Few immigrate to Mexico illegally

For everyone who missed last week's column here's why it was not used. I am guilty of using Internet information without giving credit to whoever wrote what I had in my column.

Copying someone else's work is plagarism and the editor informed me that Highlands Today will not use information that has been copied. He expects me to provide the paper with original work by me. The column had to do with some humorous and impractical reasons about what someone thought the Mexican government should provide in benefits after they moved to live in Mexico that had been sent to me by e-mail by my brother, Dan, that had evidently been found and sent to him by a fellow worker who thought it was funny.

Well, it was. However, I did not write it and do not know who the original author was.

Cancelled rebuttal

Today's column was originally about Mexico's laws regarding their immigration laws and policies regarding illegal immigrants and was a rebuttal about why you should not go to Mexico illegally. I also copied much of that column from researching the Internet.

Thanks to Arizona

Now that Illegal immigration has the nation's attention, Congress needs to look at Mexico's laws. They are very strict and you can find all about their laws by asking the Google search engine. It's not necessary to go into the detail, it's apparent that few people want to go there illegally anyway.

I am sure that Arizona has a need for immigrants to plant and harvest, just s almost all of Florida's agriculture and farming industry has a need for workers willing to work for much less that legal citizens are willing to work for. Florida's citrus industry employs many Mexicans and likely hires them and provides them with the necessary forms to get a Green Card.

So I researched the Internet to learn what a green card is.

If I want to get an application for a green card it costs $49.95. A green card renewal also cost $49.95. Getting a green card through marriage costs the same.

Many immigrants are legal

The following is about the only information about green cards that I can get without having to pay $49.95 and it is copied directly from the Internet at www.usimmigrationsupport.org/greencards.html.

A U.S. Permanent Resident Card, commonly known as a green card, serves as proof of a person's lawful permanent resident status in the United States. An individual with a green card has the right to live and work permanently in the United States.

There are various ways to qualify for a green card. It is recommended to learn about the different criteria of eligibility for Green Cards and to determine how you can best prepare for your application. The Green Card application process also depends if the applicant is applying from within the United States or from abroad."

I must assume that our citrus employers are getting their workers the necessary applications and proving them without charge.

Desperation driven

It takes a very desperate person to try to get into the United States by crossing the borders illegally. Hundreds are dying in an 81 mile border canal, which when swum across discover that they cannot climb up the bank on the other side. Only after exposure on "60 Minutes" has anything been done about the 550 have drowned. They have put up a few ropes on the United States' side and some razor fence on the Mexican side.