Curtailing Illegal Immigration is not difficult
By Felicia (Fee) Benamon (04/03/06)
While the nation faces protests from illegal immigrants and their supporters on the right for illegals to remain in the U.S., Americans are saying that enough is enough. We've dealt with the illegal immigration problem for far too long now.
Protests have broken out in cities across the U.S. in response of a bill that passed the House last year, and now the Senate is poised to act on it. The bill is designed to curb illegal immigration by giving stiff fines to employers who hire illegal immigrants, and charging anyone who is in the U.S. illegally with a felony, not a misdemeanor, as it has been in the past.
Why all the protests? Illegals are simply breaking the laws, so when Congress meets to discuss the problem, many in the Latino community are up in arms. Just like any other country, there are laws that citizens have to obey in order for society to function properly. If you are in the U.S. illegally, why not make the effort to become legal? That is one way to give back to this country. Show your pride in America. Adopt America as your home country and appreciate all that she has given to you. One can still keep his heritage in tact, but if anyone is to live in America and enjoy her many blessings, they should be legal.
America is a melting pot because people of varying races and backgrounds come to the U.S. and bring their culture, and they choose to learn about America and our way of life. Many immigrants have assimilated. That is what ties us together as a family. When there are millions of illegal immigrants who do not wish to assimilate and go about the proper way to immerse themselves in American culture, and become legal, they undoubtedly isolate themselves. Americans should not feel that, in order to bridge the divide to communicate with an exploding Latino population, that we must take Spanish.
There is no reason why I should have to hear the words "Press 1 for English...2 for Spanish" when I need assistance on the phone. America is an English speaking country. If people of other cultures and backgrounds can assimilate, contribute, and make the effort to learn the language, then so can many in the Latino community.
Many Americans are in favor of curtailing the illegal immigration wave. A NBC News-Wall Street Journal poll finds that 59% of Americans are against temporary-worker status for illegal immigrants.
Time Magazine released a poll and found that 3/4 of Americans feel the government isn't doing enough to enforce the borders.
Most Americans also feel that illegal immigrants do not deserve "freebies" such as driver's licenses, Medicare, food stamps, and reduced school tuition for illegal students.
I am not against immigration as a whole. America opens its doors to everyone, but the system will be overwhelmed when people abuse it and decide to jump the border fence. I am quite disgusted by the fact that Mexican illegal immigrants have crossed the border for decades, and nothing has changed to better their standard of living. More and more illegal immigrants from Mexico cross the border daily in America, and Mexico President Vincente Fox has not made any significant changes to help his people. All I hear is empty promises from him. From what I've seen, President Bush and Vincente Fox only meet to "schmooze", and nothing is happening. Pres. Bush only seems to want to push his guest-worker program, one issue on which I completely disagree with. Amnesty will not work. It's time to get real in enforcing our borders and laws.
The fact is, Congress can bring up measures to control the border problem time and again, and debate the illegal immigration issue, and talk, and talk, and talk some more, (at this rate, it will probably take another 10 years before they really do anything with all the confusion going on), but something needs to be done right away! It's common sense that we as a nation, are facing problems from illegal immigrants.
Among the many problems Americans face due to illegal immigration, is a drain on healthcare services, limited employment opportunities, and the least talked about problem...crime. NBC Nightly News has focused on the illegal immigration issue in a news segment called, "Whose America," and brings to light serious crimes such as the selling of counterfeit documents:
NBCNews:
Fake ID business booms in Los Angeles
California metropolis is the forged document capital of America
by George Lewis
Undercover video, shot by agents of the federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement Service, was used to help convict a man of forging Social Security cards and other government IDs.
Kevin Jeffery, a special agent with the Immigration and Customs Enforcement Service, says computers make it easy for the forgers.
"The document vendors themselves, they just make up random numbers," Jeffrey says. "To do this would take maybe about two minutes, tops."
Jeffery says Los Angeles, with its huge population of illegal immigrants, is the counterfeit document capital of America.
(see article below)
If we know there is a problem, then why is Congress debating on whether or not to give 12 million illegal immigrants amnesty? Out of the 12 million, just how many illegals have committed crimes while here in America? Any measure that is remotely close to amnesty would be a travesty. And stepping on American soil illegally is a crime in itself. We should simply start a deportation process to drastically reduce the number of illegal immigrants who are here. Especially illegal immigrants who are causing problems, and heavily guard the border. Immigrants who want to do the right thing would enter the U.S. the right way.
I want to see President Bush engage Vincente Fox in conversation about paying attention to the plight of so many of the Mexican people. The U.S. cannot absorb the amount of illegal immigrants it has been taking in without being overburdened. President Bush's recent trip to Mexico only included a sightseeing tour, assurances that the leaders of Canada, America, and Mexico would work to correct the illegal immigration problem, and some small talk on NAFTA. Most of Americans want to see enforcement of our laws instead of "rewards" for breaking them. I hope President Bush is listening to, not only his constituents, but most other Americans as well. We want some action regarding our lose borders!
Some in Congress are trying to be careful not to offend their Latino constituents, and they are treading carefully, and wavering somewhat on whether to stand for full enforcement of the borders and our laws. They are not listening to the majority of Americans. Let's keep our Senators busy reading emails, answering their phones, and catching faxes... I truly feel that the illegal immigration issue has to be resolved. It is not all that difficult to control.
I am busy sending emails to Senators who are waffling on the issue, and I hope that you will let your voice be heard as well. Let them know, it's not difficult, just enforce the borders please!
This is an ongoing debate of which I will continue to address in a later article. It is amazing to me that, after years of allowing the illegal immigrant rates to skyrocket, that the U.S. is now trying to confront the problem. It has been talked of for years and Congress has failed to act. I want to see real change, real fast. It must be done if we are to get control of our nation. People forget we are in a time of war... anyone can sneak across the Mexican or Canadian border into the U.S., but are we watching?
Let's be forceful with our Senators to let them know that our laws should not be ignored, that we as a nation should act responsibly. To do anything short of that would put our nation in unimaginable harm.
..to be continued.
Related Reading:
H.R. 4477: Border Protection, Antiterrorism and Illegal Immigration Control Act of 2005: http://www.fairus.org/site/PageServer?pagename=research_feb06nl01
Fake I.D. business booms in Los Angeles--MSNBC.com: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/11980592/
Where Senators stand on the illegal immigration issue: http://www.humaneventsonline.com/article.php?id=13155
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