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nothing more, nothing less. My husband is not a U.S. citizen. When we got married, we began the immigration process. It was hellish, demoralizing, depressing, difficult, and filled with bureaucratic stupidity. But we did it. As legally and as properly as we knew how. We made our mistakes throughout the process, and we paid for them when we did. But we never once considered not doing it, because we didn't want to BREAK THE LAW. Whether the laws are wrong or not can and SHOULD definitely be debated. But it wasn't up to my husband and me to decide that.
So, to answer your questions:
What are your reasons for being against it? It's illegal. Like driving drunk. Like vandalizing your neighbor's car. Like holding up a grocery store. Like voting twice. Don't like that or any other law? Work to change it.
But are you able to draw a line in your eternal vigilance? Absolutely. The line is drawn between those who do it legally and those who do it illegally. In my perfect world, there would be no lines, meaning no borders, meaning we could come and go as we please.
What about the millions of people in this country who have Mexican/Latino ancestry? What about them? Are you talking about legal residents or illegal residents? The immigration issue affects people from all countries and races.
How do you know whether the brown-skinned, black-haired person you see is a natural born citizen or an immigrant? What is your very first thought when you see one? I don't know what they are, and I don't really think about it. While this is a hot topic, it's usually not at the forefront of my mind. I'm usually thinking about where the traffic will be bad or whether I remembered to bring that coupon for diapers. Race is not a glaring issue for me.
How do you hold in your wrath/indignation/vigilance/repugnance? I don't have to hold it in, because I don't really have any. If someone is illegal, I do have some anger (not indignation), because again, I suffered through the process. However, I definitely understand where they are coming from (figuratively, not literally). I think people should be able to fight for a better life. See my perfect world comment.
Can you draw a line? You already asked that. See above.
How do you make your distinctions? Does a Spanish surname make you recoil? What are your thoughts when you see a Spanish surname? I hope it's OK, but I've grouped these together, as they essentially seem to be asking the same thing. No, Spanish surnames don't make me recoil. I knew lots of Spaniards when I lived in Europe, and loved them all. Interestingly enough, many of their Spanish surnames were not the same as the Mexican/Latino surnames which you might actually be referencing. But no, I don't recoil from Latino surnames, either. I actually find myself trying to guess the country of origin when I see any Spanish/Latino-sounding surname. I once worked in schools, and I learned from my students that many names are specific to countries, and I like to see if I can guess whether it's Ecuadorean, Guatemalan, Brazilian, Mexican, Dominican, etc. My guessing record is so-so.
So there, those are my answers. Maybe you'll get the answers you're fishing for eventually.
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