Before I embark on my first ever blog entry of any sort, I want to thank anyone who takes the time to read what I have to say! I have a passion for writing, but I have never taken it to the realm of the internet outside of the occasional message board submission. I look forward to reading any comments that might be left, and hope that this blog can be a great exchange of ideas where people come away learning more about the other side's point of view, even if they don't necessarily change their mind.
Pleasantries aside, the issue of illegal immigration has been at the forefront of the political climate in recent weeks, and there are strong feelings on both sides of the debate. Before I delve into the issue in depth, I want to stress that I do not support illegal immigration in any way. Breaking the law is rarely justifiable (although there are certain situations where it is, such as speeding to get a pregnant wife in labor to the hospital), and I am by no means condoning the actions of those who come to this country illegally. However, I strongly believe that the time, effort, and money spent addressing the problem should be practical. Inflammatory rhetoric does nothing to help the situation, nor does proposing solutions that have no feasible likelihood of ever being accomplished.
One of the common cries of those who are harshly against the illegals is to deport them all. I have a simple response to such statements. What does the law currently state? Is it not already allowable to deport illegal immigrants when they are caught? The INS spends a lot of time conducting raids of places of employment, and deporting illegal immigrants. What exactly changes by making it policy to deport illegals? Nothing, if we would strictly enforce the policies already on the books! To write more legislation to deport illegals would simply be redundant, and it will get us nowhere if we continue to disregard the laws already on the books.
Secondly, mass deportation, if it were possible (which it is not, at least to the fullest extent), would cost an incredible amount of money that could be spent securing our borders instead. If we invested the billions of dollars it would take to round up all the illegals hiding in the shadows of our country, it wouldn't do a thing to stop the wave of illegals who continue to come in. We will be stuck in the same situation 10 years from now! The bottom line is that our border with Mexico is FAR too porous, and it needs to be reinforced. Whether it be via greater manpower, a huge fence that spans the entire border, or some other means, we will never make any progress in slowing the waves of illegal immigrants until we secure our borders. Money spent securing the borders would go a lot further than blowing billions on mass deportation efforts that are likely to yield marginal results at best.
Next, we need to punish the SOURCE of the problem, and that would be businesses that knowingly hire illegals to cut their bottom line. I hear so much of an outcry against the illegals in this country, and rarely do those people direct their angst toward the employers who provide the incentive to come over here. Simply put, illegal immigration would eventually fade away if there weren't any opportunities to work. I believe that penalties should be harsh, enough to cripple a business for years, so that the risk would not be worth the financial reward for hiring illegals. While illegal immigrants for the most part are simply seeking a better life for their family back home, companies are operating under a culture of greed, with little to no care given to the well being of those who they hire illegally. If there is no money to be made by coming to the States illegally, there is no reason for people to cross the border without proper documentation that would allow them to work legally!
I don't think illegal immigrants should be let off the hook on this, but I do believe that we should make the best of the situation and acknowledge that right or wrong, they are here. The only way we will be able to document these illegals, and get them to come out of hiding, is if we provide them a way out, a path to citizenship. I do not agree with granting widespread amnesty, but I do believe in giving them a chance for citizenship by proving their allegiance to the country. A heavy fine upfront might discourage illegals from coming forward, since most are poor by U.S. standards, especially when they send most of their money back to their families in Mexico. What I propose is a mandatory tour of duty in the military, whether it be a 2-year commitment or a 4-year commitment. Citizens of this country have been drafted in the past, and with how thin the military is stretched these days due to tensions all over the globe, an influx of troops that were conscripted could be very helpful. They wouldn't hold the desirable jobs of course, but the jobs would be a step above what they have illegally, and the pay would be better too. If the illegal immigrant satisfactorily completed his or her tour of duty, he or she should then be required to take and pass a citizenship course and learn the history of this nation. The final step should be either a substantial fine, since there would have been time to save up money earned in the military, or else a percentage of wages being taken out for some determined length of time on top of the usual taxes. If an illegal took all of these steps, which would be far too difficult to call "amnesty", then I believe we should accept them into our country as citizens. Learning the English language is a pre-requisite to all of these things, of course. Serving in the military wouldn't be very effective if the illegal wasn't able to understand the language used in giving orders, and I certainly wouldn't agree with bringing on translators for that role! I understand that many illegals are too old to serve in the military, or perhaps not in good enough health to serve in that way. In that situation, there should be an alternative plan set up to work in some capacity for the government, doing undesirable jobs that nobody else wants to do. These solutions should ONLY be offered to those already in the country, and there should be a deadline to apply for this program. Anyone who comes in after the program is launched, or misses the application deadline, should be immediately deported if caught and permanently barred from any opportunity to come back into this country legally.
On a final note, I think it is important that we as a country don't lose sight of the fact that the illegal immigrants are equally human. They are not animals, they are not lesser creations of God, they are human beings who were fearfully and wonderfully made by the Creator just like any American (or anyone else on earth for that matter). God loves them just as much as He loves us, and since our nation was founded on Christian principles, we should demonstrate compassion to those who are so desperate. The Christian God is a just god, but He is also a God of mercy, and we should have some degree of mercy on those who are so poverty stricken. The vast majority of these people have awful lives here, they live in constant fear of being deported, and they risked their lives to get into this country. Many potential illegals die during the journey, whether via drowning or some other event. It is NOT easy to get into the country illegally from Mexico. That doesn't make it RIGHT of course, but we sometimes mistakenly think it's easy, and it is anything but. If the roles were reversed, and Mexico was the rich country while the United States was the one embroiled in poverty and government corruption, many of us, myself included, would probably do the same thing they are doing. There comes a point where a higher priority is placed on your family's well being and the desire to provide them with a better life than the observation of a foreign country's laws. We allow refugees from Cuba and Haiti, as well as other oppressive regimes, to stay in this country, while denying Mexicans the same privileges. While Mexico isn't under a dictatorship, the police are corrupt and tainted by an unbelievable level of bribery and unfairness. The cultural climate of the nation will get even worse if the bill legalizing heroin, cocaine, LSD, ecstasy, marijuana, and other drugs gets passed as it appears it likely will. (On a side note, the soon-to-be-booming LEGAL drug trade in Mexico should provide even more incentive to lock up our borders tight! It's bad enough that our young people are going to be heading to Mexico en masse for spring break, in part to be able to "enjoy" recreational drugs that are harmful. The worse result will be an even greater level of drug smuggling, due to the additional ease in securing product that this new legislation would create. The drug issue is a whole different topic, so I will leave that alone for now, but securing our borders would help slow the importation of drugs in addition to illegal immigration). I digress, but my point is that there is somewhat of a double standard when it comes to illegals from Mexico compared to those who come from dictatorships. I concede that part of the reason for that is due to the fact that we have legal immigration procedures in place for Mexicans that aren't available to dictatorships, however registration costs money and many Mexicans are far too poor to ever be able to apply for a visa. Those who can't afford to wait attempt to come illegally so that their families can live in better conditions and have a future. I'm not saying we condone their arrival, I'm just trying to demonstrate that they have compelling reasons for wanting to come to our country, even though I don't think they should be allowed in. We need to stop villainizing the illegal immigrants and start treating them like the human beings that they are. They are in the wrong of course, and we should make that abundantly clear, but attacking them as people gets us nowhere and only arouses passions that produce irrational fears and prejudices.
In summary, we need to stop illegal immigration. We need to hold those who came into this country illegally accountable, but in a way that is practical and provides a road map to citizenship one day. In the meantime, it is IMPERATIVE that we secure our borders by any means necessary, no matter what the cost. The wave of incoming illegal immigrants MUST be stopped somehow. Time and money invested wisely now will save our country many headaches in the future. Additionally, the existing laws on the books need to be enforced instead of merely rewriting them. We also must impose penalties so harsh on employers who hire illegal immigrants that it removes any and all incentive to risk breaking the law. Our attitude in doing these things should be one not based in arrogance, however, and we should treat all illegals with the dignity and respect they deserve simply for being human. Address the problems with solutions, penalize those who break the law, but do so with compassion and understanding. We should never take JOY in an illegal being deported, we should never derive happiness out of taking the tough steps necessary to shore up our country's problems, but we need to take the proper steps nonetheless. Our leaders have to stop pandering to both sides of the issue, and start actually coming up with ideas that can work. That is somewhat idealistic, due to the political climate of our country and the "get elected at all costs" mentality of our representatives. However, if we as a nation can come together and address this difficult issue as one, the future will be one we can be much more optimistic about. Compromise will be necessary, nobody will be able to get 100% of their way, but an imperfect solution is worlds better than no solution at all.
If you made it to the bottom and read the entire article, I commend you and thank you! I will try not to be so long-winded in future postings, but I felt that this issue had to be addressed on so many different levels, and even so, I think I barely scratched the surface. The issue is a complex one that could warrant 10's and maybe even 100's of pages of arguments. Right and wrong is usually black-and-white in my opinion, but this issue is what I believe to be one of the few exceptions to that rule. My personal views on how to handle illegal immigration have changed somewhat over time, as I was staunchly conservative about it in the past, but my current opinions were shaped by real-life experiences and observations that opened my eyes to perspectives I've never seen or considered before. Those who know me know that I am stubborn and very hesitant to change my mind, but as I started to see the struggle of those who are so desperate to become Americans, I started to understand both sides of the debate and I now agree with various points on each side. Future articles of mine will probably be much more one-sided however, and hopefully shorter as well!
Thanks again for reading and have a great weekend!
Pleasantries aside, the issue of illegal immigration has been at the forefront of the political climate in recent weeks, and there are strong feelings on both sides of the debate. Before I delve into the issue in depth, I want to stress that I do not support illegal immigration in any way. Breaking the law is rarely justifiable (although there are certain situations where it is, such as speeding to get a pregnant wife in labor to the hospital), and I am by no means condoning the actions of those who come to this country illegally. However, I strongly believe that the time, effort, and money spent addressing the problem should be practical. Inflammatory rhetoric does nothing to help the situation, nor does proposing solutions that have no feasible likelihood of ever being accomplished.
One of the common cries of those who are harshly against the illegals is to deport them all. I have a simple response to such statements. What does the law currently state? Is it not already allowable to deport illegal immigrants when they are caught? The INS spends a lot of time conducting raids of places of employment, and deporting illegal immigrants. What exactly changes by making it policy to deport illegals? Nothing, if we would strictly enforce the policies already on the books! To write more legislation to deport illegals would simply be redundant, and it will get us nowhere if we continue to disregard the laws already on the books.
Secondly, mass deportation, if it were possible (which it is not, at least to the fullest extent), would cost an incredible amount of money that could be spent securing our borders instead. If we invested the billions of dollars it would take to round up all the illegals hiding in the shadows of our country, it wouldn't do a thing to stop the wave of illegals who continue to come in. We will be stuck in the same situation 10 years from now! The bottom line is that our border with Mexico is FAR too porous, and it needs to be reinforced. Whether it be via greater manpower, a huge fence that spans the entire border, or some other means, we will never make any progress in slowing the waves of illegal immigrants until we secure our borders. Money spent securing the borders would go a lot further than blowing billions on mass deportation efforts that are likely to yield marginal results at best.
Next, we need to punish the SOURCE of the problem, and that would be businesses that knowingly hire illegals to cut their bottom line. I hear so much of an outcry against the illegals in this country, and rarely do those people direct their angst toward the employers who provide the incentive to come over here. Simply put, illegal immigration would eventually fade away if there weren't any opportunities to work. I believe that penalties should be harsh, enough to cripple a business for years, so that the risk would not be worth the financial reward for hiring illegals. While illegal immigrants for the most part are simply seeking a better life for their family back home, companies are operating under a culture of greed, with little to no care given to the well being of those who they hire illegally. If there is no money to be made by coming to the States illegally, there is no reason for people to cross the border without proper documentation that would allow them to work legally!
I don't think illegal immigrants should be let off the hook on this, but I do believe that we should make the best of the situation and acknowledge that right or wrong, they are here. The only way we will be able to document these illegals, and get them to come out of hiding, is if we provide them a way out, a path to citizenship. I do not agree with granting widespread amnesty, but I do believe in giving them a chance for citizenship by proving their allegiance to the country. A heavy fine upfront might discourage illegals from coming forward, since most are poor by U.S. standards, especially when they send most of their money back to their families in Mexico. What I propose is a mandatory tour of duty in the military, whether it be a 2-year commitment or a 4-year commitment. Citizens of this country have been drafted in the past, and with how thin the military is stretched these days due to tensions all over the globe, an influx of troops that were conscripted could be very helpful. They wouldn't hold the desirable jobs of course, but the jobs would be a step above what they have illegally, and the pay would be better too. If the illegal immigrant satisfactorily completed his or her tour of duty, he or she should then be required to take and pass a citizenship course and learn the history of this nation. The final step should be either a substantial fine, since there would have been time to save up money earned in the military, or else a percentage of wages being taken out for some determined length of time on top of the usual taxes. If an illegal took all of these steps, which would be far too difficult to call "amnesty", then I believe we should accept them into our country as citizens. Learning the English language is a pre-requisite to all of these things, of course. Serving in the military wouldn't be very effective if the illegal wasn't able to understand the language used in giving orders, and I certainly wouldn't agree with bringing on translators for that role! I understand that many illegals are too old to serve in the military, or perhaps not in good enough health to serve in that way. In that situation, there should be an alternative plan set up to work in some capacity for the government, doing undesirable jobs that nobody else wants to do. These solutions should ONLY be offered to those already in the country, and there should be a deadline to apply for this program. Anyone who comes in after the program is launched, or misses the application deadline, should be immediately deported if caught and permanently barred from any opportunity to come back into this country legally.
On a final note, I think it is important that we as a country don't lose sight of the fact that the illegal immigrants are equally human. They are not animals, they are not lesser creations of God, they are human beings who were fearfully and wonderfully made by the Creator just like any American (or anyone else on earth for that matter). God loves them just as much as He loves us, and since our nation was founded on Christian principles, we should demonstrate compassion to those who are so desperate. The Christian God is a just god, but He is also a God of mercy, and we should have some degree of mercy on those who are so poverty stricken. The vast majority of these people have awful lives here, they live in constant fear of being deported, and they risked their lives to get into this country. Many potential illegals die during the journey, whether via drowning or some other event. It is NOT easy to get into the country illegally from Mexico. That doesn't make it RIGHT of course, but we sometimes mistakenly think it's easy, and it is anything but. If the roles were reversed, and Mexico was the rich country while the United States was the one embroiled in poverty and government corruption, many of us, myself included, would probably do the same thing they are doing. There comes a point where a higher priority is placed on your family's well being and the desire to provide them with a better life than the observation of a foreign country's laws. We allow refugees from Cuba and Haiti, as well as other oppressive regimes, to stay in this country, while denying Mexicans the same privileges. While Mexico isn't under a dictatorship, the police are corrupt and tainted by an unbelievable level of bribery and unfairness. The cultural climate of the nation will get even worse if the bill legalizing heroin, cocaine, LSD, ecstasy, marijuana, and other drugs gets passed as it appears it likely will. (On a side note, the soon-to-be-booming LEGAL drug trade in Mexico should provide even more incentive to lock up our borders tight! It's bad enough that our young people are going to be heading to Mexico en masse for spring break, in part to be able to "enjoy" recreational drugs that are harmful. The worse result will be an even greater level of drug smuggling, due to the additional ease in securing product that this new legislation would create. The drug issue is a whole different topic, so I will leave that alone for now, but securing our borders would help slow the importation of drugs in addition to illegal immigration). I digress, but my point is that there is somewhat of a double standard when it comes to illegals from Mexico compared to those who come from dictatorships. I concede that part of the reason for that is due to the fact that we have legal immigration procedures in place for Mexicans that aren't available to dictatorships, however registration costs money and many Mexicans are far too poor to ever be able to apply for a visa. Those who can't afford to wait attempt to come illegally so that their families can live in better conditions and have a future. I'm not saying we condone their arrival, I'm just trying to demonstrate that they have compelling reasons for wanting to come to our country, even though I don't think they should be allowed in. We need to stop villainizing the illegal immigrants and start treating them like the human beings that they are. They are in the wrong of course, and we should make that abundantly clear, but attacking them as people gets us nowhere and only arouses passions that produce irrational fears and prejudices.
In summary, we need to stop illegal immigration. We need to hold those who came into this country illegally accountable, but in a way that is practical and provides a road map to citizenship one day. In the meantime, it is IMPERATIVE that we secure our borders by any means necessary, no matter what the cost. The wave of incoming illegal immigrants MUST be stopped somehow. Time and money invested wisely now will save our country many headaches in the future. Additionally, the existing laws on the books need to be enforced instead of merely rewriting them. We also must impose penalties so harsh on employers who hire illegal immigrants that it removes any and all incentive to risk breaking the law. Our attitude in doing these things should be one not based in arrogance, however, and we should treat all illegals with the dignity and respect they deserve simply for being human. Address the problems with solutions, penalize those who break the law, but do so with compassion and understanding. We should never take JOY in an illegal being deported, we should never derive happiness out of taking the tough steps necessary to shore up our country's problems, but we need to take the proper steps nonetheless. Our leaders have to stop pandering to both sides of the issue, and start actually coming up with ideas that can work. That is somewhat idealistic, due to the political climate of our country and the "get elected at all costs" mentality of our representatives. However, if we as a nation can come together and address this difficult issue as one, the future will be one we can be much more optimistic about. Compromise will be necessary, nobody will be able to get 100% of their way, but an imperfect solution is worlds better than no solution at all.
If you made it to the bottom and read the entire article, I commend you and thank you! I will try not to be so long-winded in future postings, but I felt that this issue had to be addressed on so many different levels, and even so, I think I barely scratched the surface. The issue is a complex one that could warrant 10's and maybe even 100's of pages of arguments. Right and wrong is usually black-and-white in my opinion, but this issue is what I believe to be one of the few exceptions to that rule. My personal views on how to handle illegal immigration have changed somewhat over time, as I was staunchly conservative about it in the past, but my current opinions were shaped by real-life experiences and observations that opened my eyes to perspectives I've never seen or considered before. Those who know me know that I am stubborn and very hesitant to change my mind, but as I started to see the struggle of those who are so desperate to become Americans, I started to understand both sides of the debate and I now agree with various points on each side. Future articles of mine will probably be much more one-sided however, and hopefully shorter as well!
Thanks again for reading and have a great weekend!
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