2008 Woodie Awards
The Immigration Debate: Just Say No, To Immigration That Is
Alexandra Ferrara
Issue date: 4/13/06 Section: Opinions
Mexican-American protestors have recently marched in New York and Los Angeles to refute the President's intended immigration reform. With a rallying cry from illegal aliens stating "We are not criminals," the protest seemed to be a highly emotional movement. There's just one problem.
They are criminals.
Crossing the borders into the United States illegally is a crime, one that 11.5 million illegal immigrants have managed to commit. In order to minimize the number of illegal aliens penetrating U.S. borders, President Bush has pushed for stringent immigration laws that will create a security fence along 700 miles of the 2,000-mile-long border to keep out even more aliens. In accordance with the McCain-Kennedy bill, Bush supports setting up a guest worker program. The proposed law would allow illegal immigrants to apply for temporary work permits that could last for six years. They would have to clear criminal background checks, pass an English language test and pay a fee to qualify. At the end of the six years, they and their families could apply for permanent resident status, and five years later for citizenship. The bill would also allow foreign citizens to apply for low-paid jobs that Americans do not want to do from outside the country. If the worker lost his job, he would have 60 days to find a new one or return home.
This is not asking too much of a person who wishes to enter a country that will provide them with life-long benefits. The idea is simple: Immigrants are more than welcome into the United States, as long as they decide to be law abiding citizens willing to adapt to the structure in which proper business and politics are conducted. Fill out the paperwork, pass a test and voila: you are now a legal immigrant.
Yet why do so many oppose this reform?
Illegals, legals and liberals alike have all fervently opposed the immigration reform, stating that putting up a physical border between countries is taking a step backwards. It is as if we are trying to recreate the Iron Curtain of the post-World War II era and tried to push our adversaries out. If a "curtain" is what it takes to ensure that Americans are getting jobs first, Americans are getting the proper schooling first, and that Americans are given first priority in the country they have legally been residents of, then I'm all for it.
They are criminals.
Crossing the borders into the United States illegally is a crime, one that 11.5 million illegal immigrants have managed to commit. In order to minimize the number of illegal aliens penetrating U.S. borders, President Bush has pushed for stringent immigration laws that will create a security fence along 700 miles of the 2,000-mile-long border to keep out even more aliens. In accordance with the McCain-Kennedy bill, Bush supports setting up a guest worker program. The proposed law would allow illegal immigrants to apply for temporary work permits that could last for six years. They would have to clear criminal background checks, pass an English language test and pay a fee to qualify. At the end of the six years, they and their families could apply for permanent resident status, and five years later for citizenship. The bill would also allow foreign citizens to apply for low-paid jobs that Americans do not want to do from outside the country. If the worker lost his job, he would have 60 days to find a new one or return home.
This is not asking too much of a person who wishes to enter a country that will provide them with life-long benefits. The idea is simple: Immigrants are more than welcome into the United States, as long as they decide to be law abiding citizens willing to adapt to the structure in which proper business and politics are conducted. Fill out the paperwork, pass a test and voila: you are now a legal immigrant.
Yet why do so many oppose this reform?
Illegals, legals and liberals alike have all fervently opposed the immigration reform, stating that putting up a physical border between countries is taking a step backwards. It is as if we are trying to recreate the Iron Curtain of the post-World War II era and tried to push our adversaries out. If a "curtain" is what it takes to ensure that Americans are getting jobs first, Americans are getting the proper schooling first, and that Americans are given first priority in the country they have legally been residents of, then I'm all for it.