I'm Ready to Pay More for Legal Immigration
I'd consider myself a "huge" proponent of immigration. Most all of us arrived via that migration process at one point in our ancestry timeline and it's what has built this country and what makes this country great. People from all over the world coming to America to seek a better life and on that journey they become part of the stew that makes America what it is, and what a great stew. That said leading into the weekend "Immigration Protests" I was slightly on the side of a more favorable immigration bill. That all changed when I saw hundreds or thousands of people "many by most accounts" being illegal allies.
There is just something inherently wrong when thousands of people here illegally are openly protesting the law they broke. Saying in essence, "yes we got here by breaking the law and we demand rights"? They lost me, lost me totally and I'm now strongly for much tougher immigration enforcement. If you want to come to America or stay in America if your here already illegally, you have to follow the rules. If you don't, then you must leave.
I understand and actually agree that immigration provides favorable labor for immigrants who work low paying jobs on the trip up the ladder. The jobs are good jobs for them that are much more financially rewarding than jobs back home. As they move up to better paying jobs new immigrants replace them and the cycle continues. It has worked that way for English, Irish, German, Italian, Scandinavian, Polish, African, Asian, Middle Eastern, Indian, Cuban, South American, Vietnamese, Mexican, and all others that way since we became a country. It provides steps to the American Dream while also providing reasonable labor for the services rendered and helps keep America competitive. It servers both the immigrants and the countries needs well. That's fine and good and I understand it all. That said they lost me this past weekend................................
I think David Francis of The Christian Science Monitor got it right when he included the following in his article THIS:
The answer is not to simply grant amnesty to those here illegally. Regan did that in 1986 and here we are twenty years later starting all over on the same problem at the beginning. The answer is to have a legal process to get into America and once you do then you have a fast track to staying as a citizen. To think that illegals will not simply melt into the landscape as they have year after year is foolishness. We need the south border secured and the fence must go up. Only people who go through the legal process to get in, should get in, period.
I'm ok with paying $2 for tomatoes instead of $1, $5 for chicken at the grocery store instead of $4. I'm ok with paying $75 for dinner out with my wife instead of $65. I'm ok with paying $3,500 for a new roof instead of $3,000, if cheaper illegal labor is removed. See I don't value cheaper cost based on cheaper labor enough to think it's ok for that labor to be here illegally. I'm willing to pay higher prices to prevent people from being here illegally.
I'm very much in favor of immigration and what it provides the immigrants and the country. That said, illegal immigration cheapens the American dream and all Americans who immigrated to America the right way and legally. It also is an immigration cycle that starts with and is all about breaking the laws of America instead of obeying the law of the land and respecting it. A bad start and bad program I say............................
There is just something inherently wrong when thousands of people here illegally are openly protesting the law they broke. Saying in essence, "yes we got here by breaking the law and we demand rights"? They lost me, lost me totally and I'm now strongly for much tougher immigration enforcement. If you want to come to America or stay in America if your here already illegally, you have to follow the rules. If you don't, then you must leave.
I understand and actually agree that immigration provides favorable labor for immigrants who work low paying jobs on the trip up the ladder. The jobs are good jobs for them that are much more financially rewarding than jobs back home. As they move up to better paying jobs new immigrants replace them and the cycle continues. It has worked that way for English, Irish, German, Italian, Scandinavian, Polish, African, Asian, Middle Eastern, Indian, Cuban, South American, Vietnamese, Mexican, and all others that way since we became a country. It provides steps to the American Dream while also providing reasonable labor for the services rendered and helps keep America competitive. It servers both the immigrants and the countries needs well. That's fine and good and I understand it all. That said they lost me this past weekend................................
I think David Francis of The Christian Science Monitor got it right when he included the following in his article THIS:
In rich nations, no program of guest or temporary workers has ever led to such workers going home after their time was up. To think they will is "just silly," Camarota says. In Germany, most Turkish "guest" workers have remained. The same is true of South Asians in Britain and North Africans in France.
If a tough law is passed to limit illegals, any plan to send them home would not be enforced, Camarota predicts. Politically powerful business and religious groups would block such action. Making matters more difficult, illegals bear some 380,000 children a year. These babies become US citizens automatically.
The answer is not to simply grant amnesty to those here illegally. Regan did that in 1986 and here we are twenty years later starting all over on the same problem at the beginning. The answer is to have a legal process to get into America and once you do then you have a fast track to staying as a citizen. To think that illegals will not simply melt into the landscape as they have year after year is foolishness. We need the south border secured and the fence must go up. Only people who go through the legal process to get in, should get in, period.
I'm ok with paying $2 for tomatoes instead of $1, $5 for chicken at the grocery store instead of $4. I'm ok with paying $75 for dinner out with my wife instead of $65. I'm ok with paying $3,500 for a new roof instead of $3,000, if cheaper illegal labor is removed. See I don't value cheaper cost based on cheaper labor enough to think it's ok for that labor to be here illegally. I'm willing to pay higher prices to prevent people from being here illegally.
I'm very much in favor of immigration and what it provides the immigrants and the country. That said, illegal immigration cheapens the American dream and all Americans who immigrated to America the right way and legally. It also is an immigration cycle that starts with and is all about breaking the laws of America instead of obeying the law of the land and respecting it. A bad start and bad program I say............................
posted by Steve at 8:00 PM
