Simonov wrote:ignotus wrote:Maybe I'm the last idealist on the face of this world but I honestly believe that we could all get along if we drop all our prejudices and just took the time to get to know others.

you can't get along with everyone. i like those ideals too but many exploit them to achieve their own goals. let's elaborate: chinese people come here legally - it's o.k. by me but then when one of them dies they don't register this and instead they bury him somewhere and another one comes from china to replace him (this was proven, went to newspapers). also most of them don't know a word of croatian nor are willing to learn (when in rome do as romans do). why would we trust them if they exploit our good faith?
I think theres a divided loyalty here, which may be reasonable i guess.
In general, people want immigration because it provides economic advantage through cheaper labor. This i think is a pretty simple point. So there really should be little incentive for first generation immigrants to have to do that when in rome practice, because really, not that many people are interested in them for their citizenship. However we run into a bit of a problem in the next generations, because a lot of countries believe in the idea of social mobility, whether or not its really true.
I think there has to be a little more honesty on both sides. Liberals either have to make a greater effort to make immigrants citizens and bestow on them the benefits of citizenship, even if that comes at an expense. Conservatives have to admit to the economic desirabilty of immigration over social inclusion. Basically they have to accept the illegals as illegals as long as they dont expect some of the benefits of citzenship.
At that point at least, we wouldnt have the problem of both sides making promises they arent going to deliver on.