Illegal immigrants and the Land of Immigrants...

I was staring at a CNN tv screen while I was running in the gym today. Lou Dobbs was on and going crazy about how all these illegal immigrants were crossing into the US through our unprotected border with Mexico. He was raving about how he couldn't believe that they administered the citizenship ceremony in Spanish sometimes, or that the Mexican government was asking the US government to make sure the new voluntary border patrol didn't abuse Mexicans caught crossing illegally. So much for Lady Liberty saying "give me your tired, poor, and huddled masses" and welcoming the world to a land of golden opportunities through Ellis Island.

"Immigrant X-ing?"

I caught myself chuckling because it was just ironic that the land of immigrants, the so called "melting pot" of the world, would be so concerned with other immigrants coming over. Being an immigrant myself (the legal kind!) I couldn't help but keep thinking about this. The more I thought about it though, it began to occur to me that it wasn't really funny, and that maybe this really was a big deal. I mean some two million immigrants try to cross over every year, and apparently the success rate is only about fifty percent. Not to mention that its not exactly like flying in on a 747, these people go through hell to come here. You always hear these horrendous stories of the abuses they suffer at the hands of smugglers or God knows what else. Don't believe me? Read this yourself!

Anyway, as I looked all this up, I figured that "illegal immigrant" thing deserved some more thought because it was way more complex than I could have imagined in my state of ignorance. I could see myself agreeing with both sides. For one thing, the US has a right to control its borders doesn't it? I mean, I don't want terrorists to have a fifty percent chance of slipping through the border either. There is also the idea that these immigrants are flooding the US market with cheap labor, and apparently these laborers save a lot of their money and send it back to their own countries in the form of remittances. I must admit I had heard of this before while doing my college thesis project in Guatemala. In fact, those communities are greatly impacted by the incoming cash and outgoing people. Anyway, the US could in essence, accuse the Mexicans of unfair trade practices.

Ok, so I agree with the idea that the US is a sovereign nation that has the right to protect its borders and markets, but what about the fact that our economy vitally depends on these illegal aliens? There was this funny movie that came out not long ago about what would happen to California if all of the Latinos just disappeared one day. What would American farmers do without all the cheap labor that provided by migrant workers for example? Besides I wonder how many American's really want to do the jobs they complain about the illegal aliens taking from them. I'm sorry, but I don't see too many American's getting in line to be migrant farm workers, house maids, or do other menial jobs like cleaning hotel rooms!

So what's going on here? If we need them in our economy why go through all of this illegal business? It seems a little stupid I think. We need international students in our universities, but we don't make them sneak into the country first! Why the charade? I mean go ahead and shape up the border so that people who aren't supposed to get in don't. Do it well, so that people stop trying, and let do it with official personnel who can be held accountable to standards, not some random vigilantes! If its important enough fund the personnel.

But lets cut the crap and admit who we need and who we don't, and let the ones we really need come in minus the whole "smuggling in and living undocumented lives" part! If that means they have access to our schools and other public services so be it. If we need them then we should pay some benefits. All I'm saying is let's be above board about the whole thing cause its pretty underhanded how we're doing things now. We want to have our cake (their cheap labor) and eat it too (pretend they are parasites mooching off our country)! And that doesn't seem fair.

So what responsibilities do immigrants have though? Should they have to learn English? What about assimilation in general? Well people from other places came to America to be left alone when America was founded, and generally I think people should be left to do as they please... so long as they don't violate the laws of this nation. So assimilate our laws, but whether you buy into Monday Night football or not is up to you.

Most Americans are generally X-Americans who are proud of their X-heritage. ( Fill in Asian, Indian, African, or some other nationality for X) This is included in being American, that is, this mystical quality of being an American transcends where your grandparents, parents, or maybe you yourself, came from. If you can't define what an American is how can you assimilate to being one? And c'mon! From a practical standpoint this would be impossible to enforce without all sorts of civil liberties questions and big brother problems. So, assimilation to me is a mute point.

What about the language though? Should you have to learn English to be American? Well, are they going to accommodate my language if I go to some other country? Unlikely. I mean when I came to America I had to learn English. Maybe that's one definable characteristic of being American. How would you know what the laws were, or who to vote for, or which road to turn on if you didn't speak English in America. Its one of the main things that hold our diverse nation together. If you had to serve in the army, you'd have to know English. If you want to learn in school, you need to speak English. Hell, if you are arrested by border patrol, it'd probably be helpful to be able to speak English. So yeah, I think that its fair to ask somebody who is taking the oath of citizenship to do so in English. I mean we expect you to know who our first president was among so many other random facts, so is it really that unreasonable? I don't think so, but should we facilitate this process by making ESL (English as a second language) type classes easily available, or giving people enough time? Absolutely!

So that concludes my initial thoughts on illegal immigrants. I'm sure there is much to think about that I haven't considered, but so far I've determined the following:

1. The US should secure our border with US Govt. personnel who can be held accountable.
   
2. The US must admit that we need the cheap labor in our economy, and let the number of immigrants we need enter legally.
3. We as a society need to admit that there is no definable thing as an American, so we can't expect newcomers to become something we can even explain.
   
4. It is reasonable to require immigrants to this country seeking to become permanent residents or citizens to learn the English language, but we should help those seeking to learn.