Ilegal Immigration

"I am not against immigration. I am against illegal immigration". I do not remember who said this in one of the republican primary debates but I agree. I honestly think that people confuse the two. I often hear people say this country was built on the back of immigrants and America is and should be proud of being a melting point. No one can deny that. But, someone can be a champion of immigration and the melting pot and be against illegal immigration. They are not the same thing.

Although I was born in NYC ("concrete jungles where dreams are made of. There is nothing you cant do") Sorry. I digress. Most of my family immigrated here from Jamaica including my parents and my brother. Members of my family waited years to come to America one by one after being sponsored by different family members. Mothers were separated from their children and husbands from their wives. Some members of my family, unable to get "alien" or "green" cards for the US immigrated to England and Canada. My family came with hopes of fulfilling the American dream. Working hard and sending their children to college and therefore having opportunities they could only dream of. Based on this, I am sensitive to immigration issues and the desire of parents struggling in their own countries coming here to provide for their families and giving their children better hope for the future.

I do believe America needs immigration reform. If we are not going to deport individuals immediately upon knowledge that they are here illegally, then we must provide them with education and resources to be productive members of society. Sidebar- I often wonder why we do not deport swiftly and immediately individuals that we are aware of are here illegally. Yes- I know we are America and we are more compassionate about such social issues. But our country is in crisis mode. We can not even provide for the residents and citizens that are struggling and losing their homes and jobs so who could blame us for not wanting to spend resources on individuals who are in this country illegally? I work in a hospital in which at least half of my patient population is known by the administration and staff to be here illegally yet nothing is done. I have heard the argument that you cant separate mother's from their children that are born here in the US and are therefore citizens. But why wouldn't the child be returning with their mother to their native country? I have also heard of laws that would require at least one parent to have legal residency status or citizenship in order for a baby born in the US to be considered a citizen. I cant say I disagree. I do believe that people take advantage of doing whatever they have to to get to the US in time to have a child on American soil therefore "entitling" them to live here and obtain free government services including wic for infant formula, food stamps, housing, health care and education.

Based on the premise that all illegal immigrants or if I am being totally PC-undocumented immigrants (I am not sure why illegal isn't acceptable when it is accurate. although I do not like "aliens" lol) will not be deported and instead be knowingly allowed to live in the United States, we must revisit the Dream act. The Dream act is legislation that would allow undocumented immigrants to have a pathway to citizenship. Components of the legislation state that the individuals must have entered the US before age 15, must have lived in the US at least 5 years before enactment of the law, must spend at least 2 years in an institution of higher education or the military and be of good moral character. Individuals would be eligible for citizenship after 5 1/2 years of gaining conditional permanent residency and completing the above requirements. Although I agree with some opponents view that the age minimum of 15 and the age maximum of 35 are too old and that the law rewards those that have entered the country illegally and may encourage others, I feel it can and should be amended to satisfy both parties.

I must end by mentioning that the Supreme Court has agreed to hear the Arizona immigration law. It is one of the toughest illegal immigration bills in the country and one aspect allows police to ask suspected criminals to show proof of residency status or citizenship. I do agree that it will likely lead to unnecessary racial profiling however I do understood the state being overwhelmed with the cost of providing for illegal immigrants as well as concerns about crime which has supposedly dropped since the law was enacted. I do feel a bit uneasy about that. I am not sure that illegal immigrants commit more crime than legal immigrants but I would have to do some more research on that. However, the federal government feels they are responsible for governing immigration laws and practices. It will be interesting to hear the high court's decision on this as well as other cases including the PPACA which I discussed under my "Universal Health Care" post.

Thoughts?