Arlington County Illegals - What in the world is going on? (Alexandria: insurance, neighborhoods)

[Stephen 81]

Originally Posted by katyusha25

I guess my point is, while it might be somewhat easy to come here from Europe and overstay on a visa, it's definately less difficult to just walk over a border.

Is it really less difficult to

A) Cross hundreds to thousands of miles of rugged terrain, evade law enforcement, avoid dying from thirst, etc. (very few Latinos in Northern Virginia are Mexican, so if they are here illegally, they had to avoid the Mexican authorities as well as the ones here), or

B) Be born into a country that the U.S. deems white or rich enough to be worth waiving the visa requirement.


I don't mean to suggest that what undocumented Latinos have done to come here is somehow noble, legal, or admirable, but it's certainly not easy. The deserts of northern Mexico aren't really the land of milk and honey.

[katyusha25]

Originally Posted by Stephen 81

Is it really less difficult to

A) Cross hundreds to thousands of miles of rugged terrain, evade law enforcement, avoid dying from thirst, etc. (very few Latinos in Northern Virginia are Mexican, so if they are here illegally, they had to avoid the Mexican authorities as well as the ones here), or

B) Be born into a country that the U.S. deems white or rich enough to be worth waiving the visa requirement.


I don't mean to suggest that what undocumented Latinos have done to come here is somehow noble, legal, or admirable, but it's certainly not easy. The deserts of northern Mexico aren't really the land of milk and honey.

I'm speaking soley about accessability; that's not to say that illegals from Mexico don't have a daunting task ahead of them, but it's still easier for them to come here than anyone illegally from Russia or Italy.

See: Walking vs. traversing the Atlantic

[CAVA1990]

Here's a sad but good song about it from Tom Russell:


YouTube - Tom Russell - "California Snow"

He makes an appearance at the Jammin' Java in Vienna once or twice a year.

[CAVA1990]

One more from Tom on the subject:


YouTube - Tom Russell-Who's Gonna Build Your Wall

[Stephen 81]

Originally Posted by katyusha25

I'm speaking soley about accessability; that's not to say that illegals from Mexico don't have a daunting task ahead of them, but it's still easier for them to come here than anyone illegally from Russia or Italy.

See: Walking vs. traversing the Atlantic

That's the thing - I think it's easier for someone from a medium- to high-income nation to buy a plane ticket than it is to cross 1000 miles of territory on your own. I'd wager that 98% of Italians could buy a plane ticket to the U.S. if they intended on moving here illegally - the same percentage of Salvadorans couldn't successfully make it across the Rio Grande.

[CAVA1990]

Originally Posted by Stephen 81

I'd wager that 98% of Italians could buy a plane ticket to the U.S. if they intended on moving here illegally

I'll venture that there are a lot more Americans living illegally in Italy than Italians doing so in the U.S.

[katyusha25]

Originally Posted by Stephen 81

That's the thing - I think it's easier for someone from a medium- to high-income nation to buy a plane ticket than it is to cross 1000 miles of territory on your own. I'd wager that 98% of Italians could buy a plane ticket to the U.S. if they intended on moving here illegally - the same percentage of Salvadorans couldn't successfully make it across the Rio Grande.

I will recognize a good point when I see one - but we're getting a little off track here.
I believe the original question was that if someone came across a little group of Russians or Italians in (the original neighborhood in question, which I have forgotten,) would they assume that they were all illegals as they would hispanic ones; and I still believe they would not. Statistically, there are more hispanic illegals in this country than Russian or Italian ones.

I'm not sure how Salvadorans get here, but Mexicans can just (again, not implying it's an easy feat) walk into AZ or CA. Do they go to VA? I'm not sure!

[jwilson1978]

As a northern Virginia resident of over 20 years, I am very shocked to see so many racist comments posted on a community forum. I grew up in Falls Church and attended school in Arlington county. Both areas already have had large hispanic populations for decades now. The majority of hispanics in our area are from Central America, NOT MEXICO. Not every brown person is Mexican. Also, Washington DC has always had a large hispanic population as well. In addition to hispanics from El Salvador, Guatemala, Nicaragua, Honduras, Bolivia, and Peru, there are also many immigrants (not necessarily illegal) from many Asian countries such as the Phillipines, Vietnam (thank you for Pho), and Korea. To be shocked to see hispanics in Northern Virginia is like saying that you were shocked to see black people in Washington DC. Also, not all hispanics are illegal immigrants. My housekeeper lives with several roommates in Arlington as it is more affordable for them. My legal housekeeper doesn't make a boatload of money cleaning toilets (if someone wants to clean my toilet, go for it, because I'm not the biggest fan of having to clean toilets, let alone other people's toilets), and it would be very difficult for her to afford her own apartment. Hispanics are a large part of the Arlington community and always have been. I don't hear anyone saying "Clarendon used to be mostly hispanic, what's up with all of the white people that have taken over?" Areas change and evolve, get over it. If you don't like the area of Arlington, then move to another part. Reading this post it seems like there are lines of illegal immigrants just standing around on every street corner. I live in Rosslyn and have never seen a column of illegal immigrants on the street. There is even a hispanic market on Wilson Blvd, but no lines of illegal immigrants. There is however a lovely Peruvian restaurant which serves some pretty amazing chicken, if that's a bad thing. I'm more offended by unsightly cupcake and burger restaurants flooding our area.

By the way, it is much easier for an Italian or Spaniard to enter this country illegally. The process for obtaining a tourist vista is 100 times more difficult if you come from a country like El Salvador or Mexico. Coming from a Central American country, you have to prove you have a career and steady income, plus you must verify a certain amount of liquid assets in your home country. This is not a requirement for an Italian who could easily overstay their tourist visa if they wanted to. However, Italians don't fear for their lives and don't starve in their own country, so they have no motivation for staying here.

[robbobobbo]

Originally Posted by katyusha25

I will recognize a good point when I see one - but we're getting a little off track here.
I believe the original question was that if someone came across a little group of Russians or Italians in (the original neighborhood in question, which I have forgotten,) would they assume that they were all illegals as they would hispanic ones; and I still believe they would not. Statistically, there are more hispanic illegals in this country than Russian or Italian ones.

I'm not sure how Salvadorans get here, but Mexicans can just (again, not implying it's an easy feat) walk into AZ or CA. Do they go to VA? I'm not sure!

I wrote that rhetorical question.

This thread didn't start as a question about illegal immigration across America. It began with the OP questioning "what in the world is going on?" in Arlington, due to seeing a lot of Latinos which made OP feel "as though I had left the country and was now in Mexico or Central America" and wonder if the county has always been a "sanctuary city" (for illegals). The thread title is "Arlington County Illegals" but the OP's post describes seeing many Latinos in Arlington. How do the two necessarily equate?

That's why I devoted my post to some background on Latinos in Arlington County. OP and others are apparently unaware of the longstanding Latino community in Arlington, and they just see "illegals" because of the trend of illegal immigration in the country.

I personally know there are many illegal Korean immigrants in Fairfax County. Perhaps OP, if visiting Annandale, would similarly ask "what is going on in Annandale? I felt like I was in Seoul! Has Fairfax County always been a sanctuary?" but I somewhat doubt it.

That was the point of my rhetorical question using Italians and Russians as an arbitrary example. I doubt someone walking through a Little Italy would exclaim in a negative tone, "what is going on? This feels like walking through a Neapolitan ghetto!" But because, as you say, statistically speaking there are more Latino illegal immigrants, apparently some people feel justified looking askance at any Latino community, regardless of how long and deep its roots are in the community.

[Denton56]

Originally Posted by Stephen 81

Is it really less difficult to

A) Cross hundreds to thousands of miles of rugged terrain, evade law enforcement, avoid dying from thirst, etc. (very few Latinos in Northern Virginia are Mexican, so if they are here illegally, they had to avoid the Mexican authorities as well as the ones here), or

B) Be born into a country that the U.S. deems white or rich enough to be worth waiving the visa requirement.


I don't mean to suggest that what undocumented Latinos have done to come here is somehow noble, legal, or admirable, but it's certainly not easy. The deserts of northern Mexico aren't really the land of milk and honey.

Why would Mexican officials care that people are leaving? Their President encourages Mexicans to come to the US and send money back home. He's been quite outspoken against the border security because it helps prevent his citizens from coming here.

White enough? Like all those Asians who get visa's to come here for school and to work in the tech industry?