There has been a lot of talk over the past couple years, and most recently this year, about Illegal aliens. Now, I have my beliefs why they are here (America's entitlement system) and why they won't stop coming (No end to America's entitlement system). And while I believe this (And they aren't coming because THEY want entitlements, but because Americans already getting entitlements) I will save this whole (correct) theory for another post.
When I read all of these news articles and watch the media coverage on television, and see Lou Dobbs' face get all red over the thought of more ILLEGALS slipping past our borders every day, I sit back and ask...why are you upset? Now, one answer (and one I AGREE with) is that illegal immigrants do not pay taxes, but use the services our tax dollars provide, such as education, police and fire protection, and hospitals. They get to enjoy government services, tax-free. This argument is the only one that is legitimate and is a real concern. So, shouldn't then we take all the illegal immigrants and make them legal so they start paying the taxes and not draining our society's tax dollars. OH WAIT...DON'T START GIVING AWAY AMNESTY...THESE PEOPLE HAVE COMMITTED A CRIME!!!!
What crime? Yes, some are criminals that come over, like plenty of Americans, and they should not be allowed to stay and become citizens. But the only other crime is walking across a border without going through America's system. We must remember that MANY Americans got here today, because someone in our family did the same thing. Today's times have changed, our country has grown to over 300 million people and we have a constant fear of terrorism, so the policies of the past cannot be used today. But, what we must focus on, is what we are calling "illegal" like it's rape or murder, while it is something that many of our relatives did in the past; however, what they did was far worse ( see: taking land from the natives and killing many in the process, i.e. "trail of tears"). So, my point is that no huge crime has been committed, other than crossing a line without going through the proper channels.
Even though I suggest the crime committed is not big, I will not advocate an open border policy. I do believe, because of the threats to and size of America, that the country cannot allow anyone and everyone in. Again, in this post I do not want to debate how to fix the border crossing problem (I have a solution, though). The focus must be on why we are so afraid of the ILLEGALS. Since taxes cannot be the reason, because we can easily grant everyone here citizenship and sign them up to pay...there is a deeper problem. I also don't think its terrorism, since the vast amount of ILLEGALS are not criminals. It can't be a strain on the economy, because without these ILLEGALS, you will see a true strain on the economy. The real fear is the different language and cultural customs.
Americans do not want America to lose its identity. The identity comes mostly from European heritage, and a lot of that from England. There are plenty of exceptions, Midwest has Scandinavian influences, Florida has Spanish, Louisiana has French, Southwest has ILLEGALS, err Mexican, Africans through the slave trade, etc. But, Americans see themselves as living an "American" lifestyle and doing it through English. However, I am here to say that accepting these ILLEGALS does not mean America will lose this identity. Over the past several hundred years, Americans have come from all types of cultures and backgrounds, and because of that, America's identity has constantly evolved. If the ILLEGALS ever become legal, it would not turn America into Mexico. Almost all Americans will still speak English, most ILLEGALS will learn to speak English and use it every day. It won't change America drastically.
Look at Europe, and one can see the various languages spoken, between the various countries, but also within the countries. In Switzerland, there are three very different languages spoken in three different regions alone. That does not include the various dialect differences.
The reason I bring up this issue at all, since it won't fix the real problem of allowing non-Americans to cross the border without any documentation, it eliminates the underlying issue of why Americans are prone to not want the current ILLEGALS to stay and the fear of more coming. Politicians are guilty of facilitating and nurturing this fear to gain votes. I probably look at this from a different view than most. My wife's family are all LEGAL immigrants to America. They speak a different language (Spanish). Yet, while they still speak that language at times to each other, they are all productive parts of our society and speak ENGLISH every day. They are actually better than most Americans (they are Americans, now), because they actually know another language. If we lived in Europe, most of us probably would speak at least two languages, if not more. So, this fear comes down to American laziness (See future blog on real reason we have illegal immigration) and the fear of change. Well, I am here to say...the change will not be very big, it will be for the better and maybe, just maybe Americans will gain a little bit from it. One could only hope.
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