Editorial
The other side of illegal immigration
On July 28, 2011, eTN published a story titled "Are Hispanics for or against illegal immigration?" A faithful eTN reader submitted his story in response as the other side of the story. Here, we share his article:
Should we allow some people to break the law while requiring others to adhere to it?
I disagree with encouraging or condoning breaking the law. Breaking the law is breaking the law whether it is murder, rape, the selling of drugs to kids, or illegal immigration. Our society is already suffering because people have lost track of right and wrong; the last thing we need is to encourage people to break the law. Moreover, allowing some select individuals to break the law is a slap in the face to those who abide by the laws, whether immigration or otherwise. If the immigration laws are that onerous then they should be abolished for all, not just for some.
Wouldn’t it be better if we encouraged immigrants to abide by the law and help them meet legal requirements?
Over the approximately past 10 years, I have helped 11 people from the Philippines come to the United States. With 8 of them, I was responsible for their move from start to finish. With the other 3, I stepped in and helped when they had a problem. All of them lived in my home when they arrived in the United States. All of them complied with immigration laws including paperwork, tests, interviews, physical, and fees.
All of them are bi- or tri-lingual and speak fluent English. Eight of the 11 are adults. All of the adults are now fully employed, pay taxes, and have autos and homes or apartments of their own. Six of them are employed as registered nurses, thus helping with our shortage of medical personnel. One of them has gone into law enforcement, while another is a manager and officer of a corporation. The oldest of the youngsters recently completed high school as a straight “A” honor student, number 5 in her graduation class, and president of her class 3 years in a row. She recently started college working on a 5-year medical program. Several of these people have qualified for and have become US citizens.
These 11 Filipinos (and hundreds of thousands of other legal immigrants) are living proof that the immigration laws work and are well within reason. I, and many others, am upset about going through the time and expense of complying with the US immigration laws, while others want to be excused.
Here are some obvious questions regarding illegal immigration.
First, if you want to give legal status to illegal immigrants, will you then refund the money and pay for the effort for those who complied with the US immigration laws and fees?
Second, if granting legal status for attending school or military service is such a great idea, why limit to the illegal immigrants who have broken the law? Would it not make more sense to give this special privilege to those who have not broken the law? I am sure there are hundreds of thousands of young people who would welcome the opportunity to obtain some type of special visa to come to America under a law like this and gain legal status by attending schools or serving in our military.
Third, if we think it is a good idea to reward those who break the law and penalize those who abide by the law, then how do we reward murderers, rapists, and those who sell drugs to kids?
Let’s treat everyone the same. If our immigration laws are so onerous, then abolish them for everyone.
The author, Larry Plachno, is the founder of www.bustoursmagazine.com and has nearly 1,000 magazine articles to his credit. He is also the author of several books.
Comments
Very well said. I agree with the author. One thing is for sure, stop illegal immigrants.Obama should work hard on that.
As I write this, Tennessee police are looking for a murder suspect whom they think may have fled from a murder yesterday heading for Mexico. This is what open borders gets us. For every "feel sorry for them and let them stay" the corporate owned media puts out, there are far more of this kind that don't get reported as forcefully. Whether or not they are murderers, they are stealing the standard of living in the USA by driving down wages. They are bad news any way you look at it, frankly. Oh, of course, unless you are Democrat and want votes.
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