Immigrants Quotations | Page 2

We need a plan that will allow immigrants who are already here to earn their residency through hard work and that will create legal channels for immigrant workers necessary for our economic growth to enter in the future,

We need a change. The border business with immigrants coming across the border is a big plus if he can stop that.

We need a bill that provides a way for immigrants who are in this country illegally to register and become documented, lawful immigrants.

The 35.2 million immigrants living in the country in March 2005 is the highest number ever recorded. It is also two-and-a-half times tally of the 13.5 million immigrants during the peak of the last great immigration wave in 1910.

That's the reality and that's why we have a long-term goal to deal with this problem, ... But we also have a constant influx of immigrants coming here to live the American dream.

Most immigration opponents are loath to admit it, at least publicly, but they are worried that the huge influx of Hispanics will somehow change America for the worse. But those fears are unfounded. Some may talk about the browning of America, but immigrants are a net positive.

Most Mexicans know someone who has gone to the United States, or someone who receives money from someone over there or someone who is thinking about going themselves. Seeing the marches of immigrants in the United States in Mexican media has also had a huge impact here.

Most Americans feel it doesn't make any sense for people to come into the country illegally, give birth and have a new U.S. citizen. But the advocates for illegal immigrants will make a fuss; they'll claim you're punishing the children, and I suspect the leadership doesn't want to deal with that.

Mexico is always the country that sends the most immigrants. Mexico is the leading country sending immigrants to the United States every year.

We have over 500,000 illegal immigrants living in Arizona. And we simply cannot sustain it. It costs us a tremendous amount of money of course in health care, in education, and then, on top of it all, in incarceration. And the federal government doesn't reimburse us on any of these things.

Who are beneficiaries of the Court's protection? Members of various minorities including criminals, atheists, homosexuals, flag burners, illegal immigrants (including terrorists), convicts, and pornographers

We chose to record The Star-Spangled Banner to show our solidarity with the undocumented immigrants and their quest for basic civil rights, as well as to say thank you for their contribution to our comfort and our dreams.

We don't feel the punishment approach is just and we don't believe it works. We are asking for a path to full legalization to allow immigrants to participate in this country without fear.

We're against illegal immigrants because we must uphold the rule of law. We are a nation of law. Our biblical world view mandates that we be a people of law.

We are tired of living in fear. We feel it's important to send a strong message to Congress that we immigrants are united. We gave so much to this country and we feel this country should respect our right to live in dignity.

We know that the construction sector is dependent on immigrant workers in some cases. These bills would be very important both to employers who want a legal, stable work force and to the immigrants who are working in construction already.

We are committed to ending the INS as we know it, ... Our nation's security depends on welcoming needed workers. Our nation's prosperity depends on welcoming needed workers. It is time to separate fully our service to legal immigrants who help build America ... from our enforcement against illegal aliens who violate the laws of America.

The poll gives immigrants the first chance to participate in the debate rather than be targets of the debate. The country's top dozen ethnic media dailies -- along with the major in-language broadcast network -- published the results simultaneously on Monday, Mar. 27 in a coordinated effort to ensure that these key voices are part of the national discourse.

What you see is kind of a balanced assessment. There are some policy positions where some voters are fairly lenient to illegal immigrants and on others they're supportive of tougher approaches.

The proposed bill has two targets, those already here and others from overseas. As you know, undocumented immigrants are everywhere. I'm not sure that being on the border helps or impedes the process. It should not be a burden.

Those organizations don't want the movement to radicalize. They don't want immigrants and the rest of society to come forth in a militant way and demand their rights.

I'm an immigrant myself. I'd probably support it, but I can't do much.

The fact that two immigrants were the perpetrators of this incident should in no way influence our attitudes or behavior,

What it is, is the attacks on immigrants have gotten to the point where a community that has been very silent has found its voice.

America was and is the immigrant's dream.

The real story of Los Angeles food is in the waves of immigrants who came through. So talking about the food really depends on when you're talking about, how recent, and how specific you want to get.

This report shows quite clearly that immigrants - legal and illegal - make a positive contribution to our economy and society.

We're not mad at anybody, but we believe that we have to build a labor movement that focuses on organizing unorganized workers who want to be unions, on partnering with employers who want to work with us and on integrating immigrants into our society.

We think this is a good follow to the March 25 demonstration, and it is on the way to May 1, which will be a day without immigrants working, shopping or going to school nationwide.

Why not give immigrants an opportunity to progress here and help the country here? We come to work and to improve our lives.

Why are we here protesting? Because it's not fair. Americans aren't going to be able to do anything without us. We're the ones who are doing the hard work. We're the farmers. Immigrants are doing the work.

We also need to provide more detention space facilities for immigrants who are apprehended, but we do not have the money to build them.

The question of intergenerational progress is, 'Are you doing better than your parents? Often when immigrants come, one of the reasons is so that their children will have better lives, and having a better life in California and the U.S. is often associated with more education.

Family separation and incentives for undocumented immigrants to come forward need to be addressed in any sensible compromise.

But the point is that we have to make it progressively harder for illegal immigrants to get a job and we have to begin somewhere.

We've had an impact. No one is talking about making illegal immigrants felons anymore.

We all immigrants pretty much. There is a couple of people who hasn't had the opportunity to get the legal papers. And they all hard workers.

There is nothing like seeing the Irish flag during the parade fly with the American flag at the Liberty Pole. It's a celebration of all immigrants that have come to America ... for all immigrant people and the success in the U.S.

Those that seek the American dream must follow American laws, ... I applaud the president for addressing this difficult and complex issue but have heartfelt reservations about allowing illegal immigrants into a U.S. guest worker program that seems to reward illegal behavior.

This was a one-day deal. If immigrants decided to abandon their jobs for two weeks, that would definitely have an impact.

We found that the spending of undocumented immigrants in the Chicago metro area accounted for about 31,000 jobs every year.

We found that there has been some hesitation among Hispanics to walk into a bank. They are nervous, and sometimes there's a language barrier. As more and more immigrants are joining the work force, they need a financial institution they can trust as well as (one that can) send their money to loved ones back home. We have an opportunity to do that.

To help ease some of the demographic pressures coming just around the corner, it is clear that we will need to increase the number of skilled immigrants we welcome to our shores,

We're very concerned that many immigrants are being taken advantage of and relying on these documents to their detriment.

We should favor young immigrants with many years of work ahead of them. We should favor immigrants who have demonstrated an ability to learn and work using English, which makes their future success more likely.

Both of my parents were immigrants from China -- we had to work really hard to get here. Our financial situation was not good at many points when I was growing up. They were not able to help me with schoolwork that much, but otherwise they have always been great examples for me to be hardworking.

Both my parents were immigrants, as were many of their friends, the parents of the children with whom I grew up. Of course I respect and admire immigrants and their undeniable contributions to America, as we all should.

Even if we take account of income, the composition of households and the ages of household members, that does not explain why so many immigrants live in public housing.

Big banks...don't know how to underwrite these loans. New immigrants come here with nothing, for two to three years they work very hard and then they buy first home in America. It's not easy for a traditional mortgage lender to understand how they save.

Every community member, whether they're not German or the whole works, are invited. New immigrants are wanting to connect with the community, and this is a nice way to do that.

Contrary to what you might assume, I didn't start with any advantages and neither did most of the successful people I know. I am the grandson of immigrants who came to this country seeking basic economic and personal liberty.

Controlling infectious diseases abroad is domestic policy as much as foreign, ... Ignoring the problem by hamstringing proven programs is a disservice to U.S. citizens who are impacted by the wave of immigrants from these countries.

There's no simple answer. We're certainly not going to be able to attract enough immigrants who can move in, buy a business and make a go of it, even though that's undoubtedly a partial solution.

The United States is locked in a new arms race for that most precious resource - the future entrepreneurs upon whom economic growth depends. Substantial research shows that immigrants play a key role in American job creation.

It wouldn't just be the 12 million undocumented immigrants that are subject to a felony prosecution. It would be lots of other people ... who are temporarily out of status or whose violations of immigration law were very innocent.

These are very important findings that come at a critical moment in the immigration debate. What the study indicates is that if we view the contribution of immigrants to the total economy there may be important gains to all workers that have previously been ignored.

It would say to those 11 million undocumented immigrants that you have to come forward and register, pay thousands of dollars of fines so that you can be deported to your home country with no guarantee of ever coming back again. We don't think that's feasible.

These proposed amendments pose serious problems, in effect barring the courthouse door for many immigrants who deserve their day in court. Too many provisions of the various immigration bills paint immigrants as the new scapegoats. Congress must approach the issue in a manner that upholds our commitment to our core American values.

The Spanish were able to distinguish from the start between victims, between assassins and immigrants and killers and Muslims.

Texas is a special case. The number of both legal and illegal immigrants has grown faster in Texas than in other major states.

Sometimes people don't know these workers exist. They don't really look at how that hamburger appeared on their plate. It comes from agricultural work that these undocumented immigrants do, to washing the dishes, to preparing the food.

Sadly, today our borders are a sieve, allowing illegal immigrants to pour into the country,

Rather than forcing new Canadians to pay nearly C$1,000 on their arrival, immigrants and their families should be able to keep more of their money in their own pockets to start a new life in Canada.

Some first-generation immigrants come from countries where there's a deep suspicion of the military and police.

A railroad meant two things for the community. It allowed for marketing of local produce such as grain and livestock, and it allowed for direct entry of English and German immigrants into the community.

Any suggestion that immigrants and natives do fundamentally different kinds of work is just silly.

As California is home to more legal immigrants than any other state in the country, we would shoulder a disproportionate share of this federal funding reduction,

Anyone who starts badmouthing Latino immigrants is not only a racist but ignorant. You need to refer them to what was written about the Irish, the Jews, the Italians, any group you want.

Back then that was pretty clear, and there were great pressures, and a certain amount of coercion, to ensure that immigrants did assimilate to the Anglo-Protestant culture, work ethnic, and the principles of the American Creed.

As legal residents, immigrants would contribute more in taxes, spend more at our businesses, start companies of their own and create more jobs. Immigration is not a problem for us to solve but an opportunity for America to seize.

That's why we need to keep the pressure on and send a clear message to the politicians in Washington that we need a just immigration reform that includes provisions for 12 million immigrants who work and build America every day.

You've got to remember that west of Winnipeg the ridings the Liberals hold are dominated by people who are either recent Asian immigrants or recent migrants from eastern Canada: people who live in ghettoes and who are not integrated into western Canadian society.

You're not going to get a big plus for being friendly toward illegal immigrants or a big minus for being unfriendly.

This is a significant milestone, laying a foundation for the governments of Canada and Ontario to work together in collaboration with municipalities and official language minority communities to improve the social and economic integration of immigrants in the province,

The U.S. tries to provide immigrants who grow up here with a world-class education and imbue them with the can-do attitude that has long defined American innovation.

The United States would not exist as it does without immigrants. Everyone has a personal story to tell that is so different from the image of immigrants you see portrayed by this administration.

This is a big issue for Los Angeles, obviously, because it has such a large number of second-generation kids - kids whose parents are immigrants - and when we looked at it down the road and some of these projections, obviously L.A. is at the cutting edge of these trends.

Although immigration is not a race-based question, it would be extremely ignorant to ignore the fact that about 57 percent of illegal immigrants come from Mexico alone. To say that it's not race-based when about 81 percent come from Latin American countries --- it can't be done.

America is a nation of immigrants. All of us are immigrants. The only ones that are not immigrants are the Native Americans. Everybody came from somewhere else and how quickly we forget.

America is the only developed nation that has a 2,000-mile border with a developing nation, and the government's refusal to control that border is why there are an estimated 460,000 illegal immigrants in Arizona and why the nation, sensibly insisting on first things first, resists 'comprehensive' immigration reform.

This poll reflects local concerns about immigrants gathering on street corners, waiting for jobs, or packed into illegal housing and the like. If you're not here legally, you shouldn't get government benefits, Americans say overwhelmingly. They'd also deny driver's licenses to illegal immigrants.

This march is not just for immigrants but for everybody (who wants) respect and dignity.

This legislation removes the unfair barriers that currently hinder the ability of battered immigrants to escape domestic violence safely and prosecute their abusers.

There's conventional wisdom among legal immigrants that both sides of the story are not being heard, that we hear all these negative things about the undocumented, but we don't hear about ... the fact these people are hard-working and that they stay out of trouble.

Allowing illegal immigrants to attend a public university at the in-state tuition rate flies in the face of federal law?the U jumped the gun on the law.

It seems to me it was more an election-year ploy than really a serious effort to stem the flow of immigrants into Texas.

It?s easier to blame immigrants than to stand up against the entire system.

It's all part of the process of immigration. It's a wave of technology that's enabled immigrants to continue to play a more direct role in the lives of their families at home.

It is too early to know what the Senate is likely to do. We think it is a serious mistake for any community to adopt a provision that would allow illegal immigrants to enter the country. It undermines respect for the law and has significant fiscal costs for taxpayers.

It is time to separate fully our service to legal immigrants who help build America ... from our enforcement against illegal aliens who violate the laws of America.

It is unacceptable that immigrant workers labor in unsafe conditions for wages insufficient to support their families. It is unacceptable that immigrants, including children, are shackled and detained in deplorable conditions. And it is unacceptable that already this year immigrants have died by the dozens in the California desert or in other parts of the Southwest.

It's not the border that's broken but the U.S. labor market. There is a widening economic gap between immigrants and U.S.-born workers which reflects the broader deterioration in wage and working conditions for less-skilled and low-wage workers.

It's the illegal immigrants who poison the well for everyone.

It's unbelievable. People are joining in so spontaneously, it's almost like the immigrants have risen. I would call it a civil rights movement reborn in this country.

Does it help when we cater to service workers and a growing number of those jobs are taken by immigrants coming into the cities? Yes. That something we know all too well.

Doing difficult things like passing marriage equality, passing the Dream Act, doing common sense things that allow new American immigrants to fully participate, pay their taxes, play by the rules and take care of their families. That's the inclusive America that I believe all of us want to move to.

Consumer spending by immigrants isn't creating specific benefits for Americans who are here. It's actually a big loser because the benefit from that spending isn't that great, and the cost it exacts from taxpayers is actually enormous.

The new regulation does not say: New immigrants can come to the EU, or you don't have to work and we'll give you more rights, even if you're living at the expense of our tax payers.

That's right. These are the suitcases that immigrants brought with them, ... Star Trek.

That's one option voters and non-voters embrace. It puts undocumented immigrants into some kind of accounting system.