The above sign is not located in Iraq. The above sign isn’t located in Afghanistan. As a matter of fact, this sign isn’t located in any distant war torn country. No, it’s located right here in the United States, the greatest nation on Earth, and within an hour away from one of our state capitals. I see this sign as a white flag of defeat. I’d like to know what local residents think of this literal waving of the white flag in the war of illegal immigration in their backyards. I know if I saw that sign anywhere near where I lived I would wonder aloud, I thought we were in America! I thought we had the right to go outside our homes and have a reasonable expectation of safety!
Immigration is a gigantic problem facing this nation, and it goes well beyond a mere safety issue. It’s an issue that won’t go away on its own. It’s a difficult issue that does far more dividing than it does uniting, but it’s a problem that needs solving nonetheless. Some administrations have battled it, while others have done little more than to pass it off to the next guy, but doing nothing is still far better than doing the wrong thing. Ronald Reagan, the icon of conservatism, himself advocated and signed into law a bill that instantly turned the estimated 2 million illegal immigrants in the country at the time into full fledged citizens. The bill Reagan signed included measures to secure the border, but these inclusions in the bill never materialized. What it effectively did was give an estimated 2 million law breakers a presidential pardon, while encouraging more people to break that very same law. After all, if the president says it’s ok then isn’t it ok? Is that really the message we should have sent? The law that Reagan passed failed, and only created a larger problem, yet lawmakers are considering a similar bill today. Again, is this the message we want to be sending?
The first priority of the US government should be to secure the border. We are the greatest nation on Earth, and to have signs like this being posted is a slap in the face to American exceptionalism. We the people deserve more than to be steered away from places within the United States because our government fails to do it’s job. Don’t put up signs! Secure the border and do whatever it takes to make putting up such signs unnecessary. In addition, dealing with the estimated 12 million illegal immigrants in this country is immaterial until the influx of illegal immigrants is brought down to nearly zero. To further this logic I use the example of the current Gulf oil spill. Would it be prudent to ignore the oil leak itself and instead place all our efforts cleaning up our shores? Of course not. Doing so doesn’t remedy that real problem. Stopping the leak of oil is the most pressing task, and so too is stopping the leak of illegal immigration the most pressing of tasks. There is more than one way to do that. Completing the border fence would be a great physical barrier, but getting rid of the very reasons that so many people break our laws by entering this country would be a far greater barrier than any fence. The two biggest reasons for illegal immigration: Jobs and childbirth.
Denying illegal immigrants access to American jobs and services (ie welfare) would make great strides to curbing the “leak.” To make this happen governments must incentivize employers to cease their practices of hiring illegal workers at near slave labor rates. Arizona passed such an “incentive” a couple of years ago. Simply put, if an employer is found to have knowingly hired illegal workers, the company’s business license is suspended for the period of a couple of weeks, during which time the business cannot operate. The company is then allowed to open back up for business under a probationary status, during which time the business can be checked for any additional illegal worker violations at any time. If further violations are found during this probationary period, the company’s business license is permanently revoked. There are two more points I’d like to make with respect to jobs. The first is that many will say, “Illegal immigrants do the work that Americans refuse to do.” Unfortunately, this myth is just that: a myth. According to Steven Camarota of the Center for Immigration Studies, the highest percentage of immigrants in any job category, including both legal and illegal immigrants, involves farming, fish and forestry, in which 44.7% of workers are immigrants. The next highest proportion is construction. Yet even there, only 26.1% of the workers are immigrants. Camarota concludes, “It’s simply incorrect to say that immigrants only do jobs natives don’t want. If that were so, then there should be occupations comprised almost entirely of immigrants.” In such a case, not only are illegal immigrants not doing jobs Americans refuse to do, they are effectively taking jobs from them. Secondly, why do we seem so unconcerned with the near slave labor wages illegal immigrants are being paid for a full day’s work? If we continue to allow more and more illegal immigrants to come into the country without some real barriers, this slave labor will only grow more out of control than it already is. If allowing more people to come into this country to work at a slave’s price is compassion, than please consider me uncompassionate.
The second largest reason for entering the United States illegally is to give child birth. Doing so allows the birthed child automatic full citizenship status without any connection to the country, other than having simply been born within the borders. In fact, there are countless birthing centers across the US that function for this purpose, and for this purpose alone. The 14th Amendment of the Constitution allows this, but the framers of this amendment could have never foreseen it’s current use. The 14th Amendment was framed after the Civil War during the Reconstruction period. Before passage of this amendment, Blacks were not legally citizens of the United States. The 14th Amendment formally granted citizenship to Blacks. The intent of the amendment is commendable, but the perversion of it’s current unintended use is deplorable. The Supreme Court has never ruled on such an issue, but I believe it will.
After our border is secure we can then begin, and only then, begin to deal with the illegal immigrants that are already here (an estimated 10% of Mexico’s population). The fact of the matter is this: Breaking the law, whether you agree or disagree with the law, is and always will be breaking the law, and illegal immigration is just that. For that breaking of the law there needs to be some form of consequence. For this I offer my solution: Because it is a legal issue it needs to be dealt with in court. Make the crime for living in the United States a misdemeanor that illegal immigrants can come to court and plead guilty to. No jail time, but pay a fine. After paying such a fine they are put on a probationary status, which requires the now former illegal immigrant to learn English (and after 5 years be able to pass a 5th grade level English test) and work on a continual basis for the period of 5 years within the United States while paying full taxes. While on probationary status the former illegal immigrant is not allowed access to any public service with the exception of public education for any children. At the conclusion of 5 years the former illegal immigrant can stand before an immigration court and request full citizenship. So long as the terms of the probationary status have been met, full citizenship status is granted. If the probationary status has not been met, an extension may be granted or simply deportation if little or no attempt has been made to comply. A similar process should likewise be given for those foreigners who wish to become citizens who are not in the country illegally, with the exception of pleading to a misdemeanor and paying a fine since they broke no law. Participants in this “guest worker program” can remain in the country on a probationary basis and can apply for citizenship after 3 years of continuous employment. This effectively punishes those that have broken the law, while providing a pathway toward citizenship. This country was founded on the principle of immigration. Immigration can be a great thing. It just needs to be done correctly.
Source:
"America For Sale" -Jerome R. Corsi
I don't have an explanation for you, Adam. What do u know about real life of those illegal people? Just remember that the Nephites fell because of their pride and considered themselves more worthy than others. When you talk about illegals, you are talking about other daughters and sons of God. I agree that sometimes people come here just because they want a fun adventure, but the majority of people come here because they have huge needs. The poverty in Mexico, for example, is so bad that little babies run the streets naked because their parents can’t afford clothes. For breakfast, lunch, and dinner their only meals include tortillas, beans, and salt because that’s all they have. No matter how hard they work in my country to provide for their families, it’s never enough because the pay is so ridiculous. If you want to talk about slave wages, you should look at Mexican pay. What an American might consider dirt poor pay is a great salary for a Mexican. I don’t know about you, but I know that if I could not give my family the basics of living because of where I lived I would also risk my life to come to a country that could provide better for them. You should feel lucky to be born in a country that offers so many opportunities. Have mercy for people who really need it. I know that you have probably heard all of this before, but until you have seen the lives of these people with your own eyes like I have, you don’t fully understand. I completely support the idea of a system that works for immigrants and that is legal, but unfortunately that’s not a realistic thing. As someone who is in this country legally and did it the way she was supposed to, let me tell you how ridiculous it was to come here. I have spent literally several thousand dollars..not pesos, dollars…on paperwork and residency and trips back and forth for interviews. The application process alone takes so much time of just waiting, and even then its not a guarantee they will accept you. For me, I was able to do this legally because I don’t have a family to feed. I don’t understand how people think that these families who can’t even afford food and clothes can afford the fees for all the paperwork to come here. Trust me, if they had 70,000 pesos they would not be spending it on paperwork because that means they’re wealthy so they don’t need to come to America. Not to mention that each day they wait for the papers to process is another day their children suffer. I’m not saying that I support those who come here illegally, but I am saying that I understand why. Just think for a minute if the roles were switched. Mexico was the rich country and The United States was the poor one. Imagine being the poor father with needs for his family and you see that country with so many opportunities. Don’t you think you would want to do the same thing? I know I would.
ReplyDeleteDebbie,
ReplyDeleteThank you for taking the time to read my blog and to comment on it. As many issues within politics, the debate of immigration is one that divides. I write my thoughts with full knowledge of that. I don’t expect anyone to agree with me. What I do expect is that this will spark healthy conversation and debate. Immigration is an important issue, and the more we communicate intelligent and thought out ideas, the better the outcome will be.
Having said that, I would like to respond directly to some of the points you have made. First, you mention that the pride of the Nephites is what ultimately determined the outcome of that nation. Yes, pride can be a bad thing. It can too be a good thing, so long as the things we take pride in our rooted with God (Alma 26:12). I am boastful that I have been so blessed as to be born and raised in this nation of nations, and boastful too that I had the honor and privilege of defending all this nation stands for in battle.
Second, I understand that through your unique experiences that you possess an equally unique perception. I understand that you’ve seen poverty the way that few ever do. I understand that you may very well have seen war affect the lives of yourself and the lives of family and friends. So have I. I’ve seen poverty the way few ever have, and I’ve seen people in these very same neighborhoods shattered by war and conflict. I have no reservations about admitting that if I were in a similar position I would do all I could to get to a better place. That’s a given. We all would, but does that mean we should be exempted from the rules of law? Martin Luther King and Mohandas Ghandi were more than just great men; they were noble and Godly men. They both devoted their lives to fighting injustice, and while they both believed in civil disobedience, they both agreed that if you were willing to break the law that you must also accept the consequences for doing so. We, as members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, believe this too as evidenced in the 12th Article of Faith. “We believe in being subject to kings, presidents, rulers, magistrates, in obeying, honoring, and sustaining the law.” We can all agree that there is a good reason for people to come into this nation illegally, but just because there is a good reason doesn’t mean that A) we shouldn’t accept the consequences of our actions as Dr. King and Ghandi would argue, and B) we shouldn’t still “obey, honor and sustain” the law.
Thirdly, I do believe there is a compassionate way to go about resolving this problem, and a problem it is. I think what I have outlined in my blog is a compassionate way of resolving such an issue. I do believe that illegal immigrants deserve far better than living in the “shadow world” that has been created as a direct result of our nation’s unwillingness to enforce our own laws. Whether or not that shadow world is better than the world they came from is immaterial. This is America, and such a thing in America shouldn’t be tolerated. We can fix this, but doing so requires work, compassion and ultimately accepting personal responsibility for breaking the laws of this great nation, no matter how good the intention or justification.
Fourth, understand that this is our country (yours, mine, Randy’s, etc), and the country gets to decide who comes in and who doesn’t. That is their (the country’s) inherent and unalienable right. I am an advocate of an expanded guest worker program, and under my plan when we need plumbers then we’ll have foreign plumbers come into the country through the guest worker program to fill in the need. If we need masons, we do the same and likewise for manual laborers. I agree that the process should be made easier and more transparent, but please understand that the decision to allow an individual to enter the country rests with the very country to which that individual is trying to enter. The very same thing can be said about the power you hold to allow or disallow individuals into your home.
ReplyDeleteLastly, I don’t know if you agree with any of that or not. As aforementioned, so long as we discuss difficult yet important topics with intelligence and understanding, the better the result. Please feel free to comment back whenever you feel inclined to do so.
-Adam