I was about to write nothing in politics is “black and white” but with the political climate in this day and age, I didn’t want to poke that bear. Especially with a discussion about illegal immigration. I am definitely of the group of people who believe that illegal immigration is just that, illegal. I am not going to move to England just because I feel like it, I know the law, I know what I need to do, but in the United States, the situation isn’t so clear.
I think the first question one should ask is, “why is there so much illegal immigration in the United States?” Well, in my humble opinion it is three-fold: you have an economy in Mexico lacking in jobs, and an economy in the United States with ample jobs for either unskilled or specifically-skilled labor, and third, a mentality in people that they are “too good” for certain positions.
Is there a solution to this problem? What about the Dream Act? I do not believe it is in the best interest of the United States to butt into the Mexican economy, or to build a wall. You cut illegal immigration off at the source: the jobs. We wouldn’t have illegal immigration if there weren’t illegal jobs. Nobody in their right mind would risk life and limb to travel over a border for nothing. Now, for these people to stop hiring illegal workers, they would need to have a supply of legal workers, whatever happened to 14, 15, 16 year olds doing crappy farm jobs? I de-tasseled corn in the hot Illinois sun. Until there are workers to replace the illegal immigrants, there are no incentives to stop hiring illegal immigrants.
Now the Dream Act. I think we can all agree that a child cannot control the actions of their parent. A five-year old cannot say, “Daddy please don’t run over the border.” And even if they did they would be brought along anyway. I see the Dream Act as a way to say to these people, yes your parents did something wrong, but you were raised in the United States, you show this kind of character, and are willing to do certain things to show your willingness to be a citizen. I see the Dream Act as a way to stop a cycle of poverty if the Dream Act only applies for a specific length of time along with a comprehensive immigration reform program. We don’t need a new incentive for illegal immigration; we could use this to deal with the people here now. This issue is so complicated that I don’t know if there is one way solve this.
I just don’t see racial profiling and a fence as a way to do it.
