 at 3:00 PM, MagicCity wrote: Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

Close the borders. If they're not of white European Heritage, round them up and ship them out.

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What about the Asian's , they seem to work pretty hard, can they stay?

Maybe we should ask ConvertGirl....

I wonder what the old great Pab thinks about this....

Let me rub my magic lantern.........

Oh Pab, come out where ever you are.......

How about we just impose the same immigration requirements that Mexico has for their country. You wouldn't believe it if you knew. If we did, there wouldn't be a single illegal here. Mexico shoots people on their southern border who attempt to cross illegaly.

I thought Maine was a "sanctuary state" by Baldacci's proclamation?

You want illegals to have amnesty in Maine?

Check what has happened to Los Angeles since they were allowed in.

What this in Maine?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EZJQT9tCKHU

WHAT IS INSANITY?

Insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results.

Congress has passed 7 amnesties for illegal aliens, starting in 1986.

1. Immigration and Reform Control Act (IRCA), 1986: A blanket amnesty for some 2.7 million illegal aliens

2. Section 245(i) Amnesty, 1994: A temporary rolling amnesty for 578,000 illegal aliens

3. Section 245(i) Extension Amnesty, 1997: An extension of the rolling amnesty created in 1994

4. Nicaraguan Adjustment and Central American Relief Act (NACARA) Amnesty, 1997: An amnesty for close to one million illegal aliens from Central America

5. Haitian Refugee Immigration Fairness Act Amnesty (HRIFA), 1998: An amnesty for 125,000 illegal aliens from Haiti

6. Late Amnesty, 2000: An amnesty for some illegal aliens who claim they should have been amnestied under the 1986 IRCA amnesty, an estimated 400,000 illegal aliens

7. LIFE Act Amnesty, 2000: A reinstatement of the rolling Section 245(i) amnesty, an estimated 900,000 illegal aliens

WHAT CAN YOU DO TO STOP ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION??? Sign up with: http://www.fairus.org/site/PageNavigator/action/

Illegal alien = criminal = DEPORT ALL NOW!

Republicans like illegals cause they are cheap labor. Democrats want to make them legal for their vote. Now that we are on the brink of the passage of the most massive legislation ever which will eventually hurt every citizen in their wallet and weaken our healthcare system, the most logical thing is to tackle immigration. The goal was to show the people illegals weren't going to be covered under the healthcare bill. But what they failed to mention, immigration reform would be right on it's heels to legalize them so they will be covered.

We have millions out of work but what is more important? Making illegals legal of course. There was enough stimulus money for La Raza I'll bet. This will become the most pressing issue that if isn't resolved before nov elections the country will go under. Even nancy pelosi said ICE was like the gestapo for doing their job. How dare they try to gather up illegals. Now someone mentioned a good idea. Anyone getting welfare that is not handicapped, put them on the farms to help out for their payments. We don't really need illegals, we have plenty of folks capable of doing some of the work for the free funds they receive. You want to get your rent, medical, food stamps, monthly checks..put them to work for it. Problem solved.

What a bunch of complete scum posting here. You boys sure make Maine proud! I've read 8 USC and the INA, and you idiots really don't have any idea what you're drooling about. Go get a job. Oh, wait, you'd actually have to work and wouldn't be able to post your hatred and mortuary humor here. Illegal entry is a federal misdemeanor, stoopid.

Bangorean,

You aren't using a mess of cheap illegal labor are you?

Hire a citizen and stop making this a hate issue.

They are here illegally. They broke our laws.

Port Tobacco..

I like the name...

I think Anne, Karen and Cher would be proud of my detective work....

I think bangorean is an illeagal, OOOOOOOOHHHHHH it's a federal misdemeanor! Blah, blah, blah! It is a crime. Illeagal immigrants kill, rape, steal, deal drugs at a much higher rate then Americans. They are criminals PERIOD. They do not belong here. They make up a vast portion of prisoners in our penal system. They are a massive drag on our economy. They have gangs like MS 13 , as well as the Mexican Mafia that make our local Italian mobsters look like girl scouts. Take it from someone that has lived on a border state IT AIN'T GOOD. You are the only one espousing hate, hatered of your own country. The rest of us just want the losers running this country to do their job!

Port Tobacco.. , how did you know....

Are you following me?

I have no idea where it is....

SMIB, = Port Tobacco....

Hopefully you know who doesn't see.....

You cant do this....

Wow! Actually undocumented workers pay more in uncollectable social security than they use in services. The US government makes a net gain from them. We recently celebrated the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin wall. Let us not wait a half century to tear down that obscene wall being built along the Rio Grande. You'd never think from reading most of these posted comments that virtually all of us were descendants of immigrants. At least we can be thankful that these undocumented workers from Central America are not treating those of us who have been here a few generations the way our forebearers treated the people whom they found here, people who had been here for thousands of years.

Republican Businesses love Illegal Aliens. They work hard for slave wages. Bush even let 10 million Illegals over the border in 8 years for cheap Republican Slave Labor for their businesses. We are in a Depression now and no longer need the Illegal Aliens. Deport them Now.

the state came up with a new revenue system to help cover state costs. they are going to start a harvest hunt. during harvest season they will sell hunting licenses to harvest an illegal alian. it will be a random drawing and only 50.000 hunters will receive a permit to harvest an allian. hunting will be permited only around farms and blueberry fields. the state said illegals have become a burden on the state and the tax payer and the herd needs to be thinned out

if only that was true. the illegal population in the state would be zero

KarenSaum wrote:

"Wow! Actually undocumented workers pay more in uncollectable social security than they use in services."

From where do you get that figure?

Most agricultural workers are drawn from "collectives" that supply the number of workers a farm needs for a given season. My Uncle Larry got his pickers from Joplin harvesters co-op. He paid no social security because he was not required to. Piece workers or contract workers "self pay" their taxes and their social security. If the co-op knows they are using "illegals" they don't pay the social security payments either, as a errant payment would raise a red flag and alert the IRS to shenanigans. Legal workers here on a work visa historically have paid more into social security then they receive, but this is changing as those work visas are now being extended so foreign workers can get the 40 quarters they need to collect SS.

The members and staffs of Centro Latino, Maine People's Alliance, and Mano en Mano are doing terrific work organizing the most powerless, invisible, hard-working people in Maine. Many thanks to you all for your brave, ambitious work.

The members and staffs of Centro Latino, Maine People's Alliance, and Mano en Mano are doing terrific work organizing the most powerless, invisible, hard-working people in Maine. Many thanks to you all for your brave, ambitious work.

A guy at work had a good idea.

Take an illegal and if he does good, gets a good job and provides for his family, becomes a pillar of the community etc.......

He gets to swap his citizenship with a worthless welfare sucking no good American that just leaches of the system...

It's a win win situation.

KarenSaum wrote:

"Wow! Actually undocumented workers pay more in uncollectable social security than they use in services."

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Have another one will you.