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Illegal immigration. The hot button topic du jour is on everyone’s lips. I have written about it myself numerous times over the years and it was only a matter of time before something changed. The majority of people have grown tired of the poor and huddled masses that breech our borders illegally every day and it was only a matter of time before their voices forced our lawmakers to do something. That time is now, and no matter what your stance is on the proposed new laws, there are going to be changes enacted soon. To what degree remains to be seen.
There are two new options that have been thrown onto the legislative tables. Obviously, to the masses that are protesting, none are acceptable. Why should it be to them? They want everything to remain just as it is because it is working in their favor. In their opinion, if it’s not broken why fix it? Well, for the tax paying, legal citizens of this country it is broken and has been for years and it is time to fix it.
Now before we go any further here, let me say that I am not anti-immigration, which the last time I wrote about this topic some people assumed I was. All of us are immigrants. This country is comprised of people from other countries and that is one of the things that make us unique. That diversity is not what is being called into question here. It is the people who have come into this country illegally that is. Again the key word here is ILLEGALLY!
Right now in this country it is estimated that there are between 11 and 12 million illegal aliens with that number expected to rise unless something is done now. I can’t help wondering how those numbers are figured. If they entered this country illegally in the first place, how can they be accounted for? Maybe there is some kind of stealth-polling going on at the kiosks outside of Home Depot that none of us know about.
Just for education sake, here are the proposals that are being debated and discussed in the senate so you can see what the illegal aliens and their supporters are protesting:
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Senate Judiciary Committee's bill:
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Allows illegal immigrants who were in the United States before 2004 to continue working legally for six years if they pay a $1,000 fine and clear a criminal background check.
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They would become eligible for permanent residence upon paying another $1,000 fine, any back taxes and having learned English. New immigrants would have to have temporary work visas.
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They also could earn legal permanent residence after six years. Adds up to 14,000 new Border Patrol agents by 2011 to the current force of 11,300 agents.
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Authorizes a "virtual wall" of unmanned vehicles, cameras and sensors to monitor the U.S.-Mexico border.
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Creates a special guest worker program for an estimated 1.5 million immigrant farm workers, who can also earn legal permanent residency.
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Allows illegal immigrant students with high school diplomas or GED, no criminal record and meet other criteira to enroll in college or university or enlist in the military. Permits state schools to charge such students in-state tuition.
Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist's proposal:
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Requires all employers to verify the identity and immigration status of their employees through an electronic system.
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Assesses civil penalties of between $500 and $20,000 against employers for each illegal immigrant they hire and criminal penalties of up to $20,000 per illegal immigrant hired and up to six months in jail for engaging in a pattern of employing illegal workers.
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More than doubles the number of employment-based green cards, from 140,000 to 290,000, and makes more employment based visas available to unskilled workers.
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It also would free up other visas by exempting immediate relatives of U.S. citizens from being counted in the annual pool of 480,000 visas, and increase country-by-country ceilings on family sponsored and employment-based immigrants.
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Cancels visas of immigrants who have overstayed their visas and requires them to return to their home country to undergo additional screening at U.S. consulates.
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Makes it a misdemeanor crime for an immigrant to be in the country illegally.
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Increases the number of visas available for high-tech workers.
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Does not address President Bush's proposal for a guest worker program.
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Now that you know what is on the table, somebody please explain to me why we are paying any attention to the people who are demonstrating? After reading the above the only people who could be demonstrating are illegal aliens or the children they gave birth to while being in this country illegally and are afraid of having their parents arrested and/or deported. Unless of course it’s because they are of Latino decent and feel the need to support their brothers in arms, they don’t really understand what they are protesting, and are just doing it because they think it's in vogue.
In recent polls taken of English speaking Mexican-Americans, 61% don’t feel that the penalties are stiff enough. The same group also feels that the reforms that have been in place since 1996 have not been enforced enough to stem the tide of illegal aliens that continue to come. That puts them in line with all of the other groups polled in the same survey. I guess you could say, all other differences aside, that despite your heritage, the majority of Americans are on the same page as far as illegal immigration goes.
The demonstrations that took place over the weekend with totals reaching 500,000 were definitely well orchestrated. In covering these events it was reported that many of the attendees were rounded up and bused in from areas that weren’t even close to where the protests were being held. It will be a repeat performance this weekend in even more cities, all in an attempt to intimidate congress from putting either of the above proposals into play.
And how about those children? These school demonstrations are thinly veiled excuses for the students to cut school. I could see maybe taking a period or two off to make a statement, but three days in a row? Even after the schools imposed lockdowns, they climbed fences and blocked traffic, not only on city streets but they even protested while walking on the freeways. I don’t know how you feel, but I think these young hellions have lost sight of what they were protesting, if they ever knew what it was to begin with.
Based on the TV interviews that I saw with these young protesters, they were not what I would refer to as “A” students. I could be wrong, but based on the answers they were giving as to why they were out of class protesting, I didn’t hear one valid answer that made any sense. As a matter of fact, I didn’t hear one of them who was capable of putting together a coherent sentence.
The one thing that totally mystifies me in all of these demonstrations is that as the crowds march and gather they are all waving the flag of Mexico. If you are trying to stay in this country shouldn’t you be waving the American flag? If you are so proud of Mexico then excuse me, why are you protesting to remain here. I’m sorry but I just don’t get it.
My family has always had a love affair with Mexico. Starting with my grandparents who began vacationing there over 50 years ago. Currently my parents live there half of the year, but only as tourists, because unless you are born in Mexico you cannot own land there. Maybe that is something we should start thinking about up here in the good old US of A.
I hope this has been informative and has better armed you to discuss the topic that is whirling around us, and I am sure will be for some time to come. And if you know anyone who is protesting, you may want to pass this along to them so they know exactly what they are protesting.
No matter which side of the fence you are on, the lines in the sand that have been drawn at our borders are about to get much wider.
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