The Political Football That Is Immigration

Mark introduces the topic of immigration and draws a thick line between legal and illegal immigration. He's very pro immigration and very much opposed to illegal immigration. He says there are many different lenses to look through at this issue Jim jumps in and identifies that this topic falls into worldview on our flywheel. He mentions that Europe and in particular Italy are wrestling with open borders too. It's impacting culture and religious beliefs. Jim has seen this while traveling Mark agrees and brings up his brother who has been flying as for 35 years. He mentions Paris specifically Jim agrees and doesn't remember Paris being like this years ago. Crime, homelessness and garbage Mark thinks we abuse the word compassion and distinguishes between those that are fleeing bad circumstances and those who are criminals Jim takes it even further and suggests that illegals are stealing our resources while legal immigrants and citizens suffer. Jim shares that California just passed a law giving free healthcare to illegals. What about us? Mark shares that Jim's experience comes from international travel around his sports background. Mark helped many immigrants with visas and green cards during his staffing career Mark gives more context to his experience. Legal immigrants are the most opposed to illegal immigration Jim talks about his grandparents and how they strived to be American first, Mexican and Italian second. He also says that culture might come with them, but not necessarily religion. Some are escaping religious persecution Mark mentions that we all came here escaping persecution from British rule. He says crime is now increasing in non border towns and if say anything about illegal immigrant crime you're called a racist Mark also mentions his two worst trends coming from this beyond crime. Sex trafficking and Fentanyl Jim asks to take the conversation positive and asks Mark to share his immigration experience helping immigrants who wanted to stay get visas and eventually green cards Mark goes into great detail about a program he ran helping graduates from other countries get jobs and financial assistance with their green cards after 3 years Both guys agree that these immigrants have strong appreciation for America and are n to shy about showing it Both guys agree "we don't have a country without them" Then the guys move into a discussion about what happens when you give free stuff to illegal immigrants…or anyone for that matter Mark connects the entitlement issue with defunding police and liberal DAs..recipe for disaster Jim pulls the conversation back to positive and Mark tells the story about a new home being built right next to him and his positive interaction with the crew. All immigrants Jim brings up the Irish in the first part of the 20th century and Mark, being from Boston chimes in He brings up the notion of people (legal an d illegal) who are "well intentioned" Mark says we should figure out who is well intoned and whose not earlier in the process and then asks, if Trumps wins, how's he gonna get the criminals out. Also how many legal immigrants can we absorb fro a resources standpoint. Then brings up the condition of the "sanctuary cities" and how over run they are now…oops Mark bring back up his experience in Boston with the Italians and Irish communities Jim suggest that kids born here of illegal parents.. What do we do with the kids. It's a tough topic to figure out Mark says both sides need to talk, even if only about the Fentanyl and the kids Jim then tells his two immigration stories about a few people he helped and their circumstances One was a girl from Venezuela and her friend who came here illegally as a kid so he has no papers and thus cannot travel outside the country The other was about the captain of the USA Olympic rugby 7's team who Jim helped get papers so he could leave the country He then remembers a third story helping some Tongan kids with papers who as a result couldn't get scholarships. Both ended up playing D1 and degrees Mark says the bottom line, the system is broken and we're not doing anything other than fighting over it Ellis Island comes up as an example of a decent system Jim notes that we're not having enough babies and the system doesn't work without enough people. Immigrants really help with this problem Both guys agree that both sides of the aisle seem to want to keep this a their own blunt intstrument in the political races Jim exposes the Democrat's "immigration" bill that the Republicans didn't sign it…it was full of Ukraine money Mark says conflict sells ads and likes. Mark ends with this is complex, but it needs to b e fixed