Plain Advice

Immigration. A hot topic indeed.

Up until now, I have quietly sat through many discussions, debates (or whatever you want to call them) between family, friends, politicians, talk show hosts, etc. I have felt swayed by both sides of the debate because both are right some of the time. I have deliberately avoided standing on one side or another, because the issue is so broad, and I have felt a need to know more facts before I could draw my conclusions and form an solid opinion.

Today I was talking to a young man I know. Lets say his name is David. He is a young college student, as is his girlfriend, Isabel. They are both freshman this year. Both of them have lofty goals and big dreams about their futures. They both want, more than anything, to become self sufficient, well educated members of society.

David comes from a lower income family, so he has applied for and received some government scholarships and grants that cover many of his college expenses. He lives at home and is able to focus primarily on his coursework because of the financial aid he is receiving. David is also eligible to receive federal student loans, although he is hoping to avoid this.

Isabel is in a different boat. She too comes from a lower income family. However, 16 years ago (when she was 2 years old), her parents decided, for one reason or another, to pack up and move from Mexico to the U.S. They did not have the valid paperwork to do so , and therefore, have been illegally living and working in the U.S. all this time.

Isabel works long hours at a local restaurant, sometimes at the expense of her schoolwork. However, the only way she is able to go to school is if she pays her own way. Her parents are unable to help her due to their own financial problems. The fact that she has a job at all is very tentative, because really, she is not legally permitted to work in this country. She has been lucky to find an employer who has either not checked into her status, or has chosen to overlook it. But this could change any time.

Isabel is a motivated, intelligent young woman. She is, however, constantly plagued by the fact that she is an illegal member of the society she has grown up in. She is not only disqualified from the benefits of things such as help with college, but she also has to constantly live in fear that if exposed, she could be deported away from all that she knows.

The main thing that stands out to me in this particular situation is that Isabel is being held captive by the choices her parents made when she was only a toddler.

The only way Isabel can change her immigration status would be to marry a U.S. citizen. Although David can do this for her, and they will probably be married one day, it should not be something she has to think or worry about right now. She is only 18 years old, and should not be making such lifelong decisions based on the legal problems that she has no control over.

Children should not have to pay such a high price for the sins of their parents. There are millions of others like Isabel living in the U.S… children and young adults who never had a say in being made “illegal” in the only country they have ever known.

What is the right thing to do for these children of immigrants? Set aside the politics and think about it in your heart.

Too many people get caught up in a power struggle when it comes to immigration issues. Those are the ones that want to teach those illegals a lesson, not letting them get away with breaking the law.

I am not saying that the laws aren’t important, or that they shouldn’t be enforced. I am saying that the children of illegal immigrants have done nothing to break the law. They had no choice in the matter.

Therefore, more and more, I am coming to the conclusion that amnesty is the best and only option for the illegal immigrants who are already here, and have been here for some time. The otherwise law abiding people who are working to have a better life. It is the only humane thing to do, if only for their children.

Secure the borders, make it more difficult to come in from this point on. But make things right for the people who are already here. They are, after all, people, just like you and me. Their children deserve to have a shot at the future, just like your children and mine.

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This entry was posted on Saturday, August 18th, 2007 at 10:31 pm and is filed under Miscellaneous. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.