re: Fellow Texans, how do you feel about illegal immigrants?

Our state politicians could make a huge dent in employment of illegal immigrants in our state but they refuse to do so. They could mandate employers use the E-verify system to check the citizenship status of prospective employees.

A cynical person might draw the conclusion that the legislature does not act because of political donations and influence from the construction, agriculture, and hospitality industries.

Jobs are the draw for most illegal immigrants. Stop the jobs and you will stop the immigration. We don't need a massive wall on the border to do this.

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My gf is a teacher in East TX and tells a different tune. Ever heard of Gomez and Gomez curriculum development?

The kids point, however, was that due to the teachers themselves being Mexican, they would cater to the Hispanic kids by speaking Spanish often in non Spanish speaking classes. Do you honestly think that is unbelievable?!

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East Texas isn't known to be a cosmopolitan area to begin with. I'm not accusing you of intolerance, but I can definitely understand how an East Texan could hear Spanish and think 'wtf?'. I chaperoned field trips to SFA, Lamar and UTSA and the only place people gave a stinky eye to the few ESL kids we took was in Nacagdoches (and a gas station we all pulled over at right outside of Lufkin).

But I will say this; what you stated in the OP came off as something that is happening everywhere, but it's simply not true. In a school in which ~90% of the student population was Hispanic (mostly first and second generation Mexican American), Spanish was not the dominant language like you make it out to be.

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This is a large part of what bothers me. The reason why there are illegal immigrants in the kitchen is because business owners can get away with paying migrant workers less than a fair wage, that an American wouldn't take.

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But that also translates to cheaper prices to the consumer. This is the ugly part of the argument that people fail to bring up in debates. Cheap illegal labor makes it easier for every American to get by. Illegal labor is used to build houses, maintain roadways, and even pick the food we all eat. Take illegals out of the picture, and we would all be paying way more for a measly little tomato. I know illegal immigration is wrong, but to deny the fact that we benefit from it is a bit irresponsible.

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Go to Louisiana, Missiissippi, Alabama and you won't see Mexicans in the kitchen.

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Look harder. They're there. Vice ran a short documentary about the negative effects of HB 56 (the strict state law against illegal immigrants) and how it has hurt the local agricultural sector.

Immigration is wrong and I'm glad I'm not the person who gets to decide what we do with the millions of illegals in this country. Getting rid of them or keeping them is a double edged sword.

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I feel very strongly against illegal immigration because....it's illegal?

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It really is as simple as that.

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East Texas isn't known to be a cosmopolitan area to begin with. I'm not accusing you of intolerance, but I can definitely understand how an East Texan could hear Spanish and think 'wtf?'. I chaperoned field trips to SFA, Lamar and UTSA and the only place people gave a stinky eye to the few ESL kids we took was in Nacagdoches (and a gas station we all pulled over at right outside of Lufkin).

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frick cosmopolitan, that's why I leave Dallas to go back home as often as possible. We like our culture, and if that bothers you maybe you shouldn't visit. But that does not make us intolerant or bigoted, just enjoy our way of life and don't care to change it.

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Well no shite. Lol. I'm talking about texas with and "x" as part of the United States.

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What difference does it really make? The point is that Texas has seen changes in demographics since man first set foot in Texas. Hell, even Native Americans came and went from this land before any European set foot here.

It's fine not to like change, but some of your accusations are quite absurd tbh. I get that you feel disturbed about the changes to social customs and culture of East Texas, but this sort of stuff happens. If you really feel it is a problem, then you should catch up on history and maybe visit New York City to see what a true melting pot looks like. Mexicans or any other unknown entities in your neighborhood does not mean the end of the world is here.

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This does a lot more harm than good. I wouldn't mind paying the extra $ knowing I'm supporting a business run by 100% Americans or legal residents.

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Everyone says that until their grocery bill goes up exponentially. With a shrinking middle class and a large number of families living in poverty, a rise in food prices could seriously break a family.

I'm in no way an advocate for illegal immigration, but to quickly dismiss the benefits we see as a society from illegal immigration is foolish.

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With a shrinking middle class and a large number of families living in poverty, a rise in food prices could seriously break a family.

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This is directly related to illegals taking what would be a living wage job for a legal worker and taking half the pay for it; I'm not saying they account for s majority of wages lost, but it's not a little by any stretch, especially in Colorado, texas, California, Arizona, and NM.

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This is directly related to illegals taking what would be a living wage job for a legal worker and taking half the pay for it; I'm not saying they account for s majority of wages lost, but it's not a little by any stretch, especially in Colorado, texas, California, Arizona, and NM.

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No. Not its not. The jobs they have are jobs that only a small amount of Americans will touch. How many American born individuals do you know who are willing to pick tomatoes on a seasonal basis? I can count zero on my end.