Okay, there's a difference between saying the immigration we have is positive, (which I would agree with and I am not surprised most democrats do too,) and saying that more would be better, (which many democrats would not support, including me.)
The numbers are not static of course. The trend indicates a significant rise supporting immigration: Democratic support 2006 20% support / 2018 40% support
http://www.people-press.org/2018/06/28/ ... o-the-u-s/
They don't "look like" a drain at the local level, they are a drain. And at the federal level it's a very mixed bag. Please read the link I shared with you again.So lets think about that a minute. As long as you think of the education of their children as a cost of first-generation immigrants (not necessarily illegal immigrants), they look like a drain on state and local governments. But over the lifetime of those children, who are second-generation, they are "among the strongest contributors". So we are really talking about investing in their children, not draining the coffers to support them.
As a child grandchild of legal immigrants from Mexico my perspective is quite different. It's very generous of you to want to invest OUR money in THEIR children, specifically children who's parents are here illegally.
I'd like to see OUR money invested more in some of the woes legal citizens live with - homelessness, under preforming schools, food banks for citizens that do not know where their next meal is coming from, veteran care, senior care, etc etc.
If you were experiencing some of the local problems California / Los Angeles is experiencing, you might be more concerned. My friend who has worked in public social services for the city of Los Angeles for over 30 years can't quite understand how some welfare recipients afford some of their luxury items. An enormous amount of money goes to "no questions asked" local services, while thousands of people sleep under bridges and out in the open. Many of them are African American and Caucasian.how worried we should be about uneven effects on particular cities and states.
We have an alarming homeless problem.
I wish we could create a utopia and help everyone that decides to leave their country of birth, Harry, but we can't. At least not yet.
The harsh reality is we cannot turn two baskets of fish and bread into a feast for every immigrant that flees their country of birth.
Infrastructures can only withstand so much.