Immigration Legislation

http://www.cnn.com/2006/POLITICS/04/12/immigration/index.html

In the Post September eleventh world, it is difficult for me to believe that illegal immigration remains such a problem. It seems as though the government has been dragging its heals in their pursued of an answer. The only recent progress that has been made involved legislation formed in December of 2005, which would make illegal immigrants felons. On the surface, this seems like the perfect answer to such a black and white issue (she says with bitter sarcasm). All the government needs to do is to send all of those silly immigrants to jail...right?

Unfortunately, the issue is not quite that simple. In order to pass proper legislation, we as a nation must make an atemt to understand the mechanics of immigration. This issue is one of full color which can not be covered by black and white "blanket legislation".

We need a number of things from immigration legislation. Firstly, we must be able to protect our borders from potential terrorists or illegal substance smugglers, while allowing legitimate applicants for citizenship through. Secondly, we need to create a sort of amnesty (possibly temporary, with a chance of citizenship) to protect the illegal aliens who are currently residing in the U.S. Thirdly, we need to expand our sect of government which deals with citizenship so that it may process foreigners more safely and efficiently, including background checks.

If we wish to be successful in our search for adequate immigration legislation, we must not remain on a hauty pedestal. We must understand that most immigrants are not terrorists. The majority of illegal aliens are simply seeking a place in which they can live in peace and stability. These people make a huge impact on our national economy. We can not continue to pretend that criminalizing illegal aliens is okay. We must realize that these aliens have become a part of the American Dream. They are fulfilling the dreams that our ancestors (who were most likely immigrants) fulfilled long ago. Instead of criminalizing illegal aliens, we as a nation need to take steps to improve the citizenship process, making it easier for alien's backgrounds to be checked and for them to be granted citizenship.

America must stop its snobbish out look on the people who are horribly underpaid to do our dirty work. We must learn to embrace these people who simply have a dream of stability. Where did we get the pompous idea that only so many people can immigrate to America. Can the U.S. ethically close its doors to immigrants now?

I realize that in a post 9/11 world, we have an obligation to make sure that our borders are protected from terrorists and smugglers of illegal substances. However, the issue does not have to remain as "us against the felons". Not all immigrants are dangerous people. We must remember that we have an obligation as people to open our arms to our human family.