How are today's immigrants different from those of the past?

I agree. If people in this country would only open up their eyes, and their cold hearts and realize what the truth about this situation is, they may be surprised. This country just passed a law to build up a wall between America and Mexico, yet we are the same ones who preached to bring down the old wall between West and East Berlin. The fear then was that poor people would flood in and take jobs from the people in West Berlin, but did that happen? I suppose not, seeing as how that wall has stayed down. People don't seem to care that many of these people really do come here for a better life. These are people with children and loved ones here, just like everyone else, yet those children get looked away from because their daddy, or mommy, or both, are here "illegally". How can it be illegal to do what you have to to make a good life for your family, to feed your children, and give them a good future...? Why is it that 10 or 15 years ago there were just as many illegal immigrants here, and yet no one seemed to care until now? Just about 20 years ago, the President of our country, then President Reagan, in a famous speech, told the leader of the communist world " Tear down that wall". Won't it be a little bit embarrasing when the leader from another country tells us, the land of the free, to tear down our wall???

The biggest difference is that it's far more difficult to achieve a good standard of living nowadays, if you are either without qualifications or as an illegal. The whole system has become more rigid, computers make it easier to check passports and national insurance numbers and the gap between rich and poor is widening every day. The times are hard and it will not get any easier - and the most vulnerable will be hit the hardest. The system does not feel obliged to help the foreigners, because of their unpopularity and very few people will complain.

I am a foreigner here in the UK, being German. I speak fluent English, but I raise my children bilingual. These are my roots, it's part of their heritage, it's of no consequence to anybody around us. In fact the other children in their school think, it's great. There are always extreme cases, but most immigrants have integrated themselves so well, that you won't even know, that they're immigrants.

In the UK there are some trades that would die without them, because nobody here wants to work - for example on a farm picking strawberries - for such low wages. In Germany too there are some areas, which are all low paid, with bad working hours & where the staff has to be flexible, where there are no Germans who want to do that job. And that is in a county with an unemployment rate of over 10% in some regions.

Relax. If they're illegal, they can't claim benefits. And who knows, with all the climate change happening, in another 100 years time, perhaps is us rich Westerners, who will have to emmigrate to other parts of the world to avoid the natural disasters... ;)

as per your request ( i will read the others afterwords so excuse any repetition )

there seems to be four differences that immediately stand out

1. the immigrants ( let's get real here - the hispanic immigrants from south of our border ) are spread across a much larger portion of the country and have a larger impact on the American consciousness ( along with the fact that they have came to the attention of the media - which didn't have the breadth of coverage that they have now )

2. there has been a very effective effect by government and private organazations to help the immigrants not integrate ( press one for English - forms for all agencys in Spanish )

3. a large percentice of the illegals are not here to stay there are here to take advantage of our economy ( at a time that our economy is under attact by outsourcing of jobs )

4. a large percentage of the immigrants do not consider themselfs Americans ( even legals ) , here in the southwest there are very vocal groups pointing out that they consider the entire southwest and California as stolen land and proclaim that they are colonizing the area for Mexico

in addition the adverage American 'knows' the history of immigration only from Hollywood movies

these are the facts that are causing our current problems

i will let others offer the 'solutions' but i will state that we need a national identity if we wish to continue as the great country that we are and we cannot condone illegal immigration and keep that identity. COME TO AMERICA TO BE AN AMERICAN OR STAY HOME ( the problem in our diverse society is to define American)

No, they are basically the same. The biggest group of people who have changed is actually in the American public. Back years ago when aliens came into the country,we had no welfare system, so it couldn't be said that the illegals were taking benefits from the welfare people. Every man work somewhere, either in the public sector ar on his own land. There wasn't a bunch of people saying "those people are taking our benefits". And yes, I know that they were all called derogatory names too, but they weren't blamed for everything that was going wrong in the company.

The people that we have voted in to political office have had some heat turned up under them and so they feel it would be a good idea to make a lot of noise about the illegal immigrants.

Here's a little food for thought, How many of you know that the terrorist that blew up the twin towers, the Pentagon and crashed a plane in a Pennsylvania field, all got in to this country legally. That's right folks, we open the front door and said "come on in and sit a while". We allowed them to go to flight school here and taught them ourselves, how to fly and crash a plane. Welcome to America, but if you are from Mexico and walked across the borders in the middle of the night without the proper documentation, then you are the criminal.....

La Gueta is right!! Have you seen the movie "Gangs of New York" or other similar stories about early immigrants - talk about integration and assimilation! The greatest problem in our culture "Americans from USA", if we can call it culture, is ignorance. Ignorance per se is not wrong since we are all ignorant about many things. However, blatant ignorance, insulting ignorance that disregards the facts and the truth is unacceptable. The opinions of most people bushing the "illegal immigrants" are the reflexion of this most pervasive and malign ignorance. This is unforgivable, since in our country where education is affordable for all, we do not learn to speak and write our own language correctly but we want the immigrants to do so ( this is called double standards). When we have not learned our own history and geography (remember, we barely know which is the capital of our country which is not spelled as Capitol), how can we talk about other cultures, nationalities, or ethnicity, and worse about immigration laws? Think before you talk, and learn the facts first. It is not easy, since the facts and the truth are necessarily what is written. Hence the challenge to our society: only education will set us free from destructive prejudice.

Well, the biggest difference is how they abuse the system now. another difference is not learning to speak english. Which that alone shows they don't respect this country for it's culture, which is English as the primary language. they have been coming here for more than 20 years. How long do they need to learn english and blend in with this culture? Also, the past immigrants came here wanting the American dream, not to exploit it's benefits. The past immigrants cared about what the American people thought, that's why they tried to fit in, that's why they learned the laws, the language, and the culture of the American People. This wave of immigrants today sends all their money back home. Which is draining the bank account of this country into a deeper hole than it already is in. The past immigrants also didn't think they were some superior race that every American has to adjust to them. The immigrants today want the citizens of this country to adjust their ways of life to fit how they like things. why is it when I go to the ATM, there's a message that says "for english press 2"? How did people that don't even speak english even get started in using an ATM machine or yet alone have a bank account? why is it, that a lot of jobs these days requires you to be bilengual? As in having to know spanish. I've seen people get jobs that don't even know english, but because they knew spanish, they got the job. What's up with that? Shouldn't they be adjusting to our way of life? Also, respect goes both ways. This should start with the english language. Once this is accomplished, then I think respect can be given back to them.

Very practical reply. VERY practical. A hundred years in the past, immigrants flooded America to turn out to be AMERICANS. To assimilate and support make the Nation a higher situation for ALL. To be an essential aspect of shaping a land to be the finest civilized situation on this planet. Today's immigrants, for probably the most aspect, even though a few nonetheless have the beliefs of what it method to be an American, do not provide a rats in the back of approximately fitting a REAL American. They do not wish to assimilate, do not wish to study the language, do not wish to turn out to be an essential aspect of it. They do not care if America remains robust, remains risk-free, and maintains to higher itself. Hell, they do not even care if America will get blown off the globe, so long as their no longer right here while it occurs. They are right here to make a greenback, ship it again to the mum land, and suck up as a lot social help as they may be able to even as the getting remains to be well. They Love their mom land greater than the Nation that's aiding them and preserving them and their households again dwelling (if there are any left in the back of) alive. They wont select up a weapon of their possess land to make their possess paradise, so why might they help or preserve this one. Once they've succeeded in destroying the help procedures, university procedures, and budget friendly procedures intended to aid and instruct Americas possess, and it turns into identical to their possess place of origin, like mexico, they are going to without problems depart and cross dwelling. Unforunately, the REAL Americans might be left with the outcome. Oh good. If we're dumb ample to preserve to permit it occur, as soon as once more, we can get what we deserve.

The answer to your question would be entirely too lengthy to post herein. Humans, cultures, political, and socio-economics have changed drastically in each year – particularly since 1960. The differences, therefore, would be incalculable.

For the most part, your subsequent postings, while lucid and nicely presented, are quite flawed. If you wish to make a true argument, then you must agree to parameters of that argument. Reaching back in time, arbitrarily, for examples that seem to satisfy challenge is not an acceptable practice. This is easily seen in all things – such as medicine, religion, astronomy, etc.

Immigrants are a wholesome and necessary part of a country's growth – at least in my opinion. However, in a country where I am obliged to obey laws, then the same laws must apply to all. This is a foundational principle of modern law – right up there with the tangential dictates of habeus corpus. I do not consider someone who comes to this country illegally to be anything but a law breaker/criminal – irrespective of the rules ten years ago, twenty years ago – or 1,000 years ago. You merely need to read the history of the US with Iran or Iraq, for example, to see how drastically conditions and judgments change.

If someone wants to be and American, then they should adhere to the laws of the country and earn that right.

I would have to say that I agree with Jack on this one, I will add however that I feel that today's immigrants as well as Americans in general tend to be really comfortable with trying to take shortcuts in trying to obtain a better life as well as not having any qualms about cheating the laws and our system but I would say that this applies to everyone not just immigrants, legal or not. Just my opinion. Plus I think greed is also a huge factor, there is more to want and get now than there was then.

There are several big differences between then and now. Then they didn't have all the terrisiom that they do today. Most could and did learn to speak our language and follow our traditions and they brought many of their own. Most the illegal ones here today drain our system. But then back in the day we was taught what hard work was and we was expected to work for what we got. Now a days its to easy for them to get welfare, obtain illegal SS numbers so they can work.