<p>Obviously there are dangerous drivers of all shapes and sizes, but-
S. and I were nearly killed by an illegal who lost control of a van, panicked, and swerved head-on into our lane. It was clear that he barely knew how to drive. I swerved left (luckily there was no oncoming traffic at the moment) and he finally stopped by crashing into the sides of parked cars on my right. When I got out of the car to confront him I found that he had a friend and young son in the car - no car seat, no seat belt on, nothing. The policeman who arrived seemed to brush it off, and seemed to find his “borrowed” license amusing. I felt so sorry for the little boy, who looked terrified, but luckily unhurt.</p>
<p>Another time, before our kids were born, I was hit broadside by pickup full of immigrants who were so intent on following their boss in the truck ahead of them that they paid no attention to red lights, intersections, etc. None of them spoke any english, and I doubt they knew much about traffic signs and rules.</p>
<p>okay…common sense. What <em>illegal</em> immigrant is going to sign up for ‘work’ with an insurance fraud ring and risk detection and deportation?? That doesn’t even make sense. I find it hard to believe that ANYone here illegally is going to intentionally cause an accident. </p>
<p>And regarding of family status. On what basis are we assuming that mostly illegal families are here in Houston while only illegal individuals (young single men) are in North Carolina? I’m a Native Texan and have lived in Houston for the last 20 years. My d goes to college in NC. I don’t think in either place there is anyone keeping a count of illegal immigrants here as members of extended illegal families or those here illegally on their own. Most illegal immigrants aren’t likely to report in with such info.</p>
<p>I think what has happened on these boards is the blending of illegal and legal immigrants into one convenient <em>target</em> which, frankly, I find disturbing.</p>
<p>“Just think, if none of these illegals were here, then their accidents could not have occurred.”</p>
<p>THAT IS NOT TRUE… it was destiny that the accident occur… remember that movie final destination… just because u think that if they weren’t here it wouldn’t have happened… it probably still would’ve happened,… and maybe in another way…
the accident was destined 2 happen… u CAN’T say it “would have never…if” cause u never know…</p>
<p>“What <em>illegal</em> immigrant is going to sign up for ‘work’ with an insurance fraud ring and risk detection and deportation??”</p>
<p>In what part of the country would deportation even be a possibility under these circumstances?</p>
<p>"And regarding of family status. On what basis are we assuming that mostly illegal families are here in Houston while only illegal individuals (young single men) are in North Carolina? "</p>
<p>I’m not sure where you got the idea that I was referring to illegals living in North Carolina. I was talking about New York City. However, most illegals here drive with North Carolina plates. I’d love to know why that is, but it is. As far as young men, my point was that the immigration patterns that the Southwest is so familiar with have approached this area more slowly, and we are still in the phase of more young men than families.</p>
<h2>zooser - I get what you are saying, but it’s mostly young men here too. </h2>
<p>(not just to zooser) Want to see something interesting? Go to googlemap and look at the Rio Grande River with a satellite view. Zoom in and follow the river and see how many bridges there are between US towns and Mexican towns that do not have security/toll plazas, or more importantly just the sheer length of what is a very shallow river. At the coast, the RG ends several hundred yards before the beach (too much irrigation dries the river out). You can just walk down an uninhabited beach…one second you are in the States, the next you are in Mexico. When I was a teenager, a popular thing to do was to go swimming at the Anzalduas Dam on the RG river. The river is wadeable for miles in this area. On the other side of the river, usually, were Mexican teenagers swimming. We would spend part of our day hanging out on the Mexican bank with them…and then they would come of to the American bank and hang out with us. (Ah…we had so much fun. Great memories…I can almost hear the locusts in the trees…lol!) </p>
<p>Anyway…it’s a real eye opener and will definitely adjust one’s view on the issue of securing the border.</p>
<p>Interesting. Thank you for posting that. I have a huge problem with rootless young men of any culture/ethnicity (as does China and the former East Germany). I don’t think that large groups of young men with money in their pockets and no women (wives, mothers, grandmothers) to ground them is a very bad thing. I guess I’m sexist. Now you all know.</p>
<p>“What <em>illegal</em> immigrant is going to sign up for ‘work’ with an insurance fraud ring and risk detection and deportation??”</p>
<p>OK how about all of the drug running, child prostitution rings, illegal document procurement, running across a border illegally, working illegally, etc etc etc. So when did “illegal” mean that illegals don’t do illegal activities?</p>
<p>Anyhow, I don’t think there is a formal contract involved, I doubt that there are lawyers involved. Maybe hitmen or hitwomen can enforce the agreements.</p>
<p>collegial - my point is the more likely scenario, in my own experience, is those here illegally work very had to fly under the radar with regard to law enforcement. We definitely have our fair share of insurance/fender bender scams going on here in Houston, but I’ve never heard of illegal immigrants being involved. They do not seek to deliberately come face to face with law enforcement and avoid traffic altercations at all costs.</p>
<p>Another colorful real world personal experience. We live in a small neighborhood surrounded by brick walls along a treacherous curve in the road in Far Northwest Harris County. In our time in this neighborhood, someone has lost it on that road and punched through the brick wall at least 6 times. We’ve even had a few cars in pools. (We ARE trying to get the county to smooth out the bend in the road…whole 'nother story.) Most of the time it’s teenagers miscalculating speed who end up going through the wall, but one night it was an immigrant who spoke no English. Bless his heart, he seemed hurt and like he should have a doctor look at him…but he all he wanted was to get out of there. He wasn’t drunk and he apologized profusely…but he was illegal and did not want to be there when the cops arrived. Avoiding cops is the mindset of most illegals…they are not here to cause trouble or get into trouble. They just want to work.</p>
<p>I actually watched Fox as well as CNN and MSNBC for years until I got tired of the agenda. The agenda is what bothers people so much. And mind you, I have voted Republican in every single presidential and gubernatorial election. </p>
<p>I now watch the BBC news…good to take a look from the ‘outside-in’ sometimes…;)</p>
<p>Idmom, so change the channel, right? I don’t mean you personally because obviously that’s what you do. But some people foam at the mouth (in the posting sense!) over Fox and I just don’t get it. That network has far less influence than the New York Times or other media outlets. Unless it was the only source of news, I wouldn’t have a problem with a Kluge News or a CityGirlsMom News, either. There should be a place for all different ideas. Personally, I stay away from Fox because O’Reilly is so LOUD and Hannity’s speech habits drive me out of my mind. I actually did an informal study of the newsbriefs on CNN, FOx and MSNBC and they all show the same top stories – quickly. It’s the editorial content that’s different. MSNBC, CNN, NBC and ABC all have former democratic party professionals, so that viewpoint is certainly brought forward.</p>
<p>I imagine there are not reliable statistics on vehicular accidents and illegals because they just don’t get reported all the time.</p>
<p>Example: H got in a fender bender. It was his (husbands) fault. He pulled over, gave the driver his phone #, insurance, all that. Driver called the house and opted out because he (driver) was illegal. So now the guy’s gotta pay for his own repairs.</p>
<p>“What <em>illegal</em> immigrant is going to sign up for ‘work’ with an insurance fraud ring and risk detection and deportation??”</p>
<p>According to this theory, illegal immigrant would never be involved in crime, reckless driving etc.</p>
<p>They have broken up such insurance fraud ring. The scheme works and the ring had made millions. It was reported in the LA Times. The illegal immigrants are hired to be “victims” as passenger in the car. Actually there was no report of arrest of the illegal immigrants or other “victims”. There is a good reason for this, they are not the ring leader. The ring leader of the illegal activity (or should we call it undocumented business practice) is a personal injury lawyer, and he would need cooperation from some corrupt doctors. The “victims” are just hired pawn.</p>