I feel I have the right to control who I admit into my house. After all, it's my house. That's the microcosm. I also feel Americans have the right to control whom they admit into their country. That's the macrocosm.
We are a nation of people who came from someplace else. Even the American Indian, came from someplace else. Actually, according to a program on public television, We all came from Africa. Still, We are now a nation of laws. There are procedures for becoming an American citizen. If everyone was allowed into the country, who wanted to be here, We would be overrun with communicable diseases, criminals from other countries, people without skills looking for public assistance from the first day they enter our borders. Our civic systems would break down. Just try to immigrate to Australia or to China under those conditions. On second thought, save your strength. It won't work in your favor.
Now you know that I favor lawful procedure. It makes sense to tighten our Canadian and our Mexican border, especially in the light of our war on terrorism....whatever that is.
How shall We address all those illegal immigrants? For the sake of arguement, say they all come from Mexico. You know..."wet backs". (I picture a Mexican male swimming the Rio Grande River and emerging on the US side, all wet.)
The low cost labor these immigrants provide to the US economy is very valuable, especially if you own an orchard that has to have its fruit picked NOW. ...if you are a roofer and no one will go up three stories on a roof in the blazing sun, with the possibility of falling off and dying...or worse....being paralyzed for the rest of his life....or if you are a landscaper that needs day labor.
God bless the people that are willing to work and shame on Americans that aren't willing to work.
I put myself in the position of a man or woman about to make the decision to enter the US illegally. It is a desperate position. The man will have to leave his family. He will be in constant danger from being found out. He has to live with that stress. He will have to speak a different language, be immersed in a different culture....different from the one He was born into. His country has a warm benign climate. The USA is cold and damp. What if He gets sick or injured? There is no socialized medicine for him. Would you want to take that chance? Would you? You would do this, only if there was absolutely no way to provide for your family in your own village or town. The money these men and women make is wired back to their families. The illegal immigrant is doing what he has to do to feed his family.
Therefore, I propose a solution that will not turn these foreigners into criminals: Help Mexico improve its economy so it equals that of the USA. There would be no incentive to leave. If there was a good way of earning a living in his home town, the man or woman would stay. Why bother leaving when family is at home.
If our government helped other countries maintain a standard of living equal to our own, We would be good neighbors, have no illegal immigrant problems, have developed new markets for our goods and services.
Other issues would surface, but they can be addressed. After all, We have Yankee ingenuity, don't We? Some issues are: increased demand for goods puts more pressure on natural resources and increases pollution. We can handle that. Tight borders means that some people will be turned away for good reasons. We have the right to turn back people, just like I have the right to not admit people into my house. Too bad if you don't like it. It's my house.