Illegal Immigration

     Illegal immigration. This topic is just one of many key issues dividing the American population. On one hand, you have those who continuously cite how we are a melting pot of various cultures, that no one in the country has a right to limit or oppose those in this nation illegally because not all of us are natives of America. Then there are those who are passionately against those immigrants that are here undocumented because of concerns that it strains the American way of life, opposed and angry that these individuals are possibly going to be getting a fast track to citizenship. If we were to listen to the media on this subject matter, those opposed to this immigration reform have no heart while those who want to help these poor souls become U.S. Citizens are the true humanitarians. Either way, this is a truly complex matter that requires more than just misguided compassion to be steering the ship.

      For a moment, let's travel back in time. Try to imagine the emotions many of the immigrants had when gazing upon the Statue of Liberty for the first time in their lives; one of America's greatest symbols of freedom. Some children of immigrants who would really not understand its importance right away, would be told stories from their families on the injustice and hardships they endured before coming to America. They would be told why their parents or grandparents uprooted from the only land they had known and braved a long passage for an uncertain future looking for freedom and a chance at a better life. Arguably many people's lives were changed in a positive way, with the freedoms we can often forget today (such as being able to voice your true opinion or worship freely without fear of reprisal from your government.) Having freedom of any kind was a new concept for most that migrated to the United States. America was a land where they knew that, if they worked hard enough, their life and the life of their children would be better than any life than of their native lands. How undeniably moving is that? Knowing the only way you and your family are going to realize their truest potential is to leave the only land they had ever called home to go to some great unknown country. Then there is the sad truth that not all immigrants made it whether it be monetary issues or illness.

      Admission into America was not simple, nor was it guaranteed. The amount of money one had for their passage held great weight as to whether or not your travel would be one of comfort or that of cramped quarters with a high probability that you could contract a disease. The more money you had also would weigh in the screening processes. Those who traveled in first or second class would generally be inspected on board the ship and granted access to begin their journey. If you were lucky to not be found ill upon meeting one of the inspectors, as a person of lower economic means, you still had hours to wait to be medically and legally cleared. Not all who made the journey to the United States were allowed in. For those unfortunate souls who were too ill or did not pass screenings, they were sent back to the land in which they fled. Those who did make it in often entered with very few personal effects. It was this idea of freedom and a promise at the American dream that was enough to encourage thousands to endure the hardship of travel and the possibility that they may not be allowed in worth the risk.

      That value of the American dream seems to be slowly deteriorating. Too often there is a sense most have of entitlement that is hampering the idea that if you work hard, you will be rewarded with any dream that you can imagine. This is just one of the problems that some, like myself, are facing when hearing of the immigration reform in this country. This idea that if you bypass our laws, you're going to be awarded with a fast track pass to citizenship. It is true that a vast majority of us are children of those who migrated to this country, however, most of us who had family come here did so legally. I can remember a couple of people I knew who had family they were trying to get into the country and the piles of paperwork that they had to do in order to get their family members on a plane to come over. How about those people who studied American history and learned the English language to take tests in order to be sworn in as a citizen of our land? How should all of these people feel when there are numerous illegals in this nation that broke the law and are essentially going to be given a free pass? It devalues the time and effort that those who came before and it devalues the passion and the joy that becoming a U.S. Citizen holds.

      It's not only the free pass that certain illegals are going to be getting, but we seem to be primarily catering to those who are here illegally from Mexico, Central America, or South America and in that process we are losing our American culture. I cannot remember a time, when I was a little girl, that I was at the grocery store with my mother where any of the food labels were in both English and Spanish. Never was there a thought of putting Spanish on our road signs; you had to know the rules of the road by reading the signs in English and pass the DMV test to obtain a license. Now we cannot buy a common food staple without accommodating those of the Spanish language who have not learned English. I often ask myself why that is? Why are we so overwhelmingly accommodating to those of Hispanic ethnicity and not any one else? Where is the consideration of those coming to live in America from China, Japan, or Russia for example? If we are supposed to be turning into a nation full of compassion for people in other lands where their way of life is restricted, why are there not more languages on food labels? Why are we not compassionate enough to put those languages on our road signs or food labels. We are to accommodate everyone into our country yet we seem to be more accommodating of those speaking Spanish than any other language. I can tell you that traveling abroad to Germany and France, you either knew the language or you had someone with you who did. My experiences in France especially showed me that they go out of their way to not use any English words or phrases as possible. Part of that is to maintain their French culture and part is because of the contempt some have towards those who are American or British. During my time in Germany, as long as the effort was there to speak the language, you would get assistance if you needed it.

      Arguably, that is a contentious issue now with illegal immigrants. There does not seem to be any effort to adapt to our culture. Not all of it is their fault though. We, as Americans, have become so politically correct for fear of being accused of not caring or being racist, that we have become highly accommodating for these non-natives (especially those of Hispanic origin.) We are the ones who are giving them no incentive to become citizens, because we're gladly handing over anything and everything they need to survive. We're so accommodating that we have even adapted to putting Spanish on a majority of the products sold within our boarders and are employing an overwhelming amount of people who can speak the language in our businesses. You're not going to see this in any other nation but ours. Everywhere else you are either going to sink or swim trying to learn their language, but not here and that's a problem.

      This lack of effort is part of what is derailing the path for American citizenship and American values. There is no pride in knowing you passed a citizenship test and that you can now speak the language since we are going to bend over backward, at the expense of our culture, to accommodate those who are not willing to adapt to our way of life. It makes me wonder why we even have boarder security when those in power don't seem to have a care for who crosses it or for the purpose. I'm sure you have heard stories of those illegally in the country who have committed numerous crimes and are not being sent back to their native land, nor are we prosecuting them. If we, as Americans, did these crimes in other nations we would be jailed and possible never see American soil again.

      Of course, there are people who have passed our tests and who do value being a citizen of the U.S. There are many here legally who love and appreciate this land, yet it seems that those people are few and far between because of this sense of entitlement and enabling. There are other ethnic groups who are abusing the system, but as a nation we are catering overwhelmingly more towards the Hispanics, and I cannot help but wonder why. Could it be for votes? Is it because they are our closest neighbors? Is it because of cheaper labor?

      Is it reasonable to want to offer some kind of reprieve to those children who were brought over by their parents who illegally entered our boarders, of course it is. That seems reasonable enough to want to help that specific age group, but there should be tests they have to pass just as those who entered through Ellis Island. There should not be an automatic path for those here illegally, it needs to be earned. There should be limitations on any kind of federal aid they can receive as well. Just as those who entered into the country years ago, you need to be able to prove you will not be a financial burden on the state and you need to be able to offer a valuable skill. We as a whole need to dismiss arguments that say these illegals do work that American's won't do. This argument is obsolete because those who say this have never been in need of employment and are willing to do anything to make a living.

      Being an American citizen is one of the most amazing things in this world. We are a nation that not only recognizes that not everyone is going to have the same opinion, but embraces different schools of thought. Differences in humanity leads to change, to innovation and to progress. We are a nation that is exceptional. America is the only place where you have a choice in the person you want to become. You can be, do and say whatever you dream and desire.

      It's time that we start believing in the beauty that is this country, and demand that those living here have enough respect for this land to learn our history of those who came before and pass our citizenship tests. We need to stop allowing our elected officials to dictate to us that we need to adapt our culture to that of those here illegally. It is this basic request that would help to keep the American dream alive and that would, I believe, bring a great unrest among the population to ease.