Most of us don’t have a clue

Recently, I posed these questions on the Baytown Sun Forum: “What are the signs to look for in your neighborhood of possible illegal immigration? How would a person know? Do they talk differently, or dress differently”?

I had and continue to have responses and one thing is very clear. Most of us, although dutifully concerned - don’t have a clue.

Mixed into the banter is finger-pointing slander towards the American Hispanic culture and towards me for suggesting (what?) with these questions. Ethnic stereotyping is alive and well, both towards and by Hispanics, Rednecks and the general population. One character said a surefire way to spot an illegal alien, is by their “sombreros”. I’m suspecting this was written in jest.

I posed this also: “Since so many people are up in arms over illegal immigrants, is there a way to tell who is illegal and who is not, strictly by observation of culture, habits, or clothing? In my neighborhood, there is one house which has close to 10 cars around it every morning and all of the cars are higher-end cars”. Are a lot of cars at one location an indicator of illegal aliens?

One fellow, who is adamantly against illegal immigration, wrote concerning the extra cars: “That's often found to be a good indication. If you have a homeowner's association, you can complain to them about all the cars and the possibility that multiple families are living in single-family dwellings. Also, you can call the city as there is likely an ordinance pertaining to cars parking in the street. If the house and property are not being kept up, that could be another reason to complain to the HOA”.

Someone pointed out that I did not like my neighborhood and they felt sorry for me. Another good indication of illegal immigrants is, according to one soul: “I think when there are multiple families (excessive people) living in one house. When they barbeque in the front yard and garage instead of the backyard”.

An experienced observer offer this: “My next door neighbors are Hispanic, they are legals though, born here, and they are always cooking in their front yard and having parties that take place in their front yard and garage. Why they do this? I don't know because they have a big nice backyard. So how do you know if your neighbors are illegals? Could it be if they cannot speak or understand one word of the English language? Maybe. Could it be by their appearance? I think so”.

One fellow wrote with conviction: “A pickup or two filling each morning with guys headed to work is a sure sign. Also, the lack of social interaction with other neighbors. Illegals, of course, try to stay out of the public eye and not bring attention to themselves, so they come across as anti-social. I've noticed also, a family of illegals.... while hard working on their jobs... tend to ignore community standards for cleanliness and their property will indicate this. Crappy cars parked in the yard, trash strewn about, animals which normally run free and the tendency toward gaudy paint. A Mexican flag in one window is a great clue too”.

Another hyper-observant person noted that the whole idea of fingering an illegal by observation was only an excuse for self-righteous do-gooders to be nosey and intruding and since I started the whole discussion, I needed to be better informed about the laws.

I think a good summation of this important topic is the grand majority of Americans while very concerned with the estimated seven million illegal aliens in this country, 70 per cent of which hail from Mexico, have no clue when it comes to doing anything about it, or even recognizing the signs.

The only indicators we average Americans know to look for is what we consider odd behavior and customs we don’t understand. The majority of us agree the laws should be enforced and most of us agree what is presently happening concerning un-American assimilation by immigrants is unacceptable.

Immigrants coming to this country legally make America stronger and by assimilating into American culture first, then celebrating they’re past culture. This is the tried and proven method of our greatness and nothing short of this is acceptable.