h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Entry: Illegal Aliens in the US - A History of Keeping Out the Riff-Raff - A87875383
Author: Dmitri Gheorgheni - U1590784

Four whole days of the Republican National Convention, with the Democrats yet to come...

The mind turns to politics. And if it's my mind, it takes a twisty path...

This is, as always, a well-written, entertaining article.

And it's true people, not just Americans, are totally inconsistent about immigrants. Take one of Britains's finest athletes, Mo Farah. He's from Somalia but everyone loves him. Other Somalians are probably treated rather differently.

The trouble is that the fact some distinguished people have been immigrants and, indeed, refugees doesn't mean you can let anyone in. Countries need some rules about who they should let in. And if you have rules, you're likely to get some people sneaking in.

At the moment, we have a problem with people trying to sneak across the Channel in the back of lorries. If they're caught I think adults are detained until they are either granted asylum or deported. Others work illegally in Britain and are probably exploited. Children are supposed to go to foster homes but there aren't enough of these.

Are they a threat to the nation? No. Most of them just trying to build a better future for themselves. Could we let them all in? Probably not, because there are problems about demand for housing, school places and health services. There is always a risk that among the decent people, there are one or two terrorists and criminals. Yet the evidence is that most immgrants settle and contribute to the country. Our health service is full of doctors and nurses from far-flung places.

All this just means that the treatmet of immigrants and refugees is a really difficult issue and there's no easy answer. Sorry.

One typo - search for "their"

Very moving story about Pabel. Did he write his book in English or German?

And I am of course reminded that I am an immigrant - also one who pays taxes and plays a role in the community. People are usually surprised or even shocked that I don't have a German passport, but I don't think I'm likely to be deported any time yet, Brexit or no Brexit.*

As loathe as I am to say anything negative about any of your oeuvres, I am not sure that the title quite fits the bill. The "history of keeping out the riff-raff" is a very short paragraph, whereas the main part of the entry is devoted to the fates of a few single immigrants. Perhaps that could be reflected more in the title. Will there be sequels? There must be loads of well-known immigrants (particularly German Jews) with similar stories.

*but who knows? The purpose of the EU was to keep the peace in Western Europe, which it has done for 50 years. What if, with the treaties and agreements no longer in force, all hell were to break loose?

Hi, both of you. Thanks for the input!

TC: thanks for finding the typo.

And thanks for the tip about the title. I'm not happy with that title, either. I was trying to make it flippant enough to indicate the content without going overboard. I'll work on that.

And you're right - I ought to make it clearer that these stories are just examples. I know lots of others anecdotally, but hey, this isn't a sociology paper, we can just say that...

I lived in Europe in the 80s. I think I know what you mean - as a resident alien, you're maybe more aware of the fragility of the peace? Of course, I feel like an alien everywhere...

I'm glad you enjoyed Pabel. His book's around in English and in German. The German translation is called 'Feinde sind auch Menschen: 7 Jahre in Chicago untergetaucht. Flucht und Abenteuer eines deutschen Kriegsgefangenen', Stalling, Hamburg/Oldenburg 1957.

Okay, I did a little work on this one. See if it reads better now.

1. I got rid of the typo. (I hope I didn't stick in any others.)

2. I added a few short paragraphs to the intro in an attempt to make it clear what aspect of immigration we're talking about here - NOT how to solve contemporary issues, etc, etc, but how come there are 'illegals' and what has happened to them in US history. And it's not scientific, because MVP's right, you can't fix an international problem in 1200 words. But at least I documented my sources.

3. I stuck another link in at the end. It's to the Ellis Island site. Boy, can you find stories from those people...fascinating ones.
I also added a quote from Mr Obama that I stumbled across yesterday.

I'm sorry for the triple post.

4. I also changed the title. See what you think.

Much improved, I like the title change.

One point, you are talking about 'illegal immigration', then you go into details about Ellis Island. Everyone who was passed through the gates of the complex were, by definition, legal immigrants.
It is common today to equate those who oppose illegal immigrants to include all immigrants, which is often not true.

You might want to add a footnote to your reference to Whitby, Identifying as the Yorkshire site of Bram Stokes Dracula for us who are not familiar with this work. When I first read this I thought it might be Whidbey Island in the US which also has a rocky shore line because you were talking about his entry to the US.

All in all an other great Entry

F S

Hey, thanks, FS - both good points! I will rectify those references.

I tidied up the references to Ellis Island to make it abundantly clear that those immigrants were totally legal. I wouldn't want to insult the descendants of 12 million people, most of them fine folk, with the exception of a few gangsters...

Also, explaining Whitby gave me a chance to slip some information in about Prince Charles' holiday resort in Transylvania...I believe the Guide will be grateful...

I refuse to try to explain Yorkshire. That's the job of Prof Animal Chaos.

On the subject of the title: I found this entry on the 'What's New in Peer Review' thread on Ask (because my time is limited and I'm subscribed). I scanned through the titles to see if anything sounded interesting, and instinctively knew this was yours, Dmitri You have an identifiable flair for titles!

In short, ace job on the title - interesting, and without even clicking on it I know it'll be a good read. Looking forward to reading it later (when I have more time)!

Thanks!

Woo-hoo! Someone's actually used the 'What's New in Peer Review'!

<BB<

Yes! When I have the time I find it really useful for keeping up (which I obviously haven't had adequate time for in more than a few years...). When I have a little more time I like to sort PR by date of entry or date of last post to give some attention to stuff that may have settled at the bottom of the pot.

Your Guide Entry has just been picked from Peer Review by one of our Scouts, and is now heading off into the Editorial Process, which ends with publication in the Edited Guide. We've moved this Review Conversation out of Peer Review and to the entry itself.

If you'd like to know what happens now, check out the page on 'What Happens after your Entry has been Recommended?' at EditedGuide-Process. We hope this explains everything.

Thanks for contributing to the Edited Guide!

Well done!

Congratulations!

Do you have any pictures of this village?

Which village?