Illegal Aliens Are Ruining My Neighborhood

[Guest danax]

Maybe ruining is harsh. It's not irreversible. They've changed the neighborhood and I don't like it. I'm at home right now and my next door neighbor has his car doors wide open and is blaring his music in his driveway, which is less than 15 feet from my walls. I asked him to close his door, he grinned at me, then closed the one on my side. I told him he was filling my house with his music, but he did not turn it down. Oom-pa, oom-pa in my house....music to get drunk by, which is what he and his buddies are doing. I've spoke to him several times in the past, always very politely, always in his language, and he ignores me.

The guy thinks he can do whatever he wants, acts like he's back on the rancho. He has no papers, has a tile business, does crappy work (the tile job in his own bathroom is so lopsided it made me dizzy). He brings nothing to the neighborhood except noise, bad tile work, bad remodeling to a once, cute house and Bud Light sales. And I resent that he is taking work from legal Americans.

He just decided to put up a fence. One of those fences with the masonry about halfway up then circular wrought iron above. No consideration of the style of the house and neighborhood. These are older homes from the 30s and 40s and they look ridiculous with these fences. When the original Americans (white and hispanic) were here there were very few fences, the open lawns sloping down to the curb. Now, the "hacienda" fences are becoming common here and , along with the chain-link fences, make the area look stupid. He already put a stucco facade in front and the rest remains clapboard. The colors don't even match. Add to that the trashy little home-based businesses, junk cars on lawns, trashy yards and you have a description of a lot of Houston neighborhoods.

Houston is full of this stuff and right now, I'm sick of it. You all are probably saying it's no big deal, just grin and bear it. It's easy to say that when you don't live in it. Yeah, I bought the house here and I like it for the most part but this kind of stuff bugs me. I just expect people who are trespassing here and working illegally to show some respect for our homes and neighborhoods but I guess I'm dreaming.

This is not an anti-Hispanic rant. The American hispanics around here that I've spoken to say the same things, so don't try to make this into a "racial" issue, it's not, it's cultural. I am making the generalization that these are mostly border-jumpers because it seems obvious that they are recreating the environment that they came from. Not all are as obnoxious as my neighbor. My other next door neighbor keeps his house clean and quiet but a certain concentration of the other neighbor type gives the entire area that dumpy look.

Not a very eloquent post but I feel a little better now Doctor, thank you.

I got up from typing this, went into the kitchen, got some water and decided I didn't want to hear this stuff anymore and went outside. We just had a nice talk and he agreed he was wrong and turned it down. Now I feel a lot better. There is hope after all. Sorry for the negativity. I thought about not posting now but I'm going to anyway because good, bad or ugly, this is Houston.

[zathan]

I certainly know how you feel about bringing down the neighborhood. I grew up in a mainly hispanic neighborhood in San Jose, CA my whole life. For the most part the neighborhoods have been well maintained and clean especially since the city placed the district-wide deed restrictions on the area. But the last ten years I was there a huge influx of vietnamese families moved into the area, and the lawns and landscaping turned to no maintenance rock gardens, and they turned their homes in the neighborhood into two story mega homes in a mostly 1940s single story cottage setting.

I resented them, and their different ways of dealing with things like trash, and landscaping that brought down the neighborhood real fast. I know what you're going through. I'm hispanic and to hear that those jerks are blaring their music for everyone to hear it makes me furious because they DO know better. Unfortunately this is the way that America is turning out... a real mixture of different people moving to places that we don't want them to. But its something that we have to get used to...

and don't you notice that they only take away the american jobs that us real americans refuse to do?

[editor]

I hope you feel better for getting that off your chest. I hope others don't turn this thread into a flame war.

I'll be the first of many to note that one person's rudeness is not indicitive of an entire people. It reflects a bad upbringing. But that's easy for me to say since I don't have to live next door to it.

I hope you find a way to resolve your problem. It would be a shame for you to have to move, but if you have children you do what you have to.

And since you brought it up, how exactly do you know he's not legal?

[citykid09]

Thank you Danax, for telling the truth. I am so tired of people telling us we should just sit back and ignore whats happening. It's the truth, and I'm glade that someone admits that they fill that way. Hopefully the minuteman project will help out.

[jm1fd]

Ugh....now I'm second guessing the houses in Forest Hill....ohwell...I'm still in the option period, so I can still change my mind.

[texasboy]

I hope you all know this could be anybody with or without their legal papers and to say that it is someones "culture" is just as stereotypical. I don't really understand the title of "illegal aliens" and how you make assumptions on "where they come from". I agree with editor on how you cannot judge an entire people.

[Guest danax]

I hope you all know this could be anybody with or without their legal papers and to say that it is someones "culture" is just as stereotypical. I don't really understand the title of "illegal aliens" and how you make assumptions on "where they come from".  I agree with editor on how you cannot judge an entire people.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Hopefully this won't become a flaming session but how can we discuss anything beyond a specific incident without generalizing or stereotyping? I know he is "illegal" because he told me. It's not like we haven't spoken to each other, we do quite a bit, and he's a friendly, decent guy most of the time. I just needed to vent my frustrations based on my specific experiences with my him and the overall truth as I see it based on a general picture painted with a broad brush.

However, I think it's fairly accurate. We've all become so sensitive about anything "racial" that we often avoid talking about certain valid issues. As I said, we had a talk and I feel like my neighbor understands a little better now. This shouldn't be any more of a touchy topic than any other. We're talking about a noisy neighbor, which yes, might be anyone, and the goofy remodels and fences that have taken place where I live. Not a huge deal. And yes, I'm making the assumption that a lot of a lack of respect for the architectural style of the neighborhood comes from illegal aliens because the resulting look is very "alien".

jm1fd, I think Forest Hill is not at risk from this phenomenon at this point. What is going to happen there, with regards to what I'm talking about has already happened, IMHO. The prices have risen quite a bit there in the past few years and that area is, and always has been, a step up from where I live. Those homes over there are changing hands little by little and people from other parts of the city are buying them, not illegals. I'm again generalizing and basing this on my observations over the past few years.

How can I generalize about who's moving into a neighborhhood? If you're here without documentation to work, you don't have a lot of options. You will either be working in a minimum wage type job or, if you are doing better, you will have your own business, most likely in one of the construction trades, in which case you'll likely have a work truck with maybe a little sign on it or a bunch of equipment in your side or back yard. So when a for-sale sign is removed and there's an newer SUV in the driveway and no work truck, I assume they're not immigrants. Am I being nosy? Not really, I just like driving around a lot and notice what's happening. Also, the only place you'll be able to get a mortgage without a green card will be Banco Popular, and as a self-employed worker, you'll need to have fairly good credit so that you can state your income, and not have to show tax returns. So that option is fairly difficult. The other option is to find an owner-financed home, where there are no questions asked with regards to immigrant status. My neighborhood went through what all neighborhoods eventually go through years ago; the old people who bought these homes when they were young died and, since the mortgages were paid off, a lot were sold as owner-financed, which allows undocumented folks to buy them. There are very few of those old owners left and, once they're gone, the next time the home sells it will require typical financing. So neighborhoods go through cycles and yours, and mine too, are moving upwards. The port-of-entry neighborhoods for illegals have shifted elsewhere around town, I believe.

And I am not planning on moving. I like it here. I love my house, I like the location. As an inner-loop neighborhood, I think it's a good investment and I like the little neighborhood I live in. That's the problem; I see so much potential, my own personal vision of what we could be, that I get bothered when I see something contrary to what I envision taking place. So, am I constantly miserable about this? Not at all. I do what I can to help improve where I live and mostly just grin and bear the things I don't like and really can't change. But last night, to come home and see 1) the hacienda fence going up and, 2) have pounding music in my house was just a bit much.

As zathan said, although it's disturbing to see people come in make bold and unsensitive changes to a neighborhood, without deed restrictions there's little that can be done.

[HeightsGuy]

Danax, hopefully this doesn't come out as harsh because I am not into flame wars, but if you wanted to live in an area free of undocumented workers, why did you move to the east end?

[MidtownCoog]

Sweet, sweet revenge! At last, revenge!

[Guest danax]

Danax, hopefully this doesn't come out as harsh because I am not into flame wars, but if you wanted to live in an area free of undocumented workers, why did you move to the east end?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

No, not at all, it's a valid question. It's what I could afford, I loved the house and wanted to live close to Downtown. And, I have not regretted the decision. Once I moved here, I began to want the neighborhood to be a certain way and when I see something else, sometimes it bothers me. Maybe that's something I need to get over a bit. Then, thinking that the source of the general ugliness is coming from people that "shouldn't even be here in the first place", well, that's just an added irritant.

Last night I was hot and needed to rant. However, the points I made I believe are valid and worthy of discussion but not huge issues to me. As I said, for the most part, I like it here.

[MidtownCoog]

There are dirty freaking scuzballs (of every color) in every neighborhood.

What stinks is when they win, and force the normal folks out.

Trust me, we had the same thing in Midtown. Some of the worse were the 28 y/o BMW M3 set. Just toss that Plasma TV box to the curb. No worries. Somebody will pick it up.

[groovehouse]

I feel your pain, I dealt with this for about 3 years when I lived in the Heights. The police non-emergency line (713.222.3131) became my friend. I would call constantly, cause there was no reasoning with my neighbors. I was hoping for developers to tear down their homes and build condos (never thought I'd wish for that), but that never happened and I eventually sold my house.

[torvald]

However, I think it's fairly accurate. We've all become so sensitive about anything "racial" that we often avoid talking about certain valid issues.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

agreed. this discussion came up quite a bit at a former job. we were of a few different races & backgrounds and had some great debates. in general we felt very comfortable talking about most things. the hispanic & illegal alien debate had to be shelved after awhile, even as the most horribly inappropriate things were discussed in a non-heated way.

one of the questions i had was about the language issue and if they wished to come to the states while some groups collected back into their own sort of mini society which seemed no different than what they left. i honestly was wondering as i watched this happen in a drastic way to 2 of the neighborhoods that i grew up in. some people try very hard to get here, so i (maybe wrongfully) thought they were coming for a different culture or higher quality of life. there are many organizations (many which are started by hispanics and could make a great difference) which can help these folks learn english, get GEDs or learn basic skills free of charge.

anyhow, i like that folks can voice things on this board, hopefully while not becoming a pariah and actually getting some other honest & serious angles on things.

[tamtagon]

In my neighborhood built in the 70s, about 20 miles west of downtown Atlanta, poor white people are ruining the neighborhood. Just before the Atlanta Metro area really begin encroaching into this once rural time capsule, the county govt. mandated all new housing constructed must be greater than 2500 sq ft, on no less than 0.33 acre - no more apartments, no small homes, so all the older neighborhoods here are are becoming a whacked out mix of dwendling old folks who keep their property pridefully well groomed, and burgeoning young, mostly white some black, families with 2-6 kids who dont care how much paint is left on the house. Maybe a third of the new residents have tore-up cars sitting in the driveway/lawn, toys, bikes, rancid above ground pools, remnants of last falls' yard sell, overgrown yards, fallen branches/trees, motorcycle enthusiasts seeing how loud that hog can be, and stray dogs. One family had problems with their ceptic system, and attempted to install a bypass drain into a nearby creek.

Poor white folks are ruining my neighborhood. Illegal aliens are not generally drawn to this part of the Atlanta metro, but if they were, my neighborhood would be one of the first places they looked for a place to live. Right now, considering how much I like tamales and enchiladas, I would rather have illegal Mexican immigrants down the street rather than the household of suspiciously thin nightowls.

Nevertheless, I've got a couple wooded acres backed up to a State Park, and I have a fort, so I dont really care about the sketchy neighbors.

[2112]

This is one of those subjects that is quite a conflict to Americans of Hispanic decent. For one thing, I share the frustration, that is, the frustration with people who choose to park 20 cars on their 4 car driveway, spilling over into their front lawns. I hate that. I expect my neighbors to share the same pride in their surroundings, and keep their homes in good shape. By the way, I am not the only Hispanic that feels this way. In other words, being Hispanic does not equate with 20 cars on their lawn: there is just as much of the white trash variety that screw things up for everyone. I know this because I keep track of it. I have just as much issue with all the other people of all the other cultures that bring the area down in appearance. And they come from all types.

I love my Hispanic background, yet I don

[HeightsGuy]

2112, I'm sorry you feel that way. You see, to me anyway, that's not America. America to me means I can fly my Texas flag, smoke brisquit, and listen to Willie Nelson in the backyard playing dominos and drinking Shiner on a Sunday afternoon. America also should mean you can do the same with your Tejano music.

Extra cars and other junk in a yard, building fences that don't fit the house or the neighborhood, and playing loud music of any type after 10pm is downright rude to your neighbors whatever your culture.

So, let's talk about what this is really about: Rude People!

[Casual Observer]

Sounds like good old fashioned stereotyping at its best. We all do it, and most of the time our assumptions are based on past factual experiences.

Danax - I have to say, if you know someone is breaking the law, and you allow them to continue, then you are abetting a crime and the criminal who is committing it. Thus you are now a criminal.

I'm not saying what you should do, I'm just giving you something to think about.

[Guest danax]

This is one of those subjects that is quite a conflict to Americans of Hispanic decent.  For one thing, I share the frustration, that is, the frustration with people who choose to park 20 cars on their 4 car driveway, spilling over into their front lawns.  I hate that.  I expect my neighbors to share the same pride in their surroundings, and keep their homes in good shape.  By the way, I am not the only Hispanic that feels this way.  In other words, being Hispanic does not equate with 20 cars on their lawn:  there is just as much of the white trash variety that screw things up for everyone.  I know this because I keep track of it.  I have just as much issue with all the other people of all the other cultures that bring the area down in appearance.  And they come from all types.

I love my Hispanic background, yet I don’t want to hear chickens in the morning and I don’t want 120 decibels of Tejano music blaring till midnight on school nights.  And yet, I love the polka-inspired Tejano music that I grew up with on the border.  It is no different  than the Hungarian Rhapsodies that pianist Franz Liszt celebrates in his statements to his childhood gypsy friends.  Does the fact that Tejano is a direct branch of German polkas make it any better?  No, because to many people here you can never remove that one constituent of it, that is, the part that is Mexican.  Sometimes, I crave the unique sultry rhythms of a “huapango” the way only my elders know how to properly execute.  I just celebrated my 40th birthday, and what I wanted the most was to hire one hour of genuine quality and talented Mariachi’s to play the classics in my backyard.  It was a Saturday night about 7:00pm, the Mariachi’s would have been done by 8:00pm, and I really don’t see a problem with that, not one time in 10 years and at 8:00pm on a Saturday night.  But I know that there are people around me from the approved cultures who despise that part of me and its music and everything about it.  Those same people would not think much about me playing that other side of who I am: the traditional and accepted American dogma that is rock-n-roll, the 1970’s vintage music blaring at my birthday party.  So I played about 70 decibels of Santana, Steppenwolf, Jefferson Starship - the whole 1970’s genre.  Nobody complained.  We all had a blast.  As the night continued, my jazz pianist friend sat at my Steinway and he played.  I followed with my own interpretations of Chopin and Scarlatti and my attempt at Beethoven’s third movement of the Moonlight Sonata.  By that time I was well lubricated and so was everyone else.  Later, it was back to the keg of beer in the backyard where the approved American music was still blaring at 70 decibels. But just wait until the sounds turned into Mariachi music.  Would “they”, and my neighbors, then think differently of me?  Probably.  I guess for me, it was simply that this would have been a one time-event for my half-life celebration, something to make me happy, and those neighbors would never understand that the sound of Mariachis would not mean I would start parking 20 cars in my driveway.  Being Hispanic means being American and having equal pride of our other side.  We choose to be both and we have every damn right to it since this is our land just as much as any other culture that showed up after us.  I just wanted to have Mariachis at my 40th birthday party.  They never came.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I know that American hispanics don't necessarily go along with the foreign-born lifestyles. As I said earlier, my hispanic-american friends here feel like you do. On the one hand we all dislike the same things but on the other, they have some mixed feelings because of their heritage. I said something to a American hispana neighbor about a bad remodel job and the tendency to tear out the old, wooden windows and then replace them with cheapo Home Depot versions and then, to leave the labels on the windows, as if to show off to their neighbors the fact that they have new windows. I see it on many new windows near here. Was I wrong to assume that and then tell her? Maybe. I think she took offense and, being a friend, I regretted saying it afterwards.

I've considered before if I would honestly have the same negative feelings about some of these things if they were coming from white people. I've come to the conclusion that I would, almost. Perhaps the fact that they weren't here illegally would soften my reactions, maybe. Would I like to hear Steppenwolf blaring and have bikers revving their hogs all hours? Hell no. I don't think I feel any racial kinship to white people per se. I do feel kinship to people of any race who take pride in their neighborhood and are considerate to others and think in a larger scale than just what matters to them. That is the kind of neighborhood I would like to live in. Shangri La.

The music itself is not my preference but it's generally inoffensive until I'm hearing it against my will. My daughter is half Mexicana and enjoys Tejano in her car along with all the other, and I listen to it with her and it's OK. I've sat drinking with my ex suegro listening to corridos all night and it seemed perfect then. The Mexican culture is not only not despised by me and, I believe, the vast majority of white Americans, but it's loved as colorful and soulful.

In case any newly arrived immigrants might be reading this; Just please don't come here and turn the place into a border town. Open your eyes and take a look around, beyond your immediate surroundings. I know some of you do, and some don't. This is an American city, built by Americans of all races. Don't bring down what we've worked hard to make nice. Show a little consideration for where you are. Yes, you're here amongst your paisanos and you think you've got your own little world here where you can live as you might have elsewhere but the standards here are a little different and if you learn them and respect them, as I would if I moved down there to live, I will be your friend and our neighborhood will be Shangri-La. Is that asking too much?

Happy 40th, 2112. We want the same thing. Everyone on this board wants the same thing. So, how do we make it happen?

[dbigtex56]

Sounds like good old fashioned stereotyping at its best.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Speaking of stereotypes, has anyone here ever heard of The Beverly Hillbillies?

Pretty much the Anglo version of what Danax is describing.

[editor]

Yes, crappy people come in all different colors. But how about this for a slight change of topic: What can he do to save his neighborhood from his neighbor?

Any ideas?

[citykid09]

There has been a lot of hipe latley about finally doing something about the illegales. There have been all sorts of specials on TV about how to stop them. Channel 13 had a special about it last night. And that government channel has been talking about it. I here the minuteman should becoming to the Texas boarder soon, if Sheila Jackson Lee doesn't stop them.

They have also been stressing the fact that if they are here illegally, they are breacking the law. No, ifs ands or buts about it. Also there has been a rencent surge in gang violence from some of the illegals, some of them call there selves MS-13.

[kjb434]

Strick HOA and civic organizations can prevent fence building and crap build up in the yard.

The only problems is the enforcement. Typically enforcement requires liens be placed on the home which requires the home owner to sign off to the rules before they buy the property.

There must be a way to have subdivision re-enact neighborhood rules to prevent the degradations that are occuring.

[N Judah]

What makes you say they're illegals? Did they tell you this themselves?

[Guest danax]

Strick HOA and civic organizations can prevent fence building and crap build up in the yard.

The only problems is the enforcement.  Typically enforcement requires liens be placed on the home which requires the home owner to sign off to the rules before they buy the property.

There must be a way to have subdivision re-enact neighborhood rules to prevent the degradations that are occuring.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Our deed restrictions lapsed long ago and now we're about to start the process of getting them renewed by walking the blocks and trying to get enough signatures. It will be interesting to see if the current mix of homeowners will want any restrictions.

If we succeed, then we'll have a very mild version of an architectural commitee and, if a violation occurs, the City Attorney's office will file a suit on our behalf.

[jpcampbell]

What makes you say they're illegals?  Did they tell you this themselves?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Read post #7

[kjb434]

good luck danax. I hope it works.

[citykid09]

What makes you say they're illegals?  Did they tell you this themselves?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Actually I know, and you know that alot of these people are illegal. A few years ago my grandmother rented one of her rent houses out to some mexicans, about a year later the house was totaly ruined. These people had brought in illegals to live with them. the house was a two bedroom, but they added on (without a permit and without asking). My grandmother finally said that that was enough, and decided to kick them out. The original people that moved in said "please don't kick us out, these other people are illegal and won't leave our house" "Call immagration on them but please let us stay" So my grandmother let them stay. About 3-4 years later all of these people left for good. When we went into the house you wouldn't beleve what we saw. These people used the bathroom as a butcher shop where they killed pigs and, get this "DOGS" to eat. thats just sick. The house was in such bad shape that we tore it down, but not before they came running back saying "we have no where to go". Well guess what to damn bad!

[HeightsGuy]

Did your grandmother contact immigration?

[citykid09]

She is old, and it wasn't her it was her children running her rent houses for her.

The illegals had been caught and I guess sent back, but my folks did not call immigration.

[The Great Hizzy!]

You know, HOA that are active are usually the best enforcers of this but not always. I was driving west on Hammerly one day and through the Campbell Woods subdivision and, although 85% of the homes lining Hammerly in the subdivision are well-kept, including the lawns, there were about three or four that had a minimum of five cars parked out front and across the lawns. It stood out and yet I could see that the HOA was active because the medians were maintained and things like the paint schemes and types of trees were more uniform.

So how do these three of four dissidents get away with parking a buttload of cars out front and creating that trashy (albeit isolated) setting? Shouldn't the HOA be levying fines for that?