Illegal
Immigrants
Tony Isaac, March 29, 2006
A recent news
story says that there are now 11 million illegal immigrants in the United
States. There are loud cries in Congress and in the media for immigration
reform. Some want to "get tough" with illegal immigrants, turning them into
automatic felons. Others want to let them--even encourage them--to come on in,
with no penalties at all.
We Are All
Immigrants
It is important to remember that every American is an
immigrant. We came from every continent around the globe. Even the "native"
Americans, long ago, came from somewhere else. Who are we to say that we should
be allowed into this country, while "new" immigrants should
not?
The Illegal Part
Some people try to justify
their opposition to the new immigrants by pointing out that these are people who
have gotten in illegally. This is certainly a problem, but it is only
a symptom of the real problem. The real problem is that our immigration system
is broken. It takes years for paperwork to be processed, and often, the
paperwork is simply lost. The rules and regulations involved are complex and
difficult to navigate, not to mention expensive. The days when Lady Liberty
welcomed throngs of newcomers at Ellis Island are a distant memory.
If
the legalities of immigration were streamlined, making it easier to get in,
there would still be illegal immigrants. But I'm convinced that many of them
would happily fill out the forms to come in legally, if it weren't so
horrendously difficult to do.
Freeloading
Most of
these illegal immigrants are here to work. They are not freeloading!
They mow our lawns, watch our children, build our buildings, and work on our
farms. They do backbreaking work for low wages. These are the kinds of people
we want to be part of our country.
Why do they do this? Because
America is still the land of opportunity. The low wages they make doing these
jobs are better far than what they could make in their home countries.
It
is true that these people do not pay taxes, and take advantage of free
healthcare and schooling. But if we simplified the legal system, many of them
would sign up for guest worker cards, and begin paying taxes that would offset
some of these costs.
The immigrants are not the freeloaders. The
freeloaders are the ones who sit in their Section 8 housing all day, watching
soap operas and having babies.
Keeping Wages
Down
One frequent complaint is that because the immigrants are
willing to work for low wages, pay for Americans is also held down. This is
certainly true, but it is inevitable. As the software industry has so painfully
learned, when wages are kept high, the jobs go to other countries. If our farm
wages were higher, more of our groceries would come from overseas, simply
because American farmers could no longer compete with countries like
Chile.
Let Them In!
Instead of chasing
landscapers across the desert, let's focus on dealing the real
criminals--the drug traffickers and the gangs. Let's open the door wide and let
the hard workers come on in. They are a real asset to our country.
Copyright © 2006 by Tony Isaac