Monday, August 23, 2010

Immigration Issues.

Illegal immigration is a difficult topic. Understanding the hell from which most of these families come, does not help decisions to become easier, either way. Our country is a magnet to many who live in hopeless despair but in coming here illegally, they themselves are contributing to the lessening of the number of opportunities which may have been available here. The legalization of migratory status is a multi-layered issue. Like peeling an onion, every layer reveals other layers beneath and each one provides issues and possibilities of its own.  It is difficult to agree on a course of action which is fair and just to all concerned but we as a people must do so for the survival of our own country and society.


This is a topic which has kept me on an ideological balance beam for sometime now. I am an immigrant, first generation. I was born elsewhere and was accepted to come to this country some 48 years ago. I did not wade into a river, nor did I stuff myself in the back of a cattle or produce truck in order to cross the border. My citizenship was earned by joining the armed forces at a time in which most of my peers were desperately claiming their non-citizen status in order to get away from the possibility of having to go to Viet Nam. In the end I served elsewhere and did not go there either, but the fact that I did serve, opened the doors to my claiming legal status in this country which I love and to which I am grateful.

Other members of my family (brother and sister) have also come and, as I did, benefitted because incoming citizens of our country had (still do) a preferential treatment. As you might know if you have spent some time with the other entries to this blog, due to business I traveled in many parts of the world and have lived in at least three other countries at any given time along the last 29 years. This has given me an opportunity to directly live with local laws and get to know how immigrants are treated in many places, especially those from where a vast majority of illegal immigrants come to the US.

Most of the people who come here, risking their lives to do so, are fleeing from a disastrous economic climate in their own societies. A situation so bad in some cases, that many of them don’t eat a meal every day and have little hope to better their lot in their lifetimes. They hope to be able to find some work here, send money back to their families and eventually (in most cases) return to their country of origin.

Immigration laws vary by country, based on ideology, culture, socioeconomics, personal security and other parameters of daily living. In most “third world” (including most Latin American countries) countries, illegal immigrants are treated like rats, jailed (often being physically abused) and, if lucky, sent back to their country of origin (and not by chartered plane).  Where we are located, we (USA) are directly in the path of millions of people who get up every morning with little hope to do better than yesterday, and yesterday was not a good day. Is this a condition which should allow every one to come here as they please? No it should not. Yes, we are a country of immigrants but, most have come in under the protection of a system and a law, with some order in the process. Those who come in without any kind of legal procedures or protection tend to undermine society, the laws, the process and, in the end, the system on which we all depend.

Do most of the immigrants come to do a decent day’s work? The answer is a definite yes. There are also those (a definite minority) who will try to break down society’s rules even further by living on the “other side” of the law, and in the process give all immigrants truly a bad name.

I know several couples, many with children who were born in this country. They have spent many years here, have built businesses and have beautiful homes. All without legal documents.  Did they take this opportunity away from a US citizen? No, they did not. They did what many US born have chosen not to do: study, work hard and long, save and invest in the economy.

Am I in favor of illegal immigration? No, I‘m not. Am I in favor of sending all these good people back, taking away a lifetime of work and dedication and breaking families? No, I am definitely not. There is a large group of immigrants who have actually contributed to the growth of this country. And not all are Hispanics. There is also a group who in their own countries never respected the laws and they are not willing to do this here either. Do we need them here? No, we do not. Do we need an immigration reform? Yes, we do. The leaders of this country have been wrestling with this for some time now, all afraid to put the collar on the lion. The result is a mixed match of state laws and regional ideas while very little is heard from the central government.

This is a social issue, is a human issue, is a cultural issue and it is definitely an economic issue. You could even say it is a survival issue. It should NOT become a political issue, used only at the convenience of those who are seeking the vote of a segment of the population. As a country, the USA has had very lax immigration laws; this is something that cannot be changed overnight. But change it must. There will be a reaction to the change; there will be difficult times but in the long run, a change will allow our society to stabilize an area of real concern and it will also allow for a more orderly and peaceful reception of those who wish to come and seek an opportunity better than the one they have at home.

And, yes, perhaps the governments of these poorer places can right their own wrongs and restructure their own societies for the better in order to allow the common individual a chance and an opportunity to have a decent and dignified life for him/herself and their families. Then, their own citizens may actually stay put, work and help their own country  grow.

Be Well..  Be Back!!

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