was once part of Mexico. Many Latino families therefore have been in the US longer than the Anglos who moved in generations later. "Illegals" - a term we really shouldn't use, since no human being is illegal - that is to say, undocumented immigrants - don't vote using the names of dead people, but the notion that there aren't many old Latinos is simply false.

N/T

And you are 100% correct! Plus, if you are an undocumented alien, you would NEVER want anyone to even notice you, let alone ask you for any kind of ID. Most undocumented people want to stay as far under anyone's radar as humanly possible.

And if you look at any prosecutions for voter fraud, they are most likely found on the other side of the aisle. Except, of course, in Texas a young black woman thought she could vote and did. Only to find out that as an ex felon, she had not had her voting rights reinstated and she got 5 YEARS in prison.

Most people who have committed voter fraud were forgetful elderly voters not remembering they sent in an absentee ballot, or they were found to have mental health issues.

They are afraid to see a doctor, get food stamps, or enroll their children in school, for fear of getting into any “system” that ICE would use to look at names. They try to stay under the radar... so true. But that truth doesn’t fit the haters’ agenda.

Am I at the wrong message board?

I use that word because it has become widely accepted American usage and because I do not consider it a pejorative word. To me there is no negative connotation. No law is broken by those who reside in the US without immigration authorization. It is a misnomer and I know it is a misnomer. You can call me soda cracker and I do not consider that perjorative either. It says nothing negative about me. But on reflection I realize you do not agree with me so I promise never to use that word again.

Then you don’t get to say “illegals” isn’t pejorative. No one is allowed to use it in my university classes (I teach Mexican and Latin American history). It is offensive.

I enjoyed your post except as other have already pointed out, "illegals" is the word that Republicans injected into the lexicon to dehumanize people who lack the documents to be in the country legally.

We could begin with “illegals” I guess.

a non-profit organization which worked to improve the lives of migrant workers here in South Carolina. He was multilingual and gave English lessons and visited the local peach farms to check on working conditions for the migrants. Most of them were just happy to be working and sending money home to Mexico to their wives and children. They'd return to Mexico at the end of the each growing season, and return when there was more work available. He also did work locally translating papers such as birth certificates.The last thing on their minds was voting.

I use that word because to me it means here without immigration authorization, nothing more. That is what the word means to me. To me it does not connote illegality because I know it is not a crime to reside in the US without immigration authorization. I certainly do not view it as perjorative though many others do. I might say that a basketball player is on fire but I know he is not experiencing oxygen combustion. That conservatives view it as perjorative does not mean that I do. I view those here without immigration authority as a blessing. They lower the crime rate, they make us safer from crime, they improve the economy and are a net economic positive.I characterize them as in general “nice.” The word “nice” was once a perjorative term. I view being an “illegal immigrant” as a positive, not a negative. As Humpty Dumpty correctly said “A word means what I want it to mean, nothing more, nothing less.” But on reflection clearly others will feel bad so after that reflection I will never again use that phrase.

I generally tell people who complain that undocumented immigrants vote, "get off your ass and work at the polls, then you'll know that it just doesn't work that way; and you can stop anyone who bothers to try".

Yeah you probably should change your subject line. It's distracting from your argument and that's a shame.

The point someone else made, that there are a lot of Hispanic names in that area, is also a good point, but otherwise you have an excellent argument.

Many of the people I grew up with have been in this country since the 1500's and are direct descendants of the Spanish Criollo of New Spain.

Colorado, New Mexico, and Arizona are NOT L.A.

I bet if I go to the death certificate files here in my California County only a small percentage will involve names we would associate with those here without immigration authorization. So I think my point is completely valid. New Mexico is a cherry picked example not generally representative. In addition voter rolls include fewer Hispanic sounding names in general because a smaller percentage of Hispanics register to vote. If three million people in California who are here without immigration authorization, vote using the names of deceased people still on voter rolls, somebody will notice something screwed. Please don’t deny that.

You just dismissed the entire Southwest.

The number of Hispanics who die each year in California,where Trump said 3 million voted illegally, is certainly less than 100,000. How many of those were registered to vote? Maybe 50,000. The cumulative total of deceased hispanic voters might max be one million. 3 million choosing among one million hispanic names on voter records of dead people is going to make voting officials get suspicious. There are going to be way too many Hispanics speaking Spanish, as many undocumented do, claiming their name is Gwyneth Rutledge. It is impossible that only six or so impersonation voters would be caught each year. That seems obviously true to me. Trump must be full of shit. CDC reports the death rate per 100,000 hispanic or Latinos in the US is less than 4 tenths of one percent. If CA has 25% of the nationwide total of 50 million, or 12.5 million, the number of deaths per year is 50,000. On voting registration lists maybe 25,000. Cumulative total over all years maybe 500,000. 3 million impersonator voters only have 500,000 names to choose. Here is cdc source https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/fastats/hispanic-health.htm

and “illegals,” as you call them. They are not interchangeable. Never mind the fact I have lived all over the south, and there are plenty of “old” folks with Hispanic surnames.

This op is off base on so many levels.

be balls to the wall walking in trying to vote. It just goes to show that anybody making that ridiculous assertion has not even met or gotten to know any 'illegal' immigrants.