"We came come a long way since Ellis Island. Unfortunately, the wrong way"
You would have to be living under a rock these days not to hear about immigration. Some of it is fact, some of it is politics, and some is just plain old bluster. False statistics, fiery rhetoric, and changing positions are common. In the midst of all this hub-bub, lies the truth about immigration.
First off, I have never heard anyone say that immigration is bad for this country. And yet, the Left constantly accuses the Right of being anti-immigrant. Our country was built from and by immigrants. My great grandparents were immigrants. Very few of our citizens are direct descendants from the Mayflower. However, there is a great divide between people who come here the right way, and those who came here by not honoring our immigration laws. And that is where the battleground is.
First off, much is about perception and not fact. Fact number one: Our southern border and our northern border are for the most part, open. Crossing either border is easy. Fact number two: Most of the illegals come from Mexico. That is not spin - it is fact. Not all come from Mexico, but way over 50%. Fact number three: The Hispanic population is the fastest growing voting block in the United States. Both political parties are aware of this fact. Fact number four: The last two elections were decided in part by the majority of the Hispanic voting block voting for Democrats. Many Republicans are in a panic from recent election results and once staunch positions are beginning to modify.
The Associated Press announced yesterday that the term "illegal immigrants" may no longer be used by their reporters. The Administration has also had terminology issues with this matter. The "Dream Act" for children of undocumented people is supported by the Federal Government. Many states like Minnesota want to offer undocumented (or illegal) immigrants "in state" tuition, while legal kids from neighboring states have to pay out of state tuition.
Do I think our immigration system is broken? I think it needs a tune-up. Our I-9 Visa program needs work where we can get more people with needed skills to help us grow. I believe the fact we have somewhere between 11 and 15 million illegal or undocumented people in this country is a problem. The picture at the top of this article is border "security" in Imperial Beach, California. Not real tough to cross. Texas and Arizona have the biggest problem with uncontrolled crossings. California however, has the highest number of undocumented residents.
My personal feeling is our uncontrolled crossings need to be secured for a variety of reasons. The most urgent is this - "Fortress America" is not longer such a fortress. It is not difficult for terrorists or drug smugglers to get into our country. For that reason alone, we need to secure our borders. We also want people who come to our country to do it the right way. If we adopted an "open border" policy, it would ruin us economically. We could not afford it. It addition, it would make us much less safe. We need secure borders, and we need them yesterday.
Let us all stop the name calling and rhetoric and come up with common sense solutions which are fair to all. Nobody who has stood in a line appreciates it when someone "butts in". If the line is too long, we need to fix the speed of approvals. This should not be a political issue, but it is. And that is a national shame.
First off, much is about perception and not fact. Fact number one: Our southern border and our northern border are for the most part, open. Crossing either border is easy. Fact number two: Most of the illegals come from Mexico. That is not spin - it is fact. Not all come from Mexico, but way over 50%. Fact number three: The Hispanic population is the fastest growing voting block in the United States. Both political parties are aware of this fact. Fact number four: The last two elections were decided in part by the majority of the Hispanic voting block voting for Democrats. Many Republicans are in a panic from recent election results and once staunch positions are beginning to modify.
The Associated Press announced yesterday that the term "illegal immigrants" may no longer be used by their reporters. The Administration has also had terminology issues with this matter. The "Dream Act" for children of undocumented people is supported by the Federal Government. Many states like Minnesota want to offer undocumented (or illegal) immigrants "in state" tuition, while legal kids from neighboring states have to pay out of state tuition.
Do I think our immigration system is broken? I think it needs a tune-up. Our I-9 Visa program needs work where we can get more people with needed skills to help us grow. I believe the fact we have somewhere between 11 and 15 million illegal or undocumented people in this country is a problem. The picture at the top of this article is border "security" in Imperial Beach, California. Not real tough to cross. Texas and Arizona have the biggest problem with uncontrolled crossings. California however, has the highest number of undocumented residents.
My personal feeling is our uncontrolled crossings need to be secured for a variety of reasons. The most urgent is this - "Fortress America" is not longer such a fortress. It is not difficult for terrorists or drug smugglers to get into our country. For that reason alone, we need to secure our borders. We also want people who come to our country to do it the right way. If we adopted an "open border" policy, it would ruin us economically. We could not afford it. It addition, it would make us much less safe. We need secure borders, and we need them yesterday.
Let us all stop the name calling and rhetoric and come up with common sense solutions which are fair to all. Nobody who has stood in a line appreciates it when someone "butts in". If the line is too long, we need to fix the speed of approvals. This should not be a political issue, but it is. And that is a national shame.
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