Tue FreelancerFl v I can see both sides Consider the following, there was no defined nation at the time, and the Indian tribes didn't have the same definition of land ownership as the Europeans. So, if the Indians did share the same definition of land ownership they could be considered illegal immigrants because they took land from the Indians, sometimes by force. Post
May 19 mikev9359 v Yes, they were Technically, yes. But at that time there were no set government to dictate law in this hemisphere as there was in Europe and Asia. Once the people who migrated here banded together and formed a government with laws, then it became an issue for those coming within those territories. Post
u May 19 fayban v No, of course not Of course not. We were conqueros then and still are whats the problem. This is our country won by war. All immigrants here currently should feel privileged we allow them here. What country wasn't built by war? r1 reply Post
u May 17 Gatnos v No, of course not This is an example of the trash that is being taught in schools these days. It is part of the "Common Core" curriculum. In order for an activity to be illegal, there must be a law against that activity. No immigration laws existed at the time of the pilgrims. r4 replies Post
u May 16 HawkTheSlayer v No, of course not And the forces that be are still trying, albeit for entirely different reasons. The afore mentioned groups all came here to have a better life, even the pilgrims, and sacrificed much to get here. They endured the hardships, era by era. The fight was an internal struggle with winners and losers from the inception of this nation through the struggles of cival war to modern day. This nation can resolve any problem or difference it has. That used to be my thinking until the '90's. The outside influence is strong. And getting stronger every day. Those who wish american success today do not have american values. Sadly, this includes many americans. Especially, those i... Post
May 14 MongoAPillager v No, of course not We came,We saw,We kicked Ass,GET OVER IT!!! Moral of the story,right or wrong,Don,t bring a stick to a gun fight!!! r3 replies Post
u May 6 URBS v No, of course not Funny how this debate uses, "Illegal" while all the other ones use, "Undocumented". Post
May 6 PayThatCEO v No, of course not To have been "illegal" there would have had to be an immigration policy, which there wasn't. There would have had to be a country, which there wasn't. What the pilgrims (as well as those who came after them) was land owned by no one. Native Americans did not own the land. They had no deeds, no titles to anything. Legally, they owned nothing so nothing could be taken away. In their minds they might have thought they owned whatever land they sat on, but even tribes fought over ownership of land and once white men got to America they brought the rule of law with them. Post
Tue FreelancerFl v I can see both sides Consider the following, there was no defined nation at the time, and the Indian tribes didn't have the same definition of land ownership as the Europeans. So, if the Indians did share the same definition of land ownership they could be considered illegal immigrants because they took land from the Indians, sometimes by force. Post
May 19 mikev9359 v Yes, they were Technically, yes. But at that time there were no set government to dictate law in this hemisphere as there was in Europe and Asia. Once the people who migrated here banded together and formed a government with laws, then it became an issue for those coming within those territories. Post
u May 19 fayban v No, of course not Of course not. We were conqueros then and still are whats the problem. This is our country won by war. All immigrants here currently should feel privileged we allow them here. What country wasn't built by war? r1 reply Post
u May 17 Gatnos v No, of course not This is an example of the trash that is being taught in schools these days. It is part of the "Common Core" curriculum. In order for an activity to be illegal, there must be a law against that activity. No immigration laws existed at the time of the pilgrims. r4 replies Post
Tue FreelancerFl Actually, if the Indians viewed land ownership in the way the Europeans did, they would be considered illegal immigrants. Post @FreelancerFl
10 hr FreelancerFl @Gatnos Since there were no immigration laws at the time there was no such thing as illegal immigration. Post @FreelancerFl
u May 16 HawkTheSlayer v No, of course not And the forces that be are still trying, albeit for entirely different reasons. The afore mentioned groups all came here to have a better life, even the pilgrims, and sacrificed much to get here. They endured the hardships, era by era. The fight was an internal struggle with winners and losers from the inception of this nation through the struggles of cival war to modern day. This nation can resolve any problem or difference it has. That used to be my thinking until the '90's. The outside influence is strong. And getting stronger every day. Those who wish american success today do not have american values. Sadly, this includes many americans. Especially, those i... Post
May 14 MongoAPillager v No, of course not We came,We saw,We kicked Ass,GET OVER IT!!! Moral of the story,right or wrong,Don,t bring a stick to a gun fight!!! r3 replies Post
Tue FreelancerFl Rather, bring a knife to a gun fight. Stab them in the throat while they're laughing. Post @FreelancerFl
u May 6 URBS v No, of course not Funny how this debate uses, "Illegal" while all the other ones use, "Undocumented". Post
May 6 PayThatCEO v No, of course not To have been "illegal" there would have had to be an immigration policy, which there wasn't. There would have had to be a country, which there wasn't. What the pilgrims (as well as those who came after them) was land owned by no one. Native Americans did not own the land. They had no deeds, no titles to anything. Legally, they owned nothing so nothing could be taken away. In their minds they might have thought they owned whatever land they sat on, but even tribes fought over ownership of land and once white men got to America they brought the rule of law with them. Post
May 6 Prime_Meridian v Yes, they were Yes. By legal definition. If the Native Americans didn't give them permission to come here and establish colonies, that alone makes them "illegal immigrants", but then, so were the Native Americans who first came here from across the Bering Straits, from the South Seas and from Europe. There WERE people living in the Americas way back then. Just like we had TINY HORSES here before they became extinct and the Spaniards imported European and Arabic varieties of horses. r1 reply Post
May 6 PayThatCEO No permission was needed. In the eyes of the law we believed in then and believe in now, Native Americans owned nothing in the way of land. Post @PayThatCEO
May 5 Goose v No, of course not "Illegal" means against the law(s). Only civilized societies have those. Post
u May 4 DotsonB v Yes, they were Last time I checked they weren't citizens of The United States when they came here. Post
May 4 NoAmnestyEVER v No, of course not How can you be an illegal immigrant when there's no country and no borders to immigrate to? Post
May 2 lawnmowrman v Yes, they were The North American continent, previously known as Cemanahuac, was occupied by a number of different nations. The rigid definition of nation that most embrace prevents most from recognizing those nations as nations. They were there with their people who had their own languages and cultures and arts. Europeans arrived proclaiming friendship only to turn to savagery. Please don't point out that the nations here had no legal system. Must a nation have a legal system that we would recognize as being a legal system to be a nation? Post
May 2 JTHEM v I can see both sides This sounds like the third school of sophism (ancient Greece for you who skipped this course). My mixed race ancestry makes me retort that Indians were also illegal immigrants as were any people who left Africa. Native Americans have been in this hemisphere for at least 12,000 years--illegally. My H-haploid tribe left Turkey 10,000 years ago to settle northern Europe illegally since the Neanderthals were there. This convoluted discussion is making me LOL. Post
Apr 29 MarkColwell v Yes, they were They were invaders, they didn't come to work and earn an honest living... they came to practice their brand of religious extremism and to steal the land away from the people who lived here. r2 replies Post
May 4 NoAmnestyEVER If you really feel that way you should self deport, for the sins of your ancestors. Post @NoAmnestyEVER
u Apr 27 fraps v No, of course not There are natural laws that need be for society to operate. These natural laws, or rights, are the right to life and the right to property. They can be put more elegantly, but, simple is sufficient. These laws make murder, theft, slavery, etc. wrong. The pilgrims did not take anything from anyone. They did not kill anyone. They formed a socialist community and almost perished. Later armed forces from England. France, Holland, and Spain came to this land and claimed territory. That was theft and therefore wrong. Post
o Apr 25 Worktogetger v No, of course not I am a kid and I have this app. No because they moved from the church of England to get free religion an spread their own religion Post
u Apr '13 BLA1287 v No, of course not No because there was no country established. No connection between pilgrims and illegal immigrants , expect the fact that are fleeing their own country to better themselfs , r3 replies Post
o Apr 25 TheHandsomeOne When and if things get bad here, try going anywhere that you do not speak the language of the native people and because THEY DO NOT UNDERSTAND YOU, determine there is no nation or any form of governance. Then you can repeat history and wholesale massacre and slaughter as many of them as it takes for you to be satisfied that nation's natives have surrendered and are under control. Post @TheHandsomeOne
u Apr 27 BLA1287 @TheHandsomeOne ok so youre saying that the indians had immigration laws being that neither group knew each other existed...so with that being said there would for no reason to have laws or rules pertaining to immigration. So I really dont understand the reply or the whole thing THEY DO NOT UNDERSTAND YOU ..kinda ridiculous view point but each to their own Post @BLA1287
o Apr 28 TheHandsomeOne @BLA1287 Fairer and more accurate would have been, 'were the settlers within their rights to massacre and slaughter the native people of a land they were invading to take over?' The question is falsely predicated upon today's standard of legality during a time when things were lawful and righteous, or not. With the two systems of law having so very little in common, our courts today will not hear or recognize and rulings, precedents or determinations made pretty much before WWII. "Illegal" wasn't a relevant term in our courts prior, and for the largest part of our nation's existence. The point to my invective is, the natives did indeed have laws and those w... Post @TheHandsomeOne
Apr '13 spytheweb v No, of course not They had the same amount of paperwork that the Indians had when they showed up. Post
Feb '13 Thunderchicken v No, of course not How can an act be illegal if there is no law against it? B3 r12 replies e53 endorsed Post
Feb '13 Dan_Tien v Yes, they were ...and the Native Americans tribes either didn't have the sense or the power to make them leave. Some of them said "Live and let live. They are already here. Let them live among us as neighbors and equals. What could it hurt?" Then look what happened. r13 replies e20 endorsed Post
Feb '13 gammler v No, of course not What a ridiculous question! Using the same logic one could say the American Indians were illegal immigrants. They came from Asia. B1 e18 endorsed Post
Feb '13 spiritglove v No, of course not For the Pilgrims to be illegal immigrants there would have to be a law that defined any non-native as an immigrant and a system of immigration. the Native Americans believed the idea of owning land to be repugnant, they considered themselves part of the land. Pilgrams can be considered settlers, or invaders even but illegal immigrant status would require a body of laws that did not exist at the time. What a stupid controversy. e13 endorsed Post
Feb '13 DanielZ v I can see both sides To the extent that native people welcomed them, no; to the extent that they cheated and killed native people, yes. e7 endorsed Post
Feb '13 methinks v No, of course not Illegal immigrants to what country? There were various native tribes here, but there was no formal country with formal laws. B1 r3 replies e5 endorsed Post
u Feb '13 standout v I can see both sides my ancesters were cherokees.they did not believe that you owned the land.they also did not believe in lying or stealing. r2 replies e6 endorsed Post
Feb '13 ASmith v Yes, they were They were not just illegal immigrants but imperialists, colonialists and mass murderers. Send them and their descendants back to Europe. r1 reply e4 endorsed Post
u Feb '13 bobrob v Yes, they were Not only were they illegal, but also immoral. The manner in which they ravished native American women would today get them the penthouse suite the slammer. r1 reply e4 endorsed Post