There is a side to the national illegal immigration debate that you won’t hear from your average Republican politician or from his Democratic adversary.
Both the Republican and Democratic members of Congress are disconnected from the day-to-day reality of what it means to illegally immigrate to the United States, and they are not interested in finding an answer.
Illegal immigration is more than overcrowded schools, hospitals and job markets, and it is more than inequality, injustice and heart-wrenching stories about families torn apart. But these are the issues that keep people glued to TVs and newspapers, so these are the things that media and politicians always talk about.
Both parties would rather focus on the extremes than admit a solution can only be found with a rational approach that evaluates the problem on an individual basis rather than relying on group stereotypes. Democrats love that the Republicans take such a harsh “deport them all” perspective and Republicans love that the Democrats are so lenient that they will sacrifice even the American Flag in the name of equality.
Why? Because it’s just so darn fun to argue about it.
In fact, the last thing the Democrats would ever want the Republicans to do is to propose a solution that preserves the integrity and possibility of the American Dream while minimizing potential abuse of our social systems.
Time Magazine is spotlighting illegal immigration this week and publishing the stories of many illegal immigrants across the country. It is highly political in nature and reads as a leftist effort to speak out against the Arizona Immigration Law and anti-immigration politicians (i.e. Republicans).
But here’s the challenge: ignore the partisan jargon, and read it anyway.
It is important that we are reminded that we are dealing, for the most part, with people who come to this country because they see a better life for themselves. Not thugs and criminals or people who seek to destroy our American traditions. Remember your own great-grandparents, grandparents or maybe even parents who made it possible for you to live in American by immigrating here (albeit legally) once upon a time.
Forget for a moment about the immigrants who refuse to speak English or participate in American culture and focus instead on those who struggle for years to obtain visas and work towards citizenship the right way. Focus on those who spend their nights pouring over English books and those who try to make conversation in the grocery store even though people might turn away at the sound of a strange accent.
There is a way to solve the burden of illegal immigration in a way that respects the integrity of human life. There is a way to provide legal opportunities for immigrants who truly want to come to America because they believe in what America has to offer, and to do so in a manner that reduces free handouts – like Senator Marco Rubio’s Dream Act – while still providing young people who are here illegally a pathway to citizenship.
This is exactly what Democrats do not want Republicans to realize, because a rational approach towards legal immigration and merit based visas are tough to argue against. More importantly, if Republicans begin to loosen Democrats’ stranglehold on the Hispanic vote by focusing on comprehensive immigration reform, Democrats know they’ll know longer have a reliable voting bloc in Hispanic Americans.
The reality of the situation is that our country was founded on the values of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness and it is want make the American Dream so tantalizing. Both political parties need to understand that philosophies that once made America great are slipping away, and, as Sen. Rubio (R-Flor.) correctly predicts, if our nation doesn’t change course soon, the America we know will be gone, and “we are entering a new era where our nation will be less special and less unique.”
About Regina Conley
“Because it is important that we are reminded that we are dealing with people who come to this country because they see a better life for themselves here than elsewhere. Remember your own great-grandparents, grandparents or maybe even parents who made it possible for you to live the American dream.”
This is typical liberal bleeding heart misdirection and BS. I do not need the help of some snot nosed journalist to tell me how to think about my grandparents. It is insulting. I know perfectly well the value of immigrants and the struggles my grandparents went through. Back in those days there was no help for anyone, no workmen’s comp, no minimum wage, no eight hour day, no weekends off. You worked or you starved and there was no welfare of any kind also no social security or free medical care. If you get sick you were out of luck. I also know that they were not criminals and they would have never considered breaking the laws of this country. We allow more than one million people to enter the country legally each and every year. This number is very generous and we don’t want it increased. We are also not in favor of giving amnesty to any criminals who have jumped the visa line and broken our immigration laws. It is time for you and other bleeding heart liberals to learn some lessons in democracy and read the pole numbers on Amnesty. Whenever allowed to speak, even in deep blue California, the american people have made their opinions very clear. We are not happy about the dramatic demographic changes to our country over the last generation. These changes have somehow been forced down our throats without any democratic discussion of vote. We demand that it should stop and that immigration laws be strictly enforced.
Hacimo, I agree! My grandparents came here legally too. This issue has been made into an emotional one rather than practical. We are a country with laws that citizens have to abide by and citizens pay taxes for services like schools, roads and government.
I doubt many people would be objecting to immigration if people were seeking to follow our laws. Once you start setting separate laws for a group of people, where does it stop?
IMMIGRANT’S? Like my own father?
My father became a citizen when I was 6. He was a German/Italian who was a pre-teen when world war two started. He was born in the town where the first casualty was at a radio tower in a place called Gleiwitz, Germany.
I recall the day he was standing at the door with his certificate in hand. He had a smile that looked big enough to park a car on – ear to ear. He stood there and said “We are now American – we speak English” not that my generation was taught much Italian or German. We were at very least BROKEN English speaking dependent on how well the elders were learning English. We (the first generation in the USA) were not allowed to speak anything but English.
If you think they had it easy to get into this country LEGALLY? Think again!
They fled Germany on foot during WWII and made it to my grandfathers hometown in Italy.
In the early 50′s they applied for a passport to migrate to the United States.
The USA said NO!
This country had enough Italian’s.
So; they went to Brazil, became citizens there, and reapplied for another immigrant passport to the USA. That time, as Brazilian’s, they were granted permission to do so.
After many obstacles – they legally made it!
IMMIGRANT’S? Like my own wife?
My wife fled a Communist eastern European country and was made to go to a refugee camp setting where the wait was nearly a year before permission was granted to come here.
MOST of the refugee’s were sent all over the world.
Her and her ex husband were the only one’s from the camp at that time to be allowed to enter this country.
They had to pay back the expenses of transporting them to America.
Before they moved here – they had taught themselves English on their own.
As she says – it’s about respecting the people and the law of the land.
There is no other way to explain it – when a law is broken you have done something ILLEGAL and that is disrespect – PERIOD!
Not all people who come here, come here for a better life. Look at the drug trafficking going on across the border. Look at the decapitated bodies near the border………It’s nice to paint a pretty picture but sooner or later reality has to sink in.
We can’t keep on harping on “follow the law” when it comes to immigration. The extent to which the laws have been broken, either because they were flawed in the first place or because of abuses, has led to laws that do not work. At this point immigration must be seen on an individual basis as much as possible. There is no way to call ourselves human beings and not see that this is necessary. Just because we are republican conservatives and law abiding citizens, we cannot take a hard line on the plight of other human beings. That would be as big a mistake as the dems falling off of the moral ladder in the extreme ideals of “tolerance”. I understand that following the law is extremely important, but the laws have failed in this arena either because they are not just and a human heart recognizes this or because too many have abused them. Whatever the reason this article makes an important point. We need to go back to the drawing board concerning immigration. We can’t just dig in our heels and say a law is a law follow it especially when the law is so obviously flawed. This articles calls for a much needed discussion. Those at the table would do well to study two things in particular. One is indeed Rubio’s Dream Act and the other is John Paul II’s Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church. I look forward to the day when our country can again take pride in the Statue of Liberty. We’ve blown it concerning immigration and we need to stop being so partisan and spinning it for the election. Great article. Keep up the challenge to our leadership.
Romney/Rubio !!! Then we can have two anchor babies on the GOP ticket!
You think the mormons would do any different. Romney would give amnesty to them all.
This is a big part of their faith and their argument against same sex adoption. The Mormons don’t believe in depriving anyone of their mother or father.
Maria Hinojosa confronted Obama in this documentary.
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/lost-in-detention/
Anyone who feels this executive order is a good idea deserves to answer to all those who have immigrated and become citizens legally. Furthermore they deserve to pay directly for all those who are here illegally. In retrospect they probably don’t pay taxes.
To accept immegrants who come here illegally, and live off of our tax dollars as equals to those who’ve come throught he system legally, is a blatent slap in the face to those who immegrated legally, and a sign to all those who want to come here, that there’s no need to come legally.
I agree with “haddicus” – and Rich K. and all of the commenters above. The point being that these “young people” came here illegally and it IS a slap in the face to those who came here legally. My great-grandparents and their 6 children came here in the early 20th century from Romania. Great-grandpa had relatives who lived in Maryland fortunately and they all squeezed together in one residence (I don’t know if it was a house or apartment) until great-grandpa found work and put some money together. Then another relative in Cincinnati invited them to come work in the scrap metal business with him. Meanwhile, the entire family, orthodox Jews, learned English and American culture. It was tough for them not just because they were foreigners but Jewish. They did it though and they did it legally. So for all those who want to call me racist and bigoted, go stuff it. I come from a minority group and my ancestors came here legally, learned the language and became U.S. citizens. The way it should be done. I am appalled at what Obama did today – he is NOT king and I hope Congress take him to task on this one. Congress has allowed this man to get away with way too much criminal behavior. It is against the law so it is criminal in my opinion.
Normally I would agree with the legal vs. illegal argument, but I’ve seen too much. Good upstanding persons, persons any country could be proud of, deported separating grandchildren from grandparents and mothers from children who remain with abusive fathers, etc. etc. – all while drug dealers, smugglers, and other criminals enter the country legally. The system is broken and I would think that all those who benefited from their legal immigration to the US would stand up for some of these injustices – not take a hard line on legal vs. illegal for laws that don’t serve good people well. Are we legalists or human beings?