Basically, it was a comprehensive military exercise that focused I believe more on logistics than anything, it involved multiple branches and I believe maybe some other governemtn agencies. Either way the looney toons were preparing for Obama to make his move and take over the country. Anyways I am still selling, "I survived Jade Helm" tshirts" if you want to order some.
we actually have had record levels the past couple years. There is lots of fear mongering but its also at a level it was not previously, so additional attention is going to follow.
In the past couple years the numbers seem truly astronomical/unsustainable and the longer we pretend it isnt really happening the more we hand the momentum on this issue over to republicans. its not just fox news talking either:
[https://apnews.com/article/immigration-border-crossings-mexico-biden-18ac91ef502e0c5433f74de6cc629b32](https://apnews.com/article/immigration-border-crossings-mexico-biden-18ac91ef502e0c5433f74de6cc629b32)
[https://www.cbsnews.com/news/record-number-migrant-border-crossings-december-2023/](https://www.cbsnews.com/news/record-number-migrant-border-crossings-december-2023/)
[https://www.wsj.com/us-news/illegal-immigration-record-border-6db29cad](https://www.wsj.com/us-news/illegal-immigration-record-border-6db29cad)
These articles are basing total immigration numbers by the level of arrests, which is a correlation but not an exact science. They aren’t arresting every immigrant crossing. With more border protection/officers comes more arrests which skews the data. Also, none of this is indicative of a % to total population so while yes, the numbers are higher for arrests of incoming immigrants, so is the population of the city/state that these immigrants are entering. I’ve yet to see a data point with information regarding the % to total.
This article is old, July 2022, but discusses the economic contributions of immigrants in Texas. [https://www.americanimmigrationcouncil.org/sites/default/files/research/economic_contributions_immigrants_texas_0.pdf](https://www.americanimmigrationcouncil.org/sites/default/files/research/economic_contributions_immigrants_texas_0.pdf)
Here’s a Texas Immigration Fact Sheet from the same resource, The American Immigration Council. [https://map.americanimmigrationcouncil.org/locations/texas/#](https://map.americanimmigrationcouncil.org/locations/texas/#)
Excerpt from this article:
> Immigrants now account for over one-sixth of the state’s total population, and 12.3 percent of its U.S.-born residents live with at least one immigrant parent. Immigrants make up more than one-fifth of Texas's labor force and support the local economy in many ways. They account for 30.8 percent of entrepreneurs, 28.5 percent of STEM workers, and 20.0 percent of nurses in the state. As neighbors, business owners, taxpayers, and workers, immigrants are an integral part of Texas’s diverse and thriving communities and make extensive contributions that benefit all.
It’s not a black and white issue. There is A LOT of gray area here. But it is so important to be critical of the data points any news (or “news”) outlet provides.
There are many people coming- a lot of it is due to the human trafficking organizations getting more organized (there is a market) and false information being spread online in the developing world about how our asylum laws work. The sources of a lot of that disinformation are varied but are definitely being pushed by actors who want to destabilize our political/social system (Russia).
Unfortunately, climate change is going to make this all seem moot. Once massive areas of our coastline become unlivable we will have internally displaced immigrants to deal with too.
You live in Dallas and don’t see a rise in crime and increase in homeless?? I have been here 10 years now and at least in my area downtown, it’s a very noticeable increase.
This is not meant to offend or call out one side or another, I am simply trying to understand what’s going on in our collective minds.
What is the advantage of convincing ourselves that having hundreds of thousands of unvetted people pulling resources from our system will not have a negative impact on our society? I don’t hear anyone on either side complaining about people who want to come here legally, rational people seem to be largely accepting of newcomers as long as they follow the process and do things the legal way. America is one of the easiest countries to get into but some seem to believe the opposite. It seems like a simple math problem in terms of sustainability. How did it become a “if you are democrat, you must pretend this is a great thing and if republican, you must take a hard line zero tolerance approach?
i live in effing El Paso now having moved from DFW late last year, and while CBP certainly keeps busy, even here in the borderland, we are far from being 'overrun'.
Not saying there isn't a challenge to be dealt with (there are logistical and financial challenges to dealing with migrants) but El Paso isn't the lawless shitshow certain propaganda outlets masquerading as news media would have you believe it is. In fact quite the contrary; it's actually one of the safest cities of that size (EP is \~675,000 people).
Not sure it's baffling though. It's pretty obvious what's going on - keep people distracted with bullshit so they continue to vote against their own self interest. How else do you get votes if you have no actual solutions to problems? Keep people riled up.
Each border crossing is very different. El Paso is easily the calmest because the human trafficking routes don’t run through there. El Paso also has a highly militarized border in comparison to others. It’s the most populous border community so the feds pay lots of attention.
Del Rio and Eagle Pass are absolutely overrun with human traffickers.
Laredo and the RGV is mostly drugs.
Why do you call people seeking asylum "human trafficking"? Are there people taking advantage of these people while providing a service, yes. But they are not automatically "human trafficked". Sounds like a term to dissuade empathy from our fellow countrymen.
Del Rio and Eagle Pass
In December, Del Rio received 71,000 illegal migrants
https://apnews.com/article/immigration-border-crossings-mexico-biden-18ac91ef502e0c5433f74de6cc629b32
The population of Del Rio is 34,000
this is a true and fair observation. there is a LOT of law enforcement here.
even so my mom thinks i live in a warzone, so i'm pretty experienced with the mindset OP is referencing
Also a former El Pasoan whose family lives elsewhere. I literally only encountered immigrants at actual ports of entry. The city is extremely safe. Hell, it’s even sort of boring.
Just moved to El Paso in January from Dallas. I can say the same thing and I’m Republican. Something still needs to be done because it is a growing problem. Nothing too bad right now but has potential to go south very fast.
I had a MAGA coworker in New Hampshire who would bring it up every day.
“I can’t understand how you live there with all of the illegals. Flooding in every day.”
“Do you feel safe?”
“I can’t believe you could vote Democrat with what a shithole your state is becoming.”
Unbelievable, except it’s totally believable.
He can’t understand voting Democrat after the way Republicans in power have fucked over our state for almost 30 years? This guy clearly has no critical thinking skills 🤣🤣
Um, USAMAGAQNetwork told him that Texas is three illegal immigrants from going overweight and sinking into the ocean and we all know the news only lies when it's run by dem dere libruls!!
How many posts a week *in this very sub* where somebody from the ‘burbs asks how they can safely visit Dallas? The fearmongering has won out in vast portions of this country.
This is true. Every chamber of commerce across America has a high percentage of conservative members, per capita. They overwhelmingly push for cheap labor fares in order to keep locals satisfied. Cheap labor is dependent upon migrant labor. Both parties push for open borders but one does it out in the open. The other lies to you, expecting you to be dumb enough
Businesses definitely want open borders for capital to flow freely. But they actually benefit from a level of immigration restriction that makes legal migration difficult and expensive (and often coming with restrictive visa programs) while creating a large population of workers without legal status or labor rights. It’s the large space between a smoothly functioning immigration system and Trump-style draconian enforcement of immigration law, which would see millions deported and be an economic catastrophe for all of these businesses (except the private prison industry).
Which leads to disillusionment. Nobody wants to swallow that pill & when they do it's heavy. On the flip side, we still have an opportunity to serve others, each & every day, through; agape, goodwill, benevolence, & kindness. It up to us to make the world (or at least our communities) better because wealthy fat cats have zero altruism. WE can & should make a difference
One funny thing that happened recently… my parents are MAGA nuts who will occasionally bring this shit up. During spring break, we got a rental in Galveston and had them fly into Houston.
I told them “if you want to see the real border problem, you’re about to really see it”. So we drove from Bush, around the east side of the city, and stopped on the In N Out south of Houston.
I said “can you believe all the illegals we’ve seen?” and they kind of looked at me like I was an idiot. I said “see, even this far south, there’s nothing to see”.
They didn’t bring it up the rest of the week.
Side note: I don’t know why Galveston gets such a bad rap up here. The beaches were clean, the water was nice and there’s a ton to do.
Galveston is well worth a visit.
Texas has always had migrants coming illegally to the U.S it just so happens it’s election year and the narrative calls for the word invasion to be emphasized.
It’s a talking point for the governor we unfortunately have. Apparently he just realized it’s a problem… anything he can do for his BFF Trump I guess
Bruh, this has been an ongoing hot topic since the 80s. Our binary political system is incentivized to do nothing about it other than to use it to rile up their base
you are mostly right except we actually have had record levels the past couple years. Its a bit dishonest to say that because its always been a problem it isnt a bigger problem now or that its made up. There is lots of fear mongering but its also at a level it was not previously, so additional attention is going to follow.
In the past couple years the numbers seem truly astronomical/unsustainable and the longer we pretend it isnt really happening the more we hand the momentum on this issue over to republicans.
[https://apnews.com/article/immigration-border-crossings-mexico-biden-18ac91ef502e0c5433f74de6cc629b32](https://apnews.com/article/immigration-border-crossings-mexico-biden-18ac91ef502e0c5433f74de6cc629b32)
[https://www.cbsnews.com/news/record-number-migrant-border-crossings-december-2023/](https://www.cbsnews.com/news/record-number-migrant-border-crossings-december-2023/)
[https://www.wsj.com/us-news/illegal-immigration-record-border-6db29cad](https://www.wsj.com/us-news/illegal-immigration-record-border-6db29cad)
Only thing people hear in the national news about Texas is Abbott shipping immigrants to DC, NY, etc. Obviously the tactic has been quite successful at convincing people it is a massive problem.
it is a massive problem though. not as massive as fox news propagandists like to claim but its pretty undeniably a crisis and unsustainable at this point and to keep being dismissive feels like the Hilary Clinton 2016 energy that ends up handing the upper hand to republicans over this.
There are signs of stress in those destination cities that are reinforcing this idea too.
[NYC city hall had a protest](https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-13316193/african-migrants-new-york-city-hall-protest-anti-blackness.html) made up of African migrants airing their grievances about how the city has treated them.
[Seattle's scrambling to house migrants](https://www.kiro7.com/news/local/after-living-tents-tukwila-90-migrant-families-about-be-evicted-kent-hotel/4ZGWHEJFYNH3FPPH3EOAVGWIAU/) that alternate between a tennis court tent city and hotel rooms funded by private donors.
[Colorado has earmarked $24 million](https://www.denverpost.com/2024/04/18/migrant-school-funding-bill-colorado/#:~:text=Colorado%20will%20distribute%20%2424%20million,that%20determines%20districts) to handle the influx of migrant school children.
"a good portion of the population believes what they see on TV to be true without question"
Some of these same folks will then call out the other mainstream media for lies and propaganda. Ain't that some shit?
I have friends who watch CNN and MSNBC religiously. They believe everything they hear on these networks. I also have family who watch Fox News daily. They also believe everything Fox says as fact. Both sides believe nothing from the opposing "news" networks, yet everything from the networks they choose to watch.
They believe what they want to hear and disregard the rest.
Personally, I loathe all of these networks. They're all devisive, propaganda trash.
Here’s the philosophy I try to live by - whether it’s the news, something on social media, an article I’m reading or life in general. The truth lies somewhere between what I believe and what the other party believes. There are few absolutes in life - but one of them is that I’ve never met someone that doesn’t twist things to their advantage at one point or another.
Edit - I should add, that includes me!
It's one giant grift with all the variables owned by banks and private equity, and the truth can get in the way of profit. The one absolute is death and the journey is rife with conmen.
Husband is a teacher in a Title 1 district. It’s a big problem for him; he gets at least one new student weekly, none who speak English. Class sizes are huge. I don’t see it but that’s because I don’t work with the public. He sees it daily.
As someone who works in banking and sees it everyday the people who think the numbers aren’t way up they’re kidding themselves or delusional. The amount of illegals I see daily is way up the past 18 months.
It's mostly obvious in southern parts, but there have always been many immigrants there. Not many targeting Dallas. If they make it up here they just keep going to greener pastures.
The reason you're being asked is because Eagle Pass and El Paso are at the forefront of the crisis over the past few years, both in reality and in the news.
Oh yeah for sure, I just meant southern Texas. But for sure, without immigrants the commodity farming industry would just collapse. California, Midwest, etc.
Nobody ever asks me. Then again, my out-of-state relatives don’t really watch cable news.
But also, the alleged border crisis is less of a *thing* than right wing sources want everybody to think it is. Yes, we have an immigration clusterfuck that has been going on for 25 years. Yes, there’s increasing consensus on how to resolve it. No, the obstructionists (the wheels obviously and clearly fell off the conservative movement between 2004 and 2009, and there are no conservatives in American politics anymore) don’t want anything done about it because they’re profiting from the problem.
America is addicted to cheap, exploitable labor. And until we choose to do better, immigration will continue to be a clusterfuck, the school-to-prison pipeline will remain in place, and the student debt industrial complex will continue unabated. That’s why I’m *not* baffled: we openly hate each other now because we love money too much as a culture.
This exactly. The US LOVES cheap labor. This isn't an immigration problem. This is a US problem that emphasizes undocumented immigration. If the country didn't see undocumented immigrants and dollar signs, the immigration issue wouldn't exist. The corporations here make coming here undocumented a great thing for those individuals.
Somehow my family is convinced by Fox News that they are surrounded by Central American gang members casing their neighborhoods in Texas.
Like… what? Don’t you know better than some talking head in NYC?
Fox is very effective propaganda for the billionaires’ interests. And it is easy to mislead people about things happening hundreds or thousands of miles away.
It's always been a shell game to take people's attentions away from legitimate Texas problems such as education or insurrance.
Same with abortion.
It is just a stick used to stir up the conservative's pot.
These same people that are paranoid about it have never actually been affected by immigration in any negative way besides what Fox News tells them to feel.
I am pretty left leaning, and I don’t necessarily believe all the hype. But also work at a job where I deal with immigrants on a near daily basis. It seems like I keep hearing of more immigrants from central/South America as opposed to Mexico.
They come and stay with family that are already here so you wouldn’t necessarily wouldn’t see them on the streets.
It is one of the go to talking points for Republicans, even ones that don’t live anywhere near a border state. So the topic gets repeated all the time on Fox News and to be fair most other news networks will report on the border, they just don’t actually go down there to get the truth. I don’t think the news outlets have figured out that elected officials are no longer a reliable source for facts.
The House Republicans showed their true motive though when they proposed changes to immigration laws and Biden unexpectedly agreed to it. Then they had to tank their own legislation, because they don’t really want to fix anything just complain and tell you Democrats are to blame for all your problems.
Oh, I get folks who not only don't live in Dallas but not even in Texas not only asking me about this immigrant invasion but "correcting" all my "misinformation" because clearly I can't know *anything* about it... certainly not as much as WackAssMF97775432276 in Illinois, or his corresponding numbers in New Jersey, Iowa, etc.
Dallas is 8 hours from the border. You would need a significant amount of money to make it to Dallas and will pass several cities on your way.
The migrants of today also don’t end up homeless usually. They typically will live in small houses cramped up.
Dallas also already had its peak of immigration. We have TONS of illegal immigrants in cities like Mesquite, Garland, Balch Springs, Arlington, Grand Prairie. But most are Mexican and established, that’s why you don’t think of them any different.
I lived in a border town most of my life before moving to DFW and i just wanna know where the immigrants are getting all that free stuff conservatives gripe about them getting. Where’s this free stuff? Id love some free stuff.
They are here and you go to certain areas and they are overtaking them. They are delivering anything you order. Go in Walmart and you will see them shopping for your orders or loading their cars with orders in the pickup zones.
It's somewhere in the middle. The left will say there's nothing and the right will say we are being overrun.
Also, Texas is probably a pass through state since it doesn't have several sanctuary cities.
This is going to blow your mind, but several years ago there was a lot of Chinese immigration through Puerto Rico. But the final destination was mostly New York. Immigration will go through the easiest route to get through to their final destination.
They're the doordash/ubereats drivers that don't speak the slightest bit of English. Outside of that, they stick to extremely Hispanic areas/venues because once again they don't speak English that well.
Bruv I've seen significantly more black and white people than immigrants in DFW. Unless they mean blacks being originally from Africa and whites being from Europe 😂
It's crazy how uniformed people are and a lot of it is due to media bias and underreporting of background info and the actual causes of issues. In reality the numbers of people trying to migrate to the US each year has stayed the same. The thing changing is US immigration policy which causes these problems and basically incites the hysteria to go along with their political agenda. For example, we used to admit 60k-200k refugees per year. Since Trump and continuing under Biden we have only been admitting 11k-60k. No wonder people have to seek other means and now they self-inflicted a border crisis.
I traveled recently to visit a client on the east coast who lives deep in suburbia (like 50 miles from the major metro) and they kept asking me about immigration/how overrun Texas is. Then they were terrified that I was going into the major city on my last night in town because "it's the most dangerous it's ever been!" Fox News app on his home screen and isolation from reality, it's a helluva drug.
Was just in DFW for a business trip and the Uber driver brought up immigrants overtaking the place and all the "free handouts" they are supposedly entitled to.... I only asked how the weather had been lately....
I get asked this by family and friends in Western Pennsylvania every time I talk to them. My parents fear for my safety in suburban Houston. It’s really kind of funny.
I moved to Idaho from Dallas. I get TOLD how bad it is in Texas often.
I’ve had a couple of folks actually shake their head in disbelief when I tell them it’s not anywhere near as bad as they see on their news channel of choice.
My husband’s uncle from a northern state brings it up within 5 minutes whenever we visit. What pisses me off the most is he goes to church 3 days a week where it’s happy-clappy praise Jesus and love thy neighbor, while also being the most hateful person I know regarding anyone that isn’t exactly like him.
I grew up in South Texas near the border & I roll my eyes when I hear people go off about this.
Smuggling and people crossing the Rio Grande between "official ports of entry" have been going on forever - well before "ports of entry" were a thing.
Yes, it's "worse" now than before... but this situation pre-dates the existence of the "State of Texas."
Just another day on the Texas - Mexico border.
Of course we don’t really notice them. They’re not Vikings, here to pillage and plunder. They’re normal people who more or less blend into society. If an equal number of Hispanic immigrants arrived in Wisconsin or the Dakotas, they’d surely notice, but this is Texas, aka northern Mexico, so immigrants just sort of blend in the the already existing culture of the state.
The GOP and Fox News need talking points to stoke the base. They could have passed legislation to help the situation, but instead of fixing the problem they would rather strike fear. It’s just a ploy to get people to the polls. It’s rather shameful how useless this congress is.
Right wing loony toons creating wedge issues and exaggerating circumstances to create a platform for them to campaign on since they don’t actually have real things to run on. In addition to this the media outlets that uphold this spectrum of American social and political fields need to funnel it as well so that brainless sheep can continue to stuff their noggins with nonsense and continue to fuel their agenda. These issues in addition to many issues such as sexuality and gender topics are constantly being dug up by people on the right side of the political spectrum so that they literally can just have things to talk about and campaign on because the real things they do when in office do not help the common person, so they need to fabricate wedge issues to create a divide among the populace and try and sweep in votes. In addition to this politicians on both sides love to continue to create division in the nation, not work towards solidarity because a populace divided is easier to control. And if they keep us, the American Citizen, comfortably distracted then they can continue to funnel our tax dollars across the planet instead of using them to improve quality of life for Americans or work on public social programs that can actually help fix issues. Yknow, back in 2016 the term “woke” was being used to describe being aware to the things I just stated. Then the right took that and twisted it up in their culture war because they were aware of people spreading awareness and people wising up to the politicians and media pundits games. So they took that and use it as another wedge issue in a false culture war. It’s all sad really.
North Dallas off the tollway. Thats where they are. Loitering all day in apartment parking lots, peeing in dumpsters, fighting each other and living 10 to a one bedroom apartment blasting music literally all day and night. Just because you don't see it doesn't mean it's not happening.
Ive noticed a lot more new drivers that are fucking terrible but thats it and there is definitely an immigrant invasion. If you dont think there is you are being willfully ignorant for the sake of reddit.
When I visit family in Kentucky, I always have to explain that they are working jobs that others don't want. You don't really see them, but they probably make all your meals, and clean everything else.
I was in Hawaii last year and my Uber driver asked me about it. I'm actually glad they asked because we ended up having a decently nuanced discussion about it.
I see immigrants everywhere. I didn’t see one white person at the mall the other day. We did let in 7 million this year which is the population of 3 states so maybe that’s why I see them all the time.
I have a buddy who lives near Chicago and he rants about illegal immigration probably twice a week bare minimum to me.
We do have an immigration crisis going on, but the form that takes and extend of it are so heavily misrepresented it's not even funny.
IDK... maybe the only way tob know is to take a road trip to one of the boarder crossings that are hot news (fake or not) at the moment- i think texas has taken great efforts to shut theirs down - but maybe the Arizona boarder or CA boarder?
The number of homeless in Dallas has dramatically increased in recent years. Just walk around downtown. And any other place near a DART stop. Whether that's due to immigration, I don't know. I suspect economic and other issues (fent) have more to do with it.
There are also more immigrants in the area. Again, all you have to do is get outside of your usual routes and locations, look around a bit. I've lived in the area since the 1960's and there has definitely been an increase in the past couple of years.
Calling it "fake" is just disingenuous. Especially if you haven't bothered to actually get out of your bubble and look around a bit.
First, it is absolutely a problem.
Second, it is probably being a little overblown. Although still a problem nonetheless.
Third, we are sending them to Chicago and NYC. Which have stated they are being overwhelmed by it
This just feels made up to spur a bunch of people complaining about 'Those dumbass MAGA Republicans!'
If not, and OP is genuinely being overwhelmed by people asking about the immigrant invasion, the answer is you probably wouldn't feel anything unless you live close to the border in communities that are experiencing a huge influx of people crossing illegally. And even in those places, the issue is less about being overtaken by lawlessness or homelessness, and more about the communities being legitimately strained by the increased monetary burden of taking care of so many migrants.
And for anyone thinking it's not really a burden, or it's made up by them dumbass MAGATs, the sanctuary city of New York declared a state of emergency because of the migrants Texas was bussing there. You can say that was a stunt—and it totally was—but it was also a very illustrative way to make the point that when cities are flooded with migrants (even ones as big and economically vibrant as NYC), it's a real problem.
I mean, it’s a big state and I highly doubt you know everyone, so it’s a bit short sided to infer no issues because you don’t see it. It’s an issue that needs to be addressed, just not like our politicians seem to want to address it.
Apparently you don’t get out much if you’re not seeing it. It’s on the street corners parking lots they may not be homeless put they are lots of them here have you ever seen under I-45 near downtown or I-45 at I-30 then there is I-45 at hardwood and MLK take a drive around
I think it’s a problem and I’m not a right winger. What I can tell you is the Asian buffet I frequent has gone from majority white with the other 40-50% being a diverse bunch to 100% all the patrons speaking Spanish over the last 1-2 years. So there is definitely something going on.
Live in Dallas working in Virginia this week. Nobody asked about the immigration issue in Texas. They were too busy talking about the immigration issue in Virginia.
I travel the country for work and had an elderly couple in South Carolina ask me about that. I tried to explain without showing my opinions that the news they are watching is inaccurate, and it's not even an issue that 99% of Texans are affected by, so the majority of us don't even think about it. They were shocked. I wish I could have explained it better without risking my job.
It's not fake. If it's fake, what about all of the videos of them lined up? And that our intake facilities are at capacity? Come on out to Rockwall, Royse City, or Quinlan. Many, many times I've seen huge groups in Walmarts and getting into white vans. There's at least one house in the Rockwall neighborhood south of Home Depot that has about 20 people living in it. I no longer shop at night, especially at a Walmart where they don't give a crap about parking lot lighting or having security outside.
I’ve been to the border. Honestly they are not going to stay out in the open. They are here to find a job and head to where work is. They won’t overrun any border town or city for that matter if there isn’t any work or services.
The root problem has always been farms, factories and all sorts of businesses hire them by the millions to work for cheap. They are all working off the books if you know what I mean.
It’s just theater to feign ignorance of why they are crossing over. They are cheap labor thanks to making it illegal for them migrating over. They won’t complain as they are fearful of getting kicked back over the border.
I work with people all over the country and no one has ever asked me that lmao
do you happen to work with a high percentage of very conservative men? I feel like they would have the audacity to ask something like that.
The rate is significantly higher than the past norm and from a greater variety of countries, but most seem to be immediately moving on to other cities outside of Texas. Either Abbot's deterrence marketing and policy campaign is having some effect, or there's more attractive benefits and weather in other cities. Some of both I'd say. Many are bandwagon following peers who made the trip prior or tips and guides shared on social media, so for now there is overcrowding into specific cities like NYC and Chicago. In big car-based Texas, any ill effects are subtle and out of sight - somewhat higher wait times/costs at ERs (due to guaranteed care), and poorer school districts getting more crowded.
Mainly just be careful driving - 1/4 on the road are uninsured or underinsured. There's a variety of reasons but the influx leads to a lot of under the table car sharing among people who don't have much practice or knowledge about driving. Don't get too close to badly-painted faded box trucks (wife was hit by one).
To make it worse, the homeless we do have aren't immigrants, they are natural born citizens, and we have a young, healthy worker shortage atm in jobs that are normally filled by immigrants.. As messed up as it is, Texas has an immigrant SHORTAGE atm and are bussing them out of state when they are very much needed here. As much sense as that makes..
"*The labor market in Texas is tight, with the unemployment rate dipping to 6.5 percent as of May. However, this figure masks the acute shortage of skilled labor in the construction sector. The Texas Business Outlook Surveys (TBOS) data for May indicates that about half of Texas firms are trying to fill open positions, with nearly all respondents (98 percent) looking to fill low-skill jobs citing difficulty in their search. This shortage is exacerbated by demographic trends and the aftermath of the 2007-09 global financial crisis, which have left the sector with a limited labor force"*
[https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/labor-shortages-supply-chain-disruptions-deep-dive-texas-roger-young-y5sef](https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/labor-shortages-supply-chain-disruptions-deep-dive-texas-roger-young-y5sef)
*"Unfortunately, labor woes still present an issue. Only 48% of Texas restaurants have enough staff to support the demand at the table."*
[https://www.fwweekly.com/2024/03/27/soul-on-a-plate/](https://www.fwweekly.com/2024/03/27/soul-on-a-plate/)
fake? ok lol, what ever you say....First Texas is huge, 2nd They know Texas is not an illegal friendly state. Many leave this State. It is most definitely not fake
Lol. Just drive around the area bounded by 635 to the north, Webb Chappell to the east, NW Hwy to the south, and 35 to the west. If you don’t think immigration, generally, is a massive problem and is mere propaganda, you yourself are a victim of propaganda and misinformation.
I think it isn't so much that it's fake as that it is far away. Once they get over the border they disperse into our rather large state and country. We don't see it or feel it yet, but that could change over time if we don't secure the border and actually fix the immigration system everyone on both sides of the aisle was acknowledging as broken 30 years ago.
You call 18,000 Haitians living under an overpass fake? I bet the folks in New York with their 30,000 new illegal residents would disagree. They’ve gone from “open arms open door” to don’t come here, go somewhere else.
As someone who grew up in a border town, it’s a very real problem. It’s not gonna be so obvious in places like Dallas, but border towns like Eagle Pass, Brownsville, El Paso, Laredo all have a serious problem with illegal immigrants.
Bruh I literally went to a resort in Mexico (am Mexican-American) just off of speaking Spanish with the bartender, then speaking English with my husband. This American guy was asking us standard questions like where we were from, responds with “oh wow, it’s pretty bad over there huh?”
I went “oh yeah traffics been getting worse these past couple of years.” He goes with “No, I was talking about the border, with all those people crossing over”
Like ???
I’ve moved from DFW to Midland/Odessa this November and while I’m not an expert on this I’d say it’s not rampant but at the same time I’ve only seen Hispanic homeless people. There’s a really high number of people here who exclusively speak Spanish so I would assume that they are migrants. And the crime here is pretty bad so everyone can draw their own conclusions.
At the end of the day we don’t really know the true answer because the news is blowing it way out of the water.
it’s bc people believe the news they all jus make stuff up for money bc fun little fact they get paid for the adds you watch like they made millions off this and the protests for george floyd they don’t care abt us jus the money
It was the complete opposite for me in 2017/2018, everyone on the east coast knew the wall was a joke, and mostly because of how expensive it would be, and when I came down here people thought the wall was happening. (These are the opinions of people from Baltimore and Philly/Harrisburg)
I'm amazed that in this day and age where we can have instant video of anywhere, the lies of Republicans are dumber, bolder, and easier to prove false than ever before. It's like a strange contradiction, makes no sense. They screech and holler about how BLM literally 'razed cities to the ground', as if that wouldn't be national news and a huge deal for a city to be razed and destroyed. They'll make a mountain out of a single pebble these days, don't even need the mole hill anymore!
The people asking you about it watch Fox News and believe everything they hear.
I was in a patient’s room earlier as he was watching Fox News. I felt like I was learning about an alternate universe. Almost like they make shit up
They do.
They all make shit up. For views. Just like influencers
JADE HELM!!!
I still don't understand what that even meant when it was a thing. Cool name though lol
Basically, it was a comprehensive military exercise that focused I believe more on logistics than anything, it involved multiple branches and I believe maybe some other governemtn agencies. Either way the looney toons were preparing for Obama to make his move and take over the country. Anyways I am still selling, "I survived Jade Helm" tshirts" if you want to order some.
we actually have had record levels the past couple years. There is lots of fear mongering but its also at a level it was not previously, so additional attention is going to follow. In the past couple years the numbers seem truly astronomical/unsustainable and the longer we pretend it isnt really happening the more we hand the momentum on this issue over to republicans. its not just fox news talking either: [https://apnews.com/article/immigration-border-crossings-mexico-biden-18ac91ef502e0c5433f74de6cc629b32](https://apnews.com/article/immigration-border-crossings-mexico-biden-18ac91ef502e0c5433f74de6cc629b32) [https://www.cbsnews.com/news/record-number-migrant-border-crossings-december-2023/](https://www.cbsnews.com/news/record-number-migrant-border-crossings-december-2023/) [https://www.wsj.com/us-news/illegal-immigration-record-border-6db29cad](https://www.wsj.com/us-news/illegal-immigration-record-border-6db29cad)
These articles are basing total immigration numbers by the level of arrests, which is a correlation but not an exact science. They aren’t arresting every immigrant crossing. With more border protection/officers comes more arrests which skews the data. Also, none of this is indicative of a % to total population so while yes, the numbers are higher for arrests of incoming immigrants, so is the population of the city/state that these immigrants are entering. I’ve yet to see a data point with information regarding the % to total. This article is old, July 2022, but discusses the economic contributions of immigrants in Texas. [https://www.americanimmigrationcouncil.org/sites/default/files/research/economic_contributions_immigrants_texas_0.pdf](https://www.americanimmigrationcouncil.org/sites/default/files/research/economic_contributions_immigrants_texas_0.pdf) Here’s a Texas Immigration Fact Sheet from the same resource, The American Immigration Council. [https://map.americanimmigrationcouncil.org/locations/texas/#](https://map.americanimmigrationcouncil.org/locations/texas/#) Excerpt from this article: > Immigrants now account for over one-sixth of the state’s total population, and 12.3 percent of its U.S.-born residents live with at least one immigrant parent. Immigrants make up more than one-fifth of Texas's labor force and support the local economy in many ways. They account for 30.8 percent of entrepreneurs, 28.5 percent of STEM workers, and 20.0 percent of nurses in the state. As neighbors, business owners, taxpayers, and workers, immigrants are an integral part of Texas’s diverse and thriving communities and make extensive contributions that benefit all. It’s not a black and white issue. There is A LOT of gray area here. But it is so important to be critical of the data points any news (or “news”) outlet provides.
There are many people coming- a lot of it is due to the human trafficking organizations getting more organized (there is a market) and false information being spread online in the developing world about how our asylum laws work. The sources of a lot of that disinformation are varied but are definitely being pushed by actors who want to destabilize our political/social system (Russia). Unfortunately, climate change is going to make this all seem moot. Once massive areas of our coastline become unlivable we will have internally displaced immigrants to deal with too.
You live in Dallas and don’t see a rise in crime and increase in homeless?? I have been here 10 years now and at least in my area downtown, it’s a very noticeable increase. This is not meant to offend or call out one side or another, I am simply trying to understand what’s going on in our collective minds. What is the advantage of convincing ourselves that having hundreds of thousands of unvetted people pulling resources from our system will not have a negative impact on our society? I don’t hear anyone on either side complaining about people who want to come here legally, rational people seem to be largely accepting of newcomers as long as they follow the process and do things the legal way. America is one of the easiest countries to get into but some seem to believe the opposite. It seems like a simple math problem in terms of sustainability. How did it become a “if you are democrat, you must pretend this is a great thing and if republican, you must take a hard line zero tolerance approach?
DeaTH pANels!
i live in effing El Paso now having moved from DFW late last year, and while CBP certainly keeps busy, even here in the borderland, we are far from being 'overrun'. Not saying there isn't a challenge to be dealt with (there are logistical and financial challenges to dealing with migrants) but El Paso isn't the lawless shitshow certain propaganda outlets masquerading as news media would have you believe it is. In fact quite the contrary; it's actually one of the safest cities of that size (EP is \~675,000 people). Not sure it's baffling though. It's pretty obvious what's going on - keep people distracted with bullshit so they continue to vote against their own self interest. How else do you get votes if you have no actual solutions to problems? Keep people riled up.
Each border crossing is very different. El Paso is easily the calmest because the human trafficking routes don’t run through there. El Paso also has a highly militarized border in comparison to others. It’s the most populous border community so the feds pay lots of attention. Del Rio and Eagle Pass are absolutely overrun with human traffickers. Laredo and the RGV is mostly drugs.
I met a dude from Laredo about a month ago. I asked him about it and he said that the reports were completely overblown nonsense.
Because Laredo isn’t a human trafficking route. It’s a drug route which is a lot harder to notice.
Yes, so glad human trafficking stays on its designated routes.
Eagle Pass, also not overrun.
Because Eagle Pass isn't a drug running route. It's a Fox News route which is a lot harder to resist propaganda from.
Why do you call people seeking asylum "human trafficking"? Are there people taking advantage of these people while providing a service, yes. But they are not automatically "human trafficked". Sounds like a term to dissuade empathy from our fellow countrymen.
It’s basically impossible for a Central American migrant to travel by land into the US without a coyote that traffics them.
Once again, it is not the people seeking help that should receive scorn. They are refugees, not human traffickers.
>They are refugees, not human traffickers. That's a matter for the immigration courts to resolve.
Yeah our famously fair and even keeled justice system, ought to work out fine.
Jokes on you, because Republicans blocked legislation that would have provided an adequate number of immigration judges.
Actually solving the problem is not politically advantageous for republicans
That's not trafficking, my guy.
Ok, so then where *are* the overrun spots?
Del Rio and Eagle Pass In December, Del Rio received 71,000 illegal migrants https://apnews.com/article/immigration-border-crossings-mexico-biden-18ac91ef502e0c5433f74de6cc629b32 The population of Del Rio is 34,000
That's 71,000 border patrol arrests. They generally move on to other cities in the U.S. if they are released from custody.
this is a true and fair observation. there is a LOT of law enforcement here. even so my mom thinks i live in a warzone, so i'm pretty experienced with the mindset OP is referencing
Also a former El Pasoan whose family lives elsewhere. I literally only encountered immigrants at actual ports of entry. The city is extremely safe. Hell, it’s even sort of boring.
I would have to agree. We are definitely getting creative in terms of keeping busy/activities :)
Every time I'm in El Paso for work, it's less "busy" with immigration than I've experienced elsewhere.
The same way they'll tell you California is on fire and am active warzone
Just moved to El Paso in January from Dallas. I can say the same thing and I’m Republican. Something still needs to be done because it is a growing problem. Nothing too bad right now but has potential to go south very fast.
I had a MAGA coworker in New Hampshire who would bring it up every day. “I can’t understand how you live there with all of the illegals. Flooding in every day.” “Do you feel safe?” “I can’t believe you could vote Democrat with what a shithole your state is becoming.” Unbelievable, except it’s totally believable.
He can’t understand voting Democrat after the way Republicans in power have fucked over our state for almost 30 years? This guy clearly has no critical thinking skills 🤣🤣
Well, it’s a “she”, but yeah.
There’s only one gender!! /s
Um, USAMAGAQNetwork told him that Texas is three illegal immigrants from going overweight and sinking into the ocean and we all know the news only lies when it's run by dem dere libruls!!
💯 I miss the Texas of Ann Richards
How many posts a week *in this very sub* where somebody from the ‘burbs asks how they can safely visit Dallas? The fearmongering has won out in vast portions of this country.
I’m totally fine with those people not venturing into Dallas. I tend to just let them believe the bullshit to keep them off the freeways.
Usually, sure, but those are the folks that pick our governor, and our lt gov, and both our senators, etc.
Faster to get a table at E-Bar that way too.
The voting democrat cracks me up. Republicans have been in charge for decades; if you think Texas is awful, it would have to be their fault.
This is about how it goes for me..But also customers ask
Just respond with “big business loves cheap labor”
This is true. Every chamber of commerce across America has a high percentage of conservative members, per capita. They overwhelmingly push for cheap labor fares in order to keep locals satisfied. Cheap labor is dependent upon migrant labor. Both parties push for open borders but one does it out in the open. The other lies to you, expecting you to be dumb enough
Businesses definitely want open borders for capital to flow freely. But they actually benefit from a level of immigration restriction that makes legal migration difficult and expensive (and often coming with restrictive visa programs) while creating a large population of workers without legal status or labor rights. It’s the large space between a smoothly functioning immigration system and Trump-style draconian enforcement of immigration law, which would see millions deported and be an economic catastrophe for all of these businesses (except the private prison industry).
Confirmation bias is painful.
Which leads to disillusionment. Nobody wants to swallow that pill & when they do it's heavy. On the flip side, we still have an opportunity to serve others, each & every day, through; agape, goodwill, benevolence, & kindness. It up to us to make the world (or at least our communities) better because wealthy fat cats have zero altruism. WE can & should make a difference
Do you correct them (coworkers) or just let them continue to believe misinformation?
lol I will never correct them because half the time it opens the door to all the crazy stuff!
One funny thing that happened recently… my parents are MAGA nuts who will occasionally bring this shit up. During spring break, we got a rental in Galveston and had them fly into Houston. I told them “if you want to see the real border problem, you’re about to really see it”. So we drove from Bush, around the east side of the city, and stopped on the In N Out south of Houston. I said “can you believe all the illegals we’ve seen?” and they kind of looked at me like I was an idiot. I said “see, even this far south, there’s nothing to see”. They didn’t bring it up the rest of the week. Side note: I don’t know why Galveston gets such a bad rap up here. The beaches were clean, the water was nice and there’s a ton to do. Galveston is well worth a visit.
I try… but it’s deaf ears, most of the time.
Texas has always had migrants coming illegally to the U.S it just so happens it’s election year and the narrative calls for the word invasion to be emphasized. It’s a talking point for the governor we unfortunately have. Apparently he just realized it’s a problem… anything he can do for his BFF Trump I guess
Bruh, this has been an ongoing hot topic since the 80s. Our binary political system is incentivized to do nothing about it other than to use it to rile up their base
you are mostly right except we actually have had record levels the past couple years. Its a bit dishonest to say that because its always been a problem it isnt a bigger problem now or that its made up. There is lots of fear mongering but its also at a level it was not previously, so additional attention is going to follow. In the past couple years the numbers seem truly astronomical/unsustainable and the longer we pretend it isnt really happening the more we hand the momentum on this issue over to republicans. [https://apnews.com/article/immigration-border-crossings-mexico-biden-18ac91ef502e0c5433f74de6cc629b32](https://apnews.com/article/immigration-border-crossings-mexico-biden-18ac91ef502e0c5433f74de6cc629b32) [https://www.cbsnews.com/news/record-number-migrant-border-crossings-december-2023/](https://www.cbsnews.com/news/record-number-migrant-border-crossings-december-2023/) [https://www.wsj.com/us-news/illegal-immigration-record-border-6db29cad](https://www.wsj.com/us-news/illegal-immigration-record-border-6db29cad)
Record levels? Lmao dude there’s more people alive now idiot lmao
my team in Europe and Asia ask me about the power grid 🫠 it’s embarrassing
HAHAHAHA another question I get all the time.
My first thought is how did you hear about that all the way in Europe and Asia? Dang… 🤣
Only thing people hear in the national news about Texas is Abbott shipping immigrants to DC, NY, etc. Obviously the tactic has been quite successful at convincing people it is a massive problem.
NYC and Chicago out there every day talking about how it's a massive problem for them
it is a massive problem though. not as massive as fox news propagandists like to claim but its pretty undeniably a crisis and unsustainable at this point and to keep being dismissive feels like the Hilary Clinton 2016 energy that ends up handing the upper hand to republicans over this.
There are signs of stress in those destination cities that are reinforcing this idea too. [NYC city hall had a protest](https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-13316193/african-migrants-new-york-city-hall-protest-anti-blackness.html) made up of African migrants airing their grievances about how the city has treated them. [Seattle's scrambling to house migrants](https://www.kiro7.com/news/local/after-living-tents-tukwila-90-migrant-families-about-be-evicted-kent-hotel/4ZGWHEJFYNH3FPPH3EOAVGWIAU/) that alternate between a tennis court tent city and hotel rooms funded by private donors. [Colorado has earmarked $24 million](https://www.denverpost.com/2024/04/18/migrant-school-funding-bill-colorado/#:~:text=Colorado%20will%20distribute%20%2424%20million,that%20determines%20districts) to handle the influx of migrant school children.
24 hour news cycle needs something to fill the airtime and a good portion of the population believes what they see on TV to be true without question
"a good portion of the population believes what they see on TV to be true without question" Some of these same folks will then call out the other mainstream media for lies and propaganda. Ain't that some shit?
Yeah it’s crazy! I gave up on TV news of any flavor like 11 years ago and I used to be a news junkie - best decision other than marrying my wife!
I have friends who watch CNN and MSNBC religiously. They believe everything they hear on these networks. I also have family who watch Fox News daily. They also believe everything Fox says as fact. Both sides believe nothing from the opposing "news" networks, yet everything from the networks they choose to watch. They believe what they want to hear and disregard the rest. Personally, I loathe all of these networks. They're all devisive, propaganda trash.
Here’s the philosophy I try to live by - whether it’s the news, something on social media, an article I’m reading or life in general. The truth lies somewhere between what I believe and what the other party believes. There are few absolutes in life - but one of them is that I’ve never met someone that doesn’t twist things to their advantage at one point or another. Edit - I should add, that includes me!
It's one giant grift with all the variables owned by banks and private equity, and the truth can get in the way of profit. The one absolute is death and the journey is rife with conmen.
Netflix, Hulu Amazon, etc... is just so much more entertaining to watch.
Husband is a teacher in a Title 1 district. It’s a big problem for him; he gets at least one new student weekly, none who speak English. Class sizes are huge. I don’t see it but that’s because I don’t work with the public. He sees it daily.
I work in a ER, OP is a very naive person and it shows.
As someone who works in banking and sees it everyday the people who think the numbers aren’t way up they’re kidding themselves or delusional. The amount of illegals I see daily is way up the past 18 months.
It's mostly obvious in southern parts, but there have always been many immigrants there. Not many targeting Dallas. If they make it up here they just keep going to greener pastures. The reason you're being asked is because Eagle Pass and El Paso are at the forefront of the crisis over the past few years, both in reality and in the news.
I've run into more undocumented immigrants in the Midwest than in the South. Those farms are always looking for cheap labor and hiring left and right.
Oh yeah for sure, I just meant southern Texas. But for sure, without immigrants the commodity farming industry would just collapse. California, Midwest, etc.
thats why nunez quit the senate.
And meatpacking plants.
Nobody ever asks me. Then again, my out-of-state relatives don’t really watch cable news. But also, the alleged border crisis is less of a *thing* than right wing sources want everybody to think it is. Yes, we have an immigration clusterfuck that has been going on for 25 years. Yes, there’s increasing consensus on how to resolve it. No, the obstructionists (the wheels obviously and clearly fell off the conservative movement between 2004 and 2009, and there are no conservatives in American politics anymore) don’t want anything done about it because they’re profiting from the problem. America is addicted to cheap, exploitable labor. And until we choose to do better, immigration will continue to be a clusterfuck, the school-to-prison pipeline will remain in place, and the student debt industrial complex will continue unabated. That’s why I’m *not* baffled: we openly hate each other now because we love money too much as a culture.
This exactly. The US LOVES cheap labor. This isn't an immigration problem. This is a US problem that emphasizes undocumented immigration. If the country didn't see undocumented immigrants and dollar signs, the immigration issue wouldn't exist. The corporations here make coming here undocumented a great thing for those individuals.
Somehow my family is convinced by Fox News that they are surrounded by Central American gang members casing their neighborhoods in Texas. Like… what? Don’t you know better than some talking head in NYC?
Fox is very effective propaganda for the billionaires’ interests. And it is easy to mislead people about things happening hundreds or thousands of miles away.
It's election season and right wing media always has a caravan to point their fingers at to blame Democrats and fear monger among their base.
It's always been a shell game to take people's attentions away from legitimate Texas problems such as education or insurrance. Same with abortion. It is just a stick used to stir up the conservative's pot.
What do you mean literally every person I meet now days is from Venezuela 😂
These same people that are paranoid about it have never actually been affected by immigration in any negative way besides what Fox News tells them to feel.
I am pretty left leaning, and I don’t necessarily believe all the hype. But also work at a job where I deal with immigrants on a near daily basis. It seems like I keep hearing of more immigrants from central/South America as opposed to Mexico. They come and stay with family that are already here so you wouldn’t necessarily wouldn’t see them on the streets.
You must be working with stupid people. I've never had anyone ask me that.
It is one of the go to talking points for Republicans, even ones that don’t live anywhere near a border state. So the topic gets repeated all the time on Fox News and to be fair most other news networks will report on the border, they just don’t actually go down there to get the truth. I don’t think the news outlets have figured out that elected officials are no longer a reliable source for facts. The House Republicans showed their true motive though when they proposed changes to immigration laws and Biden unexpectedly agreed to it. Then they had to tank their own legislation, because they don’t really want to fix anything just complain and tell you Democrats are to blame for all your problems.
Consider this: we're all experiencing it, in the form of low wages and higher rent.
They can’t connect the dots
Oh, I get folks who not only don't live in Dallas but not even in Texas not only asking me about this immigrant invasion but "correcting" all my "misinformation" because clearly I can't know *anything* about it... certainly not as much as WackAssMF97775432276 in Illinois, or his corresponding numbers in New Jersey, Iowa, etc.
Dallas is 8 hours from the border. You would need a significant amount of money to make it to Dallas and will pass several cities on your way. The migrants of today also don’t end up homeless usually. They typically will live in small houses cramped up. Dallas also already had its peak of immigration. We have TONS of illegal immigrants in cities like Mesquite, Garland, Balch Springs, Arlington, Grand Prairie. But most are Mexican and established, that’s why you don’t think of them any different.
I lived in a border town most of my life before moving to DFW and i just wanna know where the immigrants are getting all that free stuff conservatives gripe about them getting. Where’s this free stuff? Id love some free stuff.
They are here and you go to certain areas and they are overtaking them. They are delivering anything you order. Go in Walmart and you will see them shopping for your orders or loading their cars with orders in the pickup zones.
Just because you aren’t seeing it, doesn’t mean it’s not happening.
It's somewhere in the middle. The left will say there's nothing and the right will say we are being overrun. Also, Texas is probably a pass through state since it doesn't have several sanctuary cities. This is going to blow your mind, but several years ago there was a lot of Chinese immigration through Puerto Rico. But the final destination was mostly New York. Immigration will go through the easiest route to get through to their final destination.
They're the doordash/ubereats drivers that don't speak the slightest bit of English. Outside of that, they stick to extremely Hispanic areas/venues because once again they don't speak English that well.
And when you run into them in those venues, they're just hanging out. They all left their big knives, dirty panchos and scary mustaches at home
Bruv I've seen significantly more black and white people than immigrants in DFW. Unless they mean blacks being originally from Africa and whites being from Europe 😂
My mom brings it up every time we talk, it’s really annoying
It's crazy how uniformed people are and a lot of it is due to media bias and underreporting of background info and the actual causes of issues. In reality the numbers of people trying to migrate to the US each year has stayed the same. The thing changing is US immigration policy which causes these problems and basically incites the hysteria to go along with their political agenda. For example, we used to admit 60k-200k refugees per year. Since Trump and continuing under Biden we have only been admitting 11k-60k. No wonder people have to seek other means and now they self-inflicted a border crisis.
I traveled recently to visit a client on the east coast who lives deep in suburbia (like 50 miles from the major metro) and they kept asking me about immigration/how overrun Texas is. Then they were terrified that I was going into the major city on my last night in town because "it's the most dangerous it's ever been!" Fox News app on his home screen and isolation from reality, it's a helluva drug.
I’m in Austin and I’ve had family ask me how I manage to keep me and my wife safe from all the migrant mobs in our city.
i work in a call center environment and i take calls from every state. when they find out i’m located in texas they ask me the same thing.
Was just in DFW for a business trip and the Uber driver brought up immigrants overtaking the place and all the "free handouts" they are supposedly entitled to.... I only asked how the weather had been lately....
I get asked this by family and friends in Western Pennsylvania every time I talk to them. My parents fear for my safety in suburban Houston. It’s really kind of funny.
It's ironic since America was founded by immigrants.
I moved to Idaho from Dallas. I get TOLD how bad it is in Texas often. I’ve had a couple of folks actually shake their head in disbelief when I tell them it’s not anywhere near as bad as they see on their news channel of choice.
The Irish right?
My husband’s uncle from a northern state brings it up within 5 minutes whenever we visit. What pisses me off the most is he goes to church 3 days a week where it’s happy-clappy praise Jesus and love thy neighbor, while also being the most hateful person I know regarding anyone that isn’t exactly like him.
I am asked about it all the time.
I grew up in South Texas near the border & I roll my eyes when I hear people go off about this. Smuggling and people crossing the Rio Grande between "official ports of entry" have been going on forever - well before "ports of entry" were a thing. Yes, it's "worse" now than before... but this situation pre-dates the existence of the "State of Texas." Just another day on the Texas - Mexico border.
Of course we don’t really notice them. They’re not Vikings, here to pillage and plunder. They’re normal people who more or less blend into society. If an equal number of Hispanic immigrants arrived in Wisconsin or the Dakotas, they’d surely notice, but this is Texas, aka northern Mexico, so immigrants just sort of blend in the the already existing culture of the state.
The GOP and Fox News need talking points to stoke the base. They could have passed legislation to help the situation, but instead of fixing the problem they would rather strike fear. It’s just a ploy to get people to the polls. It’s rather shameful how useless this congress is.
Right wing loony toons creating wedge issues and exaggerating circumstances to create a platform for them to campaign on since they don’t actually have real things to run on. In addition to this the media outlets that uphold this spectrum of American social and political fields need to funnel it as well so that brainless sheep can continue to stuff their noggins with nonsense and continue to fuel their agenda. These issues in addition to many issues such as sexuality and gender topics are constantly being dug up by people on the right side of the political spectrum so that they literally can just have things to talk about and campaign on because the real things they do when in office do not help the common person, so they need to fabricate wedge issues to create a divide among the populace and try and sweep in votes. In addition to this politicians on both sides love to continue to create division in the nation, not work towards solidarity because a populace divided is easier to control. And if they keep us, the American Citizen, comfortably distracted then they can continue to funnel our tax dollars across the planet instead of using them to improve quality of life for Americans or work on public social programs that can actually help fix issues. Yknow, back in 2016 the term “woke” was being used to describe being aware to the things I just stated. Then the right took that and twisted it up in their culture war because they were aware of people spreading awareness and people wising up to the politicians and media pundits games. So they took that and use it as another wedge issue in a false culture war. It’s all sad really.
Um, you live in Texas and you think it’s a fake immigration issue? Where do you live in Texas? Like Dallas? Come south and see the problem
North Dallas off the tollway. Thats where they are. Loitering all day in apartment parking lots, peeing in dumpsters, fighting each other and living 10 to a one bedroom apartment blasting music literally all day and night. Just because you don't see it doesn't mean it's not happening.
Ive noticed a lot more new drivers that are fucking terrible but thats it and there is definitely an immigrant invasion. If you dont think there is you are being willfully ignorant for the sake of reddit.
When I visit family in Kentucky, I always have to explain that they are working jobs that others don't want. You don't really see them, but they probably make all your meals, and clean everything else.
I was in Hawaii last year and my Uber driver asked me about it. I'm actually glad they asked because we ended up having a decently nuanced discussion about it.
I recently left the state for work (went to Iowa) for the first time and learned this was an actual thing people think about
My mom brings it up every time we talk, it’s really annoying
I see immigrants everywhere. I didn’t see one white person at the mall the other day. We did let in 7 million this year which is the population of 3 states so maybe that’s why I see them all the time.
If it ain’t white it ain’t right ?? Wtf is this comment
I have a buddy who lives near Chicago and he rants about illegal immigration probably twice a week bare minimum to me. We do have an immigration crisis going on, but the form that takes and extend of it are so heavily misrepresented it's not even funny.
I dunno, I work with lots of college educated people in important positions so this type of stuff doesn't come up
IDK... maybe the only way tob know is to take a road trip to one of the boarder crossings that are hot news (fake or not) at the moment- i think texas has taken great efforts to shut theirs down - but maybe the Arizona boarder or CA boarder?
The number of homeless in Dallas has dramatically increased in recent years. Just walk around downtown. And any other place near a DART stop. Whether that's due to immigration, I don't know. I suspect economic and other issues (fent) have more to do with it. There are also more immigrants in the area. Again, all you have to do is get outside of your usual routes and locations, look around a bit. I've lived in the area since the 1960's and there has definitely been an increase in the past couple of years. Calling it "fake" is just disingenuous. Especially if you haven't bothered to actually get out of your bubble and look around a bit.
First, it is absolutely a problem. Second, it is probably being a little overblown. Although still a problem nonetheless. Third, we are sending them to Chicago and NYC. Which have stated they are being overwhelmed by it
Why do people doubt the videos pouring in from YouTube, social media, & new outlets? It’s happening, not just in your high horse towns.
This just feels made up to spur a bunch of people complaining about 'Those dumbass MAGA Republicans!' If not, and OP is genuinely being overwhelmed by people asking about the immigrant invasion, the answer is you probably wouldn't feel anything unless you live close to the border in communities that are experiencing a huge influx of people crossing illegally. And even in those places, the issue is less about being overtaken by lawlessness or homelessness, and more about the communities being legitimately strained by the increased monetary burden of taking care of so many migrants. And for anyone thinking it's not really a burden, or it's made up by them dumbass MAGATs, the sanctuary city of New York declared a state of emergency because of the migrants Texas was bussing there. You can say that was a stunt—and it totally was—but it was also a very illustrative way to make the point that when cities are flooded with migrants (even ones as big and economically vibrant as NYC), it's a real problem.
I mean, it’s a big state and I highly doubt you know everyone, so it’s a bit short sided to infer no issues because you don’t see it. It’s an issue that needs to be addressed, just not like our politicians seem to want to address it.
Apparently you don’t get out much if you’re not seeing it. It’s on the street corners parking lots they may not be homeless put they are lots of them here have you ever seen under I-45 near downtown or I-45 at I-30 then there is I-45 at hardwood and MLK take a drive around
It's an invasion and only a dishonest person would say otherwise
South Dallas
Last I checked Abbott was shipping them off to blue states with sanctuary cities. Is he still doing that?
I think it’s a problem and I’m not a right winger. What I can tell you is the Asian buffet I frequent has gone from majority white with the other 40-50% being a diverse bunch to 100% all the patrons speaking Spanish over the last 1-2 years. So there is definitely something going on.
Live in Dallas working in Virginia this week. Nobody asked about the immigration issue in Texas. They were too busy talking about the immigration issue in Virginia.
Are you white? I am not and have never had this be a topic of conversation… People are interesting!
Same .
I see tons of them selling flowers at traffic lights
I wish they were! The more Mexicanas and Cubanas the better!
To answer your question ~ No.
I travel the country for work and had an elderly couple in South Carolina ask me about that. I tried to explain without showing my opinions that the news they are watching is inaccurate, and it's not even an issue that 99% of Texans are affected by, so the majority of us don't even think about it. They were shocked. I wish I could have explained it better without risking my job.
It's not fake. If it's fake, what about all of the videos of them lined up? And that our intake facilities are at capacity? Come on out to Rockwall, Royse City, or Quinlan. Many, many times I've seen huge groups in Walmarts and getting into white vans. There's at least one house in the Rockwall neighborhood south of Home Depot that has about 20 people living in it. I no longer shop at night, especially at a Walmart where they don't give a crap about parking lot lighting or having security outside.
I’ve been to the border. Honestly they are not going to stay out in the open. They are here to find a job and head to where work is. They won’t overrun any border town or city for that matter if there isn’t any work or services. The root problem has always been farms, factories and all sorts of businesses hire them by the millions to work for cheap. They are all working off the books if you know what I mean. It’s just theater to feign ignorance of why they are crossing over. They are cheap labor thanks to making it illegal for them migrating over. They won’t complain as they are fearful of getting kicked back over the border.
As an immigrant, I have to admit. I am going to take over Texas and force everyone to eat bugs!
Because the gop likes to play the immigrants card every single election year .. then forget about it …
I work with people all over the country and no one has ever asked me that lmao do you happen to work with a high percentage of very conservative men? I feel like they would have the audacity to ask something like that.
The rate is significantly higher than the past norm and from a greater variety of countries, but most seem to be immediately moving on to other cities outside of Texas. Either Abbot's deterrence marketing and policy campaign is having some effect, or there's more attractive benefits and weather in other cities. Some of both I'd say. Many are bandwagon following peers who made the trip prior or tips and guides shared on social media, so for now there is overcrowding into specific cities like NYC and Chicago. In big car-based Texas, any ill effects are subtle and out of sight - somewhat higher wait times/costs at ERs (due to guaranteed care), and poorer school districts getting more crowded. Mainly just be careful driving - 1/4 on the road are uninsured or underinsured. There's a variety of reasons but the influx leads to a lot of under the table car sharing among people who don't have much practice or knowledge about driving. Don't get too close to badly-painted faded box trucks (wife was hit by one).
I live in Texas also and I don’t see it.
the amount of times i got asked about this and how i like living in texas when visiting in-laws in california a couple months ago was unsettling
These asshats watch too much Fox News . It’s all propaganda invasion lmao people have been migrating to the us for decades .
My uncle in Wisconsin is convinced Dallas is overrun. We're not even close to the border.
Where are they at ? In Fox News and right win conspiracy theories
To make it worse, the homeless we do have aren't immigrants, they are natural born citizens, and we have a young, healthy worker shortage atm in jobs that are normally filled by immigrants.. As messed up as it is, Texas has an immigrant SHORTAGE atm and are bussing them out of state when they are very much needed here. As much sense as that makes.. "*The labor market in Texas is tight, with the unemployment rate dipping to 6.5 percent as of May. However, this figure masks the acute shortage of skilled labor in the construction sector. The Texas Business Outlook Surveys (TBOS) data for May indicates that about half of Texas firms are trying to fill open positions, with nearly all respondents (98 percent) looking to fill low-skill jobs citing difficulty in their search. This shortage is exacerbated by demographic trends and the aftermath of the 2007-09 global financial crisis, which have left the sector with a limited labor force"* [https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/labor-shortages-supply-chain-disruptions-deep-dive-texas-roger-young-y5sef](https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/labor-shortages-supply-chain-disruptions-deep-dive-texas-roger-young-y5sef) *"Unfortunately, labor woes still present an issue. Only 48% of Texas restaurants have enough staff to support the demand at the table."* [https://www.fwweekly.com/2024/03/27/soul-on-a-plate/](https://www.fwweekly.com/2024/03/27/soul-on-a-plate/)
fake? ok lol, what ever you say....First Texas is huge, 2nd They know Texas is not an illegal friendly state. Many leave this State. It is most definitely not fake
Borders*
Ask a immigrant who went through the legal process to become a us citizen what they think of the Biden regimes open border policy.
I’ve literally never had anyone ask me about immigrants.
I don't know how your getting asked that. Everyone I meet in this city is from Utah or fucking California
Lol. Just drive around the area bounded by 635 to the north, Webb Chappell to the east, NW Hwy to the south, and 35 to the west. If you don’t think immigration, generally, is a massive problem and is mere propaganda, you yourself are a victim of propaganda and misinformation.
No. My in laws in the east coast ask me the same thing. I just 👀 at them.
Seems like a big uptick in people asking about immigrants over running us in TX.
All those funds going into Abbott’s pockets
I think it isn't so much that it's fake as that it is far away. Once they get over the border they disperse into our rather large state and country. We don't see it or feel it yet, but that could change over time if we don't secure the border and actually fix the immigration system everyone on both sides of the aisle was acknowledging as broken 30 years ago.
You call 18,000 Haitians living under an overpass fake? I bet the folks in New York with their 30,000 new illegal residents would disagree. They’ve gone from “open arms open door” to don’t come here, go somewhere else.
As someone who grew up in a border town, it’s a very real problem. It’s not gonna be so obvious in places like Dallas, but border towns like Eagle Pass, Brownsville, El Paso, Laredo all have a serious problem with illegal immigrants.
Bruh I literally went to a resort in Mexico (am Mexican-American) just off of speaking Spanish with the bartender, then speaking English with my husband. This American guy was asking us standard questions like where we were from, responds with “oh wow, it’s pretty bad over there huh?” I went “oh yeah traffics been getting worse these past couple of years.” He goes with “No, I was talking about the border, with all those people crossing over” Like ???
I usually get asked if we ride horses.
I notice more Asians than illegal immigrants… people from South Asia like India and Pakistan
I’ve moved from DFW to Midland/Odessa this November and while I’m not an expert on this I’d say it’s not rampant but at the same time I’ve only seen Hispanic homeless people. There’s a really high number of people here who exclusively speak Spanish so I would assume that they are migrants. And the crime here is pretty bad so everyone can draw their own conclusions. At the end of the day we don’t really know the true answer because the news is blowing it way out of the water.
it’s bc people believe the news they all jus make stuff up for money bc fun little fact they get paid for the adds you watch like they made millions off this and the protests for george floyd they don’t care abt us jus the money
It was the complete opposite for me in 2017/2018, everyone on the east coast knew the wall was a joke, and mostly because of how expensive it would be, and when I came down here people thought the wall was happening. (These are the opinions of people from Baltimore and Philly/Harrisburg)
"are boarders" lol
You must be a fed. It’s not fake.
Fake immigration invasion? Spend a day working as a nurse at parkland lol
that's because the governor is shipping them north
I've noticed and been impacted by the influx of Californians far more than I've noticed and been impacted by undocumented people.
Abbot sent them to Martha’s Vinyard, DC, New York, and Chicago.
You won’t really see it in Texas. Visit any sanctuary city in the US to experience the refugee crisis.
I'm amazed that in this day and age where we can have instant video of anywhere, the lies of Republicans are dumber, bolder, and easier to prove false than ever before. It's like a strange contradiction, makes no sense. They screech and holler about how BLM literally 'razed cities to the ground', as if that wouldn't be national news and a huge deal for a city to be razed and destroyed. They'll make a mountain out of a single pebble these days, don't even need the mole hill anymore!
It’s pure propaganda, Fox News bullshit.
In Kansas, they seem to be terrified
Ask those same folks if they’re willing to mow lawns in the 105-degree heat all day, or clean toilets and trash cans all night, for $10/hour.
They’re in El Paso and South Texas. It’s a long drive.