In Perspective: Amnesty for illegal aliens

Giving amnesty and citizenship to the millions of people here illegally has been one of the hottest topics of the year. One one hand you have national security and the fact that those who entered the United States in a manner that breaks the law could feel rewarded for their efforts by being granted amnesty. On the other hand, whose fault is it that so many of these people got in to our country? Should they be punished for our failures and should the government make the ludicrous attempt to deport millions upon millions of these immigrants? No, we should show the same respect to these people as we show all human life (or, rather, should show all human life).

Unlike any other fairly recently-developed nation in the world, the US was built up entirely by immigrants first from Great Britain, Ireland, and Germany, not to forget many forced (if you will) immigrants from Africa, and then by people from Italy, Scandinavian nations, and Asia. People emigrating to what is now the United States of America are the embodiment of American culture, tradition, and power. Many brought knowledge and work experience they had learned from their respective nations of origin, creating a pool of talent. Following another, albeit a bit more recent [popularity wise], American tradition, this past year has seen democracy at work; protests in the street for the humane treatment and often for amnesty to be granted to illegal immigrants reached its peak earlier this summer. Some may argue that amnesty for illegal aliens in the United States or elsewhere rewards law breaking, but don’t most people break the law because they live in such poverty and despair? Besides the minutemen border patrol and companies having stronger policies against hiring illegals (which, because of the cost benefit, will not happen anytime soon), the United States government is the only thing standing between emigration by illegal means and those same people having to stay in their respective countries or emigrate to somewhere else.

Undocumented immigrants have — as is widely recognized — both potential positive and negative benefits on the American economy. Foreigners here legally or not, make up an approximated 15% of the workforce in the US (Bureau of Labor Statistics). Those people who come to this country illegally should be treated with the respect and human rights like any other person on the planet — America’s human rights record has already taken a major hit in the last five years (e.g. Guantanamo Bay, Abu Gharaib). For the time being, that does not mean the folks in Washington need to give them the welfare legal citizens receive nor should they encourage unlawful passage into the US, but illegal aliens without work or with underpaying jobs (that's another issue) should not just have to sit there and starve. Immigrants currently in the country should have an expectation to fill out requests for citizenship forms, but without prosecution or deportation.

Much of the problem of illegal immigration is our fault, we can’t punish the people who simply evaded the system to live a better life in a country that boasts about its origins of hard work by, guess who, immigrants. By having faulty border enforcement that cannot do its job in the way expected of it, those people from Latin and South America, as well as the rest of the world, get into the country at great risks to themselves. The current system in place is obviously not doing a very good job, it is relatively easy for people to slip through the cracks in our border defenses. As an article in the September edition of Forbes magazine puts it, “most people agree this system just isn't working, and hasn't worked…The number of unauthorized immigrants keeps growing.”

As anyone who watches national or political news knows, reform of legislation that deals with immigration has been a major issue — along with flag burning and constitutionally outlawing gay marriage — this year in Congress. What has made the issue so unique in the sphere of American politics is that President Bush disagreed with many powerful figures (such as Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist of Tennessee) in his Republican party on a major issue surrounding visas and green cards earlier this year. Bush had a much more lenient stance on immigration than his other comrades in the Republican leadership. The issue has also shown the great fissures within the Republican Party, with hard-line conservatives — mostly presiding in states on the border with Mexico — feuding with moderates — of greater numbers in the Senate — who believe that immigration is one of the foundations of the American Way.

One thing that no Republican or Democrat will dispute on an election year (especially with the “War on Terror” rhetoric spewing out of the White House and the right wing in Congress) is the aspect of increasing security by reforming immigration laws. Voters are expected to see immigration and amnesty of immigrants as a major issue this November as they go to the polls. Republicans in the House of Representatives can say they have done something about it. On September 7 of this year, the House GOP (i.e. the Republicans) shot down a bill aimed at providing rights to the 10 to 12 million unlawful aliens residing in the US.

People yearn of a better life in a country embodied by freedom, liberty, and justice, the United States of America. Yet these same people are now told that they have done wrong by — for some — simply jumping over a poorly guarded fence. We have weak borders, thus we have created this problem ourselves. For our faults we blame the people who built this nation? Do we really want to turn into xenophobes at a time when the nation is already viewed negatively by so many in the global community? The Statue of Liberty, an embodiment of American ideals and freedom, has the following engraved at her base:

Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed, to me:
I lift my lamp beside the golden door.