The war on illegal immigrants?
May. 16th, 2006 12:47 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
jeffxandraFundamentally I have a problem with the concept of illegal immigration. After all, pretty much all of us who are U.S. citizens are immigrants and did not have the permission of the previous denizens to come here either. Of course they probably arrived via a land bridge from Asia so they may have entered illegally too.
But ignoring that concept, the problem with the current approaches to illegal immigration is the same problem with a different war.
The War on DrugsTM
(Thanks to![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
elengul for the superscript trick)
Now this is not to imply that immigrants are a bad thing and harmful to our country in the same way drugs are generally considered to be. But it is saying that we're attacking the problem in the wrong way.
Drugs come into the country because people are willing to use them. Immigrants come into the country because people are willing to hire them. No matter how many fences you build; how many checkpoints you arrange; how many unmanned drones you put in the air; they will come as long as people are willing to hire them.
Personally, there should be a more easily accessible guest worker program. Such that both America as a country has a better way to screen those coming in and those who wish to come here to work are also protected from exploitation that already goes on.
Should they be granted full citizenship? That's a thornier question. But expecting people who come here to work aren't going to come because we erect a few more fences is, once again, blaming the problem on someone else, not ourselves.
But ignoring that concept, the problem with the current approaches to illegal immigration is the same problem with a different war.
The War on DrugsTM
(Thanks to
elengul for the superscript trick)Now this is not to imply that immigrants are a bad thing and harmful to our country in the same way drugs are generally considered to be. But it is saying that we're attacking the problem in the wrong way.
Drugs come into the country because people are willing to use them. Immigrants come into the country because people are willing to hire them. No matter how many fences you build; how many checkpoints you arrange; how many unmanned drones you put in the air; they will come as long as people are willing to hire them.
Personally, there should be a more easily accessible guest worker program. Such that both America as a country has a better way to screen those coming in and those who wish to come here to work are also protected from exploitation that already goes on.
Should they be granted full citizenship? That's a thornier question. But expecting people who come here to work aren't going to come because we erect a few more fences is, once again, blaming the problem on someone else, not ourselves.
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no subject
Date: 2006-05-16 06:09 pm (UTC)But a comprehensive guest worker plan which facilitates certification as opposed to throwing up barriers, whether it includes citizenship or not, would have a far greater effect on illegal immigration than the deployment of troops and erection of barriers.
It's quite clear that the American economy can survive with immigrant workers. Indeed there are several arguments that the American economy needs these immigrant workers to continue to grow and expand.
no subject
Date: 2006-05-16 10:01 pm (UTC)The result would look like this: TM
no subject
Date: 2006-05-17 12:45 pm (UTC)TM?
Date: 2006-05-17 03:18 pm (UTC)Re: TM?
Date: 2006-05-17 04:14 pm (UTC)Re: TM?
Date: 2006-05-17 06:32 pm (UTC)