Ah, but the forefathers of our forefathers left England, France, Germany and many others due to various reasons to come here and take the freedoms of Native Americans. They ran from their problems in their Motherlands, too. Native Americans would have a similar notion about ALL others regardless of when and how we all got here.
Why did my ancestors come here from Scotland in 1769? My wife's family didn't cross the border, the border crossed them when Texas became independent from Mexico. This country was indeed started and built by refugees, from various places and for various reasons. The new illegals are not much different than the old illegals.
From what I understand, in Ellis Island when Italians were getting off the boats in the early 1900s they were seperated into 2 groups: those with papers and those With Out Papers. WOPs. That name still is used in a derogatory manner.
Native Americans had problems with the English, Dutch, French and Spanish that came here early on. Then the English, Dutch, French and Spanish had problems with the Irish (Protestants), Germans and Italians. Then the Irish (Protestants), Germans and Italians had problems with Irish (Catholics), Russians, Japanese, Poles and others.
Now that most of us have lost our ancestral identity and become "Americans" we have issues with everyone else, Chinese, Mexicans, Indians (dot not the feather) and Arabs. The more groups are ostracized by the current incarnation of Americans, the more than collapse into their own communities where they don't need to assimilate. I had the pleasure of working with many Laotians for 7 years and got to know them pretty well. I was one of the few Americans that would talk with them and learn a lot about their culture and their stories. A white guy was giving them shi* one day because many of them lived in the same neighborhood and had their own store they shopped in, etc. So he asked them why did they live together and stay as close nit as they were.
One Lao got tired of his insults and said something to the effect of: We live together because we don't want to live by Azz Holes like you that Fu*k with us all the time.
"The new illegals are not much different than the old illegals."
Your equating the word 'illegal' in those contexts is profoundly misleading. Unless you want to argue how those who were segregated by government officials because they didn't have papers (called processing), and were indeed people with no greater desire than to become Americans, learn the language, and assimilate themselves into American society is somehow the same legal status as those who never even present themselves to the government AT ALL, and steadfastly refuse to assimilate themselves to America. Not only do they not have papers so to speak, they don't even officially exist. At least not until they need government services.
Where indeed is the Ellis Island processing center in the desert scrub of southern Texas, New Mexico, or Arizona for those illegals?
Let's hear some arguments that apply to the world today. I think that it is obvious that Europeans would never be allowed to take a sovereign nation away from it's people in 2009. israel is the last example of this. None of your examples are dealing with the statements I made.