anybody got a take on these protests?

oops. link to story.

http://www.cnn.com/2006/US/03/25/immigration.rallies.ap/index.html

If they want to "Pay their taxes, and support their country" then I'm ALL FOR Amnesty.

The ONLY way to stop the growing numbers is openly shutting down businesses with illegals employed. Shut 'em down, seize their property, and give em jail time -- more than 2? RICO....That might work. Most everything else is like trying to swim against DAT WAVE.

Bingo. Ditto for the temp agencies that knowingly secure temp work for illegals. The practice is rampant.

I am embarrassed that Sensenbrenner is from Wisconsin and drafted this proposed bill. Not only does it sicken me, knowing our country's past, it also affects my family profoundly.

My wife is a Family NP at a medical clinic that treats many local hispanics. Her clinic is pretty much the last resort for hispanics without medical insurance. Whether due to their economic status, or other issues these people would get no health care without her clinic. Now tell her, and her colleagues ( Doctors, Nurses, Therapists), that treating people with diabetes, or cancer makes them felons?? It's crazy! What would these people do? They have jobs, and work, and have families like everyone else, but work at places that don't offer medical insurance, or they can't afford the premiums.

What is happening to America?

Doctors should be a different story. What with the Hippocratic Oath and all.

In fact undocumented workers do pay taxes... social security, unemployment and income tax removed from paychecks. Without green cards there are many services they can't access... like social security, unemployment etc. Many studies indicate that they contribute more much more tax money than services received... i.e. are good for our cash flow. This is totallly independent of the need some industries like ag business have for cheap undocumented labor. The prices of our food in supermarkets are dependent on undocumented labor in the fields.

Even more cynically, more recent projections for Social Security, when including immigration, specifically Latino immigration, and the resulting changing birthrates, make immigration to sole hope we have for not turning into a demographic nightmare like most of Europe.

The huge protests, especially among Mexicans and Mexican/Americans is frustration about the unacknowledged special and historic connection (the Senator's wave?) of the Southwest and Mexico. That the current legislation wants to change history is crazy to them. They look around their communities and see people hungry for work, and work that "americanos" are too fragile to do (segun ellos).

There are some families that are in the 4th and 5th generation of moving back and forth over the border during the fieldwork seasons. They think of our countries as united in some reciprocal agreeement that supercedes law. Of course, that is what angers some conservatives.... no one is above the law (insert biting comment about illegal wiretaps here).

without the mexes, i could not get fresh tortillas and slammin' tacos from my local spot.

that would suck.

dude... la was insane yesterday with the protests. i was driving on the 101 north and there's a bridge over the freeway right when you pass downtown and there was mad people on the bridge hanging flags and screaming... honking, etc. it was pretty nuts.