My views on illegal immigration keep shifting, but after a discussion I had yesterday, I think I have nailed down my position (at least for now). It is quite apparent that the US economy wouldn’t survive without undocumented (illegal) workers. How many of the former auto works would go out in the fields and do backbreaking work to pick crops? How many would do the low paying jobs just to survive? There are so many industries that undocumented workers take jobs that no one else wants. We should be grateful that they’re there to fill in the gaps.
We know that coming over the border illegally is a crime and working in our country without proper documentation is also a crime, but how bad a crime is it? People speed all the time; that’s a crime and if caught, people pay a fine (if they speed too fast, they might goto jail) and that’s the end of it. The comprehensive immigration reforms packages have proposed that people pay a fine and then they’re on their way to a legal status. What’s wrong with this? Some critics say that illegal immigrants commit crimes. A large majority of them don’t, so why punish everyone?
Let’s get realistic about immigration. Sending undocumented workers back is not an option. There must be a way that “we can all just get along”. I’m not saying reward those that commit a crime of coming here illegally, but make the punishment fit the crime; who is the crime hurting? If there are specific requirements, i.e. learn English, have no criminal history, have a job, etc., then what is the harm in accepting them into this country?
Why don’t you send this one to the editors of some major newspapers and see what happens?