>>>>
>>>>You know what I don't get, John? You present yourself as a devout Christian, and I believe you are. So where is your sense of humanity? Christ himself embraced beggars, thieves, whores. Are your standards higher than his?
>>>
>>>Christ also said to render unto Ceasar that which is Ceasars. He also told his followers to obey the law and respect those who govern becuase they are in place because God allows them to rule.
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>>Hmmm... If I recall correctly, you believe that Clinton an Carter were bad presidents. Did God make an error in judgment in allowing them to rule?
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>>> As I've said before, the immigrants should be welcome WHEN THEY ARE HERE LEGALLY. If they are here illegally, they should be deported. It has nothing to do with compassion. It has to do with protecting our borders and our way of life. Show me another country that allows people to enter illegaly!
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>>I'm of two minds about this issue. We have the same thing going on here. Many illegal immigrants are being deported. They were informed that they had two weeks to pack up, sell houses, and leave. I am a believer in the idea that those applying through legal channels should get priority over those who came and decided, "The hell with the paperwork. I'm just going to stay." But I also believe in compassion. It's hard for me to get behind the concept of throwing out people who have proved themselves to be productive members of society.
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>>Unlike many, I don't think there is a simple answer to this. The "just let them stay" crowd is insulting the immigrants who are trying to play by the rules and who are jumping through the hoops to get legal status. But the "kick them all out" crowd is ignoring both compassion and the benefits that those people have already brought to our society. They've certainly contributed more than the young able bodied panhandlers I have to wade through on my way to work every day.
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>>I don't honestly have a real good answer to the problem, but I do believe that we need to tighten up the system to prevent too many recurrences of illegal immigration, and at the same time we need to make our legal immigration process a bit more practical.
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>>And as long as they're intent on booting out the good working folks, maybe they ought to get their thumbs out and kick out a few of the criminals too. Oh, yeah, sorry. That's too much like actual work.
>
>We've actually started a new program here which encourages them to move on to Canada, the land of real opportunity. We tell them they can have free health care and it doesn't get hot like in Mexico!<vbg> Is it working?

The criminals, or the hard working folks? If it's the criminals, then yes, it's working great. ;)