So 500,000 protesters showed up in California yesterday to protest a new bill that among other things proposes to make it a misdemeanor crime for an immigrant to be in the country illegally. This immigration reform bill also "allows illegal immigrants who were in the United States before 2004 to continuing working legally for six years if they pay a $1,000 fine and clear a criminal background check. They would become eligible for permanent residence upon paying another $1,000 fine, any back taxes and having learned English."
What does this have to do with body and soul unity? I am of the opinion that one's culture and heritage (heck even skin color) are not just accidental, but really create meaning, positively and negatively impressing the soul.
Now, before anyone accuses me of being one-sided (since I didn't add some of the other qualifications, which the bill proposes), I wanted to ask some of my fellow bloggers here for your open and honest thoughts about immigration and its effects economic, cultural, moral or otherwise.
Don't worry. I am not going to say "there are no wrong answers."
-CS
6 comments:
I'm not exactly sure what I think of the whole immigration thing. I mean, it's not right to waltz into a country without papers, yet the jobs they obtain here do make it possible for them to have families. And, since I come from a long line of immigrants, I suppose I musn't be too hasty.
Obviously, some immigration, especially for a country built on such migrations, is essential. However, a country's first duty is to protect its own citizens, and borders that resemble sieves are not going to adequately protect the freedoms that immigrants desire. So some sort of compromise is in order. The greater threat ta this time seems to be national security, so it seems wise to limit immigration. That was the practical, rational argument. Now, for the more personal...being the son of legal immigrants, I've admired how my parents have both kept many essentially Portuguese cultural elements, and yet have been assimilated into the broader "idea" that is America.They learned the language, got honest jobs, pay taxes, vote, put their children through school, bought a house with a yard, and two kids and a dog. Yep, my parents bought into the American dream, and it has given them everything they worked hard for. They did it legally. They are Americans. Immigrants that come here searching for a better life and then have the nerve to trample on the National emblem get no sympathy from me. America has broad enough arms to welcome anyone into the family, the only catch is, immigrants need to embrace America as strongly as it embraces them.
so windmilltilter, your saying that your parents had children and then subsequently bought two kids?
"They learned the language, got honest jobs, pay taxes, vote, put their children through school, bought a house with a yard, and two kids and a dog."
It was a two for one sale. Remember, anything is possible in America....
Sorry about that grammatical flap. I think the word "raised" was supposed to be before "two kids"
Another thing to consider, peoples: agreed that hispanics almost single-handedly (OK, not almost--totally) make our agricultural system run (not to mention our restaurants, construction and highway crews, and all other manual labor jobs); but part of the economic problem lies in the fact that they have sent 20 billion of our national revenue back to Mexico to support their families. This basically means we are supporting Mexico in addition to ourselves. As we all know, Mexican immigrants are notoriously eager to work extremely hard, make something of themselves, and provide for their families. This could all happen in Mexico itself, if it weren't for the Mexican government, which is a sink of corruption--a sink down which billions of US dollars are poured every year, making a very few connivers incredibly rich, and driving more Mexicans over the border to make money which they send back to the fat cats through their families. It's a tough situation
The interesting new development here is that a huge number of these illegal immigrants do not really want to immigrate. Generally, what they want is to be guest-workers who send money back home, where they will return at some point. It would probably be a very good idea to make a separate category which allows these "immigrants" to be tracked--for criminal and tax purposes, but also for their sakes, so they are given hazard pay (and are assured of being paid in the first place) and can put their earnings in banks.
Interestingly, the problem Flyte pointed out (U.S. dollars supporting Mexicans rather than Americans) is also a factor for the Catholic church. I heard that there is an enormous group of hispanic "immigrants" who meet in a field for Mass. They need a church building, but none of them tithe--in their minds, their church is the one back home. If a church is to be built, the diocese will have to pay for all of it.
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