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I really don’t have much insight for you this week, but here you go…..
The topic of Illegal immigration seems to be a polarizing subject that is replacing social security and medi-care as the third rail of politics. To be honest folks between ISIS and Measles vaccinations I don’t know how much more my BS meter can take. Though I may not be educated enough to speak about immigration, I feel the need to point out that a lack of education has not stopped people on both sides of the argument from speaking out. So here are just a few of my thoughts.
I can see both sides of the argument. Honestly we are a nation of laws. Laws are meant to be followed. Regardless of whether I agree with them or not, I still feel I must follow the laws. It is amazing to me that a person will have to pay a fine for jaywalking and officers are told to enforce this law, but not enforce immigration laws. Like it or not, there is a reason people are called “Illegal Immigrants.” It is because what they are doing is Illegal. Does that mean we should fine them, deport them, or worse yet lock em up in a penitentiary system that is beginning to operate like a for profit business? To be honest I don’t know. I do know that they are breaking the law. Any avenue that we take under the law just seems heartless.
At the same time there is the issue of trying to enforce the law. If the Mexican government was really interested in helping with enforcement of the borders it is obvious to me that they could stop it. Anyone that tries to tell you that there is no way to stop the illegal border crossings is lying through their teeth. Honestly, try to sneak into Mexico. They actually arrested a single American that took a wrong turn and held him in a Mexican jail for months. The truth is there is no incentive for Mexico to help with border enforcement because of the US dollars that flow into Mexico each year from immigrant labor. Should we put the military on the border like some have suggested? If we do that then what are we saying to the rest of the world? Not to mention putting the U.S. military on the border would be enforcing a law by breaking another law.
While we are a nation of laws, and I do believe that our laws should be enforced, I think it is more important to remember that we are a nation of immigrants first. When I think of illegal immigrants I think about families. How can “We” as a nation that stands for, and goes to war over our values, not be willing to honor a group of people that embody everything the American dream is supposed to be. Do we over night send millions of people back to terrible conditions that they risked their lives to escape? Whether we want to admit it or not, the illegal immigrant is as American as American can get. Still, they are breaking the law, and I think that is not something that should be rewarded, though I am not really sure it is something I would like to see punished either. The thought of separating families is horrible.
There is also the argument out there about the strain on the economy that illegal immigration poses. Truth is that illegal immigration is the governments dirty little secret of free income. These people hold jobs, and most times they get these jobs through the use of false social security cards, and it is at these jobs that they earn an income. Anyone that has a job will tell you that taxes for state and federal and social security and other programs are taken out of a check. Now most of us in the U.S. get most of that money back when we file our taxes, but the illegal immigrant (not all but a high number) is unable to do so because of fear. So while the government talks about solving the issue of Illegal immigration the truth is that there is also a lack of motivation on the part of the government much for the same reason as the Mexican government. This just seems like exploitation of a people to me.
Now most of what you have read may lead you to believe that I am on the side of Illegal immigrants. That assumption would be false. I am on the side of any group of people that are being exploited and abused for profit. I think that there is a responsibility of all Immigrants to assimilate into the culture. I don’t mean assimilate as far as giving up their culture, but rather I mean, learn our laws, our history, and our values. Take part in our communities and don’t segregate yourselves from us. Of course having the constant fear of deportation is a huge cause of this lack of assimilation. While I am not in favor of amnesty, I am in favor of something. I know that the amnesty would seem like the reasonable answer to the problem, but to me it just seems so unfair to all the people that are following the law and doing it the right way. Another issue with amnesty is that everyone assumes that illegal immigrants want to become U.S, Citizens, and that is because no one has asked them. So the answer seems simple to me. First we shut the border down, and yes we could do it tomorrow if we really wanted to, next we ask the illegal immigrants what they want. By doing this we can find out the solutions we need. If they want to become U.S. Citizens then start the process of making them U.S. Citizens, I think that they would add a great deal of value to our society (because they already do). If they are just here to work, then allow them to work. This seems like amnesty, but I say put them in a separate tax bracket that is at a higher rate. Give them a card that allows them to find honest work and brings them out of the shadows, while at the same time not making them citizens. Most importantly give them a choice, because right now the only choice they have is to hide or get deported. That is a fear that no one should ever have to live under on a daily basis. Solving this issue by enforcing this law and deporting these hard working people just seems heartless to me, and I apologize but my moral compass doesn’t point that way.
I’m a conservative, and I believe that the laws are unfair and exploitative. I think that when a law does more harm to society than good then it ceases to be a law and becomes a means of oppression.....
Picture Attribution
By (Bubinator) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons
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