IMHO you are missing the point. When our immigrant ancestors came to America, they came with the knowledge that NO ONE was going to give them a hand out (they would have been ashamed to accept one) but that they must work hard to better themselves. They did not demand that the government give them free services. And lets face it, most of our ancestors came through the proper channels. Papers, or no papers, they followed protocol. They did not expect bilingual classes for their children-they were taught English and expected to keep up in school. Yes, they may have spoken only Italian at home but they did not expect America to conform to their Italian language-they knew that they should conform to the language of their new home. And I ask you-what's the harm in that? In a message dated 6/9/2006 9:27:14 AM Eastern Standard Time, jferr@mchsi.com writes: There is no difference, and if you are arguing that people are not entitled to try to better themselves by leaving their homes and families behind to come and work in the United States because they cannot survive in their own home town, then shame on you, particularly if you are descended from Italian immigrants. Italians populated many other countries in the world in the late 19th and early 20th centuries because they were starving at home, and they wanted to make a better life. Good for them. The majority of them walked there, or worked passage on ships. Some people may have had passports, but the vast majority did not. The United States is one of the nations that is built on the back on immigrants of all races. It is shameful to close the doors now and deny others the chance. IMO.