Really Off Topic

[audiboy]

I happened to see this on another forum I frequent and I thought people might be interested to see it here.

Bank of America launches credit card for illegal immigrants
Bank of America, the country`s second-largest bank, "has quietly begun offering credit cards to customers without Social Security numbers -- typically illegal immigrants," according to the Wall Street Journal.

Customers can qualify for a credit card if they have had a checking account at the bank for at least three months. They are required to leave a deposit and pay a relatively high interest rate, according to the paper.

The program is controversial. Bank of America says it will help undocumented workers build good credit. But critics say one of the USA`s largest financial institutions should not be helping people who violate the country`s immigration laws.

"They are clearly crossing the line; they are actually aiding and abetting people who broke the law," says the spokesman for the Federation for American Immigration Reform.

Make no mistake about it: millions of dollars are at stake.

"If we don`t disproportionately grow in the Hispanic [market]...we aren`t going to grow" as a bank, a company official told the Journal.

USA TODAY reported last year about the buying power of immigrant customers, including undocumented workers. Bank of America says nearly half of the nation`s Hispanic households have one of its credit cards.

Here is the link:

USATODAY.com - On Deadline | Archives | Bank of America launches credit card for illegal immigrants

[audiboy]

Here is what I posted in regards to this article:

If they aren`t seeking the proper means to attain citizenship, I don`t think they should be given any help at all. I have no problem with legal immigration. I think it`s great and it`s what made our country what it is. I have a problem with illegal immigrants that only seek benefits from our country without putting something into the pot. I do not bank with Bank of America currently, but I will never bank with them in the future because of this new policy. I have a feeling that they may be losing a lot of business from citizens for seeking business for illegal immigrants.

[CharlesW]

The one term that seems to be common to all the present immigration debate is ILLEGAL.

Why should the people that try to go through the proper/legal channels continue to do so? If they just do it the illegal way, either the govenment or some organization will step in and make it easier for them.

Maybe the government and the do-gooder organizations could consider helping the immigrants that are trying to do things the right/legal way and let the ones that choose to be illegal go home.

Charles

[Mr. Clean]

WHOA!
This topic is hotter than what wax/sealant is the best There is no quicker way to be labeled a racist bigot than to voice a non-supportive opinion.

It hits very close to home for some of us here in NE Texas. A suburb of Dallas has passed an ordinance making it illegal for landlords to rent/lease housing to illegal immigrants. I believe they also made English the official language of the municipal government. What a firestorm that has created! Lawsuits, yes.

As with CharlesW, it seems just too obvious that the crux of this bisquit is the adjective illegal. How can something seemingly so cut and dried become so convoluted?