Immigration laws in the United States need to be revisited, updated, and re-evaluated based upon our current economic climate. This re-working of immigration laws must be done at the national level, not left for individual states to decide upon and invoke their own laws based upon certain local conditions. Most people have heard about the controversial immigration laws in Arizona which essentially amount to creating an atmosphere of fear for anyone with skin color other than white or black. Documentation must be presented upon request, racial profiling is allowed for police officers, and unwarranted searches can be conducted. Well, similar laws have been passed in Georgia, South Carolina, and Alabama. The laws are essentially the same, give or take a few caveats depending upon which state you look at. Perhaps the worst is Alabama which requires every potential student to provide verified documents proving their legitimate citizenship in this country. Any student and family without proper documents must be reported to the state capitol and be dealt with later. Students can not be turned away based upon their citizenship, but they will be reported and potentially removed from this country along with their family. My question about all of this is, when has our country turned into this vast anti-immigration machine that seeks shut down our borders to some people, but keep them open to others, regardless of whether or not potential immigrants arrive here legally?
Our country was founded by immigrants and since its birth, celebrated today, July 4th, has been a bastion of freedom and hope for all those abroad who wish to lead a better life. Immigration has made this country the melting pot that it is, the unique exception where people from any walk of life can live without fear of reprisal or condemnation based upon their skin color or race. These new laws being created at the state level seek to eliminate a portion of that melting pot, eliminating that sense of freedom felt for so many years by so many different people. Regardless of whether or not these immigrants are here legally, they should all have a chance to integrate into our system and create for themselves a life of their own choosing. Take for example the life of Jose Antonio Vargas, a successful journalist here in the United States. A few weeks ago, he came clean in an article in the NYTimes Magazine in which he shared his story about being an undocumented immigrant. He came over at the age of 12 in 1993 and since then has been educated through college in our system and has worked for a variety of different newspapers as a journalist. Today, he is still technically an undocumented immigrant who can not leave this country because he does not have a passport or valid ID and must live in fear of being discovered and deported. The main reason that he did as well as he did was because he found individuals who were willing and able to support his goals of becoming a journalist and help him navigate through the country as an undocumented immigrant. What potential would we be eliminating if we removed the 11 million undocumented immigrants currently residing in this country. Most of the undocumented immigrants in this country do the work that the majority of us don't want to do; work in the fields picking fruits and vegetables, cleaning dishes in the kitchens of restaurants, handling our trash, etc.
If you ask me, it would make much more sense given the United States' current economic situation to legalize this immigrants and incorporate them into our tax system. If they work in this country, then make them pay taxes. Most of the time, these immigrants aren't causing trouble and assist us with work. By imposing laws seeking to alienate these immigrants, then we are eliminating the melting pot ideal that is American society. We are ostracizing them and forcing them to live under the radar, creating their own subculture. If we could only find it within ourselves to allow them to legally integrate into our society, we would be adding new blood to our melting pot, creating more diversity and potentially adding valuable intellect to our system. Some critics may claim that they are a drain on the system and are taking away jobs from legal Americans. Well, they are only a drain on the system because we do not allow them to become part of the system and pay into it and in terms of jobs, we can complain all we want, but until a college graduate who is unable to find work starts picking fruits and vegetables in the field for money, we have no right to speak. We can only benefit from integrating these people into our society. Instead of spending more or our money to weed them out a deport them, lets spend less and welcome them in.
I guess the ultimate question posed by critics would be; when does it end? It ends when we run out of room. We need to look hard at the economics of immigration. Immigration is in part what feeds our country and adds to our uniqueness. Our country is supposed to be a symbol of freedom, hope, and liberty. If we cut people off, close our borders, and sequester ourselves, then what does our symbol mean anymore. We can complain all we want about these immigrants' culture and the ideals they bring with them, but at one point or another, all of our ancestors were immigrants and brought their own cultural norms and ideals with them. We need to look back at what ideals our country was founded on and get back to the basics. Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Isn't that what we all want? Isn't that what these immigrants want? Let them strive for the American dream, whatever it means to them. The moment we start to deprive certain individuals or groups of the American dream is the moment that we start to become unAmerican. People can criticize us all they want, but not system or country is perfect and neither are we. What we can strive for though is perfection and if we strive for perfection, although we may not attain it, we will end up with something truly amazing. Let us celebrate today our independence, our freedom, and the American dream that every citizen in the United States strives for.
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