My View on US Immigration Policy
The United States immigration policies are in need of some changes that will flow with the ever changing labor market. It is estimated that over twelve million people live in the United States without authorization, over one million live in Texas alone, and the number continues to grow every day. The U.S. has reached a critical point in its domestic policies in which it must decide whether to adapt to the dynamic, ever changing society and labor market, or continue to reinforce the existing laws that many politicians seem to forget about. Many Americans, understandably, want the rule of law restored in a land where the law tends to be broken without consequence.
Each year hundreds of thousands of new jobs are created in business sectors such as retail, construction, and cleaning, which require only short, on the job training. With the increasing amount of low skilled jobs available,
many immigrants are coming over illegally or overstaying their work visas because there are so many jobs to fill. This becomes a problem for the natural citizens that are also looking for a much needed job.
Every year the size of Americans looking to fill the low wage jobs is shrinking.
Yet, our current immigration program tends to make it hard for a sufficient number of legal workers to come over and temporarily fill the jobs that American companies can't seem to fill. This predictably causes illegal immigration. Now, we can stem the flow of illegal immigrants into America by increasing the number of border patrols, building a fence along the entire American - Mexican border, or requiring every American citizen to carry a national identification card that the government can use to approve a citizen for work. These are all good ideas, but they are very expensive and can come into conflict with many laws such as civil rights and ownership.
To really take a step at fixing the immigration problem, immigration law should conform to the millions of people already here and how they live. Coming across the border, illegally, to support your family is not as inherently bad as rape or murder. If this was true, most of us would be considered descendants of criminals. The majority of illegal immigrants are just like you and me; they hold the same values of hard work, family, and responsibility, except they are caught trying to live in a bad system.
For the workers and their families already living within the United States' borders, the U.S. could divert from going for amnesty and provide another way of integrating workers out from the underground job economy into the legal, main labor economy. These workers could be justly fined or set to serve probation for coming in and living illegally in the United States. Also, they could also be required to take a spot at the back of the line and wait when seeking permanent residency.
Overall, the United States immigration policy is need of some dire help. It must be able to work with modern society and the dynamic labor market. For those millions of illegal immigrants already living in America, the country must figure out a way to integrate these people justly and efficiently. Hopefully soon, Congress will decide to tackle this ever growing issue and fix it before it becomes critical.
Think About It
"All the problems we face in the United States today can be traced to an unenlightened immigration policy on the part of the American Indian." ~Pat Paulsen
"It is also important to know that we're not only a nation of immigrants, but we are in some part a nation of emigrants, which often gets neglected." ~Samuel P. Huntington
"Remember, remember always, that all of us, and you and I especially, are descended from immigrants and revolutionists." ~Franklin D. Roosevelt