Throughout many of my blog posts I’ve talked about the trouble facing illegal immigration and the general ignorance of the public surrounding the issue. It always strikes me as odd for a group of people to hate another group of people simply because their skin color is a few pigments different than their own. 

I understand the general argument by many on the right that liberals only think with their emotions and live in a sort of utopian dream. I also understand how many on the left think that those on the right are fascists with goals of forcing their religious views on the general public. 

Yet despite the extremities on both side it’s always crucial to face any controversial problem like immigration in an open minded way. For instance the border is nothing more than a joke gone horribly wrong. Trying to constrict human movement is like trying to constrict human behavior. It’s illogical and it won’t work. Humans are always going to live where they want to live and work where they want to work. A logical way to approach this would be to regulate this movement and find a common ground of approaching citizenship or even work visas. But that’s not the way the system is now. The government sees the problem, they can tell it’s a problem, they observe the problem, yet they won’t do anything about the problem. 

The border sheds light on just how fundamentally wrong we choose to view the issue of immigration. A border between nations isn’t going to stop the influx of immigration, for immigrants will always continue to come. Trying to control this issue should be a priority for the government but deporting and demonizing immigrants, of any color, is not only inherently wrong it’s disgraceful. Treating immigrants like animals who need to be round up and shipped off is one of the few signs our generation has a huge, huge problem- one that extends indefinitely beyond the issue of immigration itself. 

http://www.azcentral.com/news/politics/articles/2012/04/26/20120426poll-arizona-voters-support-dream-act.html

In what may be a surprising change of course in the immigration debate its been determined that not all of Arizona voters are heartless godless heathens. In a poll conducted recently in Arizona it was found that many in AZ support the Dream Act.

This measure would allow a select group of undocumented immigrants who came to the United States as minors to in fact become citizens if they attend college or serve in the military for two years. 

An astounding 73% of registered voters expressed their approval of the Dream Act with 45% strongly approving of the bill. 

Seventy-seven percent of independents support the bill as well. 

This dichotomy is stranger than fiction. With the tough immigration laws in place in Arizona it’s surprising that a voter base would approve of allowing citizenship granted to those who did in fact enter the state illegally. 

Maybe voters are finally becoming realistic about the immigration issue and chanting other words instead of “deport deport deport”.

With this much progress so noticeable right now it would be really interesting to see if the GOP could get behind this effort and become realistic about the immigration issue as well. One would have to look no further beyond Mitt Romney, most likely the Republican presidential nominee, who said if elected he would veto the Dream Act.

It’s always reassuring to know that the politicians in Washington directly violate and strike down states rights and consequently the rights of the citizens of Arizona. It’s saddening but nothing new. The GOP has often been scared by the progressive left and if the status quo means keeping immigration illegal and profiting of it than the status quo shall remain. Just continue to drink the Kool aid and chant the magic words, “Deport, Deport, Deport!” 

Kris Kobac recently sat down with Reuters’ Terry Baynes to discuss his own thoughts on the immigration issue and how he sees it as one that isn’t just a federal issue.

One huge key excerpt I noticed:

“Reuters: You’ve described these laws as part of a policy of “self-deportation.” What do you mean?

Kobach: There’s a false dichotomy that constantly emerges when you see politicians talking about immigration. They’ll say you can’t round up 11 million people and enforce the law 100 percent, so amnesty is the only rational way to move forward. But no serious thinker would say those are the only two approaches to a law enforcement problem. The rational solution is to ratchet up the level of enforcement. Then illegal aliens will self-deport because the cost-benefit calculation changes.”

This is , of course, implying that the real solution to the immigration problem at least in Kobach’s eyes is to employ the deterrence theory. General adherence to general deterrence believe that increasing the punishment and enforcing the law completely will deter criminals from committing illegal acts (in this case, illegal immigration). Simply saying that the cost-benefit calculation changes is absolutely ridiculous. What Kobach doesn’t realize is the immense amount of support and help that immigrants bring to the economy, especially in California. And to say the cost-benefit calculation changes is ludicrous because until real reform is actually made in Washington on the immigration problem illegals will still come. They’ll keep coming for decades and decades. This is because the REAL cost benefit for them is seeking out a better life, often times meaning crossing the border to the United States. 

The problem of immigration lies in reform. In my opinion, at least, I believe Kobachs’ statements were particularly unfounded and empty of any real evidence. To be more specific I believe he was speaking as an idealist. I say this because the drug war in America has been going on for a long, long time. The government, or actually our tax dollars shall I say, have spent billions upon billions on this useless war. And yet people still use drugs! It’s crazy but….it’s realistic. You can’t restrict someone from doing something that they want to do by placing bans on it. In most cases, especially in the U.S. for the statistics on underage drinkers, placing a ban on something just makes someone want it even more. The drug war is a great example of how the government needs to place a greater emphasis on issues like national security, education, and foreign relations. 

This is why I disagree with Mr. Kobach. He’s living in a paradise world, a utopia, where he thinks that increasing the level of enforcement on this issue will solve the problem. 

Reform is what we need. We need to reform the immigration policy in the United States before paranoid politicians keep the issue alive and continue to profit off it. 

http://www.sentimentalrefugee.com/thoseimmigrants.html

I recently found a great article regarding how a good deal of the population in the United States views immigration. A woman’s husband from Croatia who was born a Canadian citizen was applying to become an American citizen. 

Throughout the Q and A process of filling out forms some of the questions included “Are you a communist?” and of course “Do you plan on overthrowing the United States government?”. I can see someone admitting to being a communist, of course, as that isn’t illegal by any means and shouldn’t be some kind of prohibitory admission of guilt. The latter of course is absolutely hysterical as someone like Osama bin Laden or other members of terrorist organizations would just happen to answer “yes” on that question.

Despite the comedic factor in some of the questions it’s quite bothersome that the United States feels the need to ask questions like this to foreigners. Sure the U.S. should do everything in its power to limit terrorism and limit violence both foreign and domestically but divulging into the lives of certain people with questions like are you a communist seems a tad bit intrusive. Many would voice stark opposition to this and say the U.S. is acting in their own right to ensure the safety of their people (as they should). They do have a point. Yet there must be a better way to do so than asking impeding questions that are irrelevant in the long term on entrance to the country. The U.S. of course files background checks and the such concerning the danger level of any single person filing for admittance let alone citizenship. The point is that obscure questions on these questionnaires do nothing but deter immigrants from citizenship. 

The other part of the article included the wife of the husband talking about how her friends often mentioned “those” immigrants when referring to the immigration problem in the United States. What she found odd was how when she mentioned that her very own husband was an immigrant everyone fell silent. It seemed that immigrants in some people’s minds refer to those from “foreign-enough” countries where they speak a different language and look much different than “us”. Some of her guests claimed “Well not your husband of course we aren’t talking about him”, yet this in any rational persons’ mind doesn’t make sense. 

Where is the distinction? Does the line get drawn at a certain degree southwest of the equator? Is a Canadian born citizen who files and becomes an American citizen not a foreigner? What if that same person is from Saudi Arabia? Colombia? Mexico?

These aren’t mute points by any means. They’re important questions to be asked. Some individuals hold the misconception that every foreigner looks the same. That they all dress the same and speak the same foreign language. It all makes sense in their minds. And this is the real problem going on today. People who hold ignorant misconceptions that everyone who is foreign is dark skinned, speaks a different language, and generally in the lower income class. It’s hard to admit but this stereotype is held by a large amount of people. This is another extreme contributing factor to the problem of immigration in this country. As long as people are holding stereotypes like this they’ll never come to realize that we’re all foreigners in the end. Just because one man from a certain ethnicity claimed this country doesn’t by any means determine its language, cultural roots, or even its food. All of that is determined by foreigners emigrating into the state to make it not only more culturally rich but also more diverse. 

Time released an article concerning the vast amount of misconceptions towards Immigration both in Europe as well as the United States

http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,2045932,00.html

The main focus of the article is explaining how both groups tend to over exaggerate the amount of immigrants in their home countries. Many people believe their state is overrun with a large amount of immigrants some citing as high as 39%. The real statistics are around 14%.

Illegal immigrants comprise less than 1/3rd of the migrant population in America. Many Americans believe as high as 58% of migrants don’t have legal status. As mentioned earlier, it’s less than 1/3rd of the entire migrant population.

Why are there so many differing opinions on this issue? 

The answer is remarkable. “These results, experts say, show what a vexing issue immigration can be for policy makers both in Europe and the U.S, where concerns over labor-market competition, assimilation and crime have led many citizens to demand tougher immigration laws and enforcement. In the GMF survey, majorities in the U.S. (73%), the U.K. (70%), Spain (61%), France (58%) and the Netherlands (54%) felt their government was doing a poor job managing immigration.”

The tensions surrounding this issue are different in the United States compared to Europe too. Americans tend to fret over the economic effects while Europeans worry about preserving their national culture. With the growing muslim population in Europe many Europeans are worried that their culture will slowly be overrun by foreigners. This worry is still very much alive in America as well but as we see with the recession the structure of the economy is of utmost important to most. 

America may be more tolerant of the influx of immigrants simply because it’s a nation founded by immigrants. Second generation families are welcomed warmly because it reflects the nature of how America was constructed through pilgrims and immigrants cultures. 

Those who faced a job cut or a decrease in wages might have felt that illegal immigration contributed to their loss. Despite the evidence of truth in these statements many still believe anyway. This is comparable to Europe and how many Europeans, although worried about the influx of Muslims, may continue to hold an oppositional view of Muslims simply because fear creates ideas in peoples’ heads which they cling onto completely. There is no way to change stronghold opinions by those who are scared. 

And so we see a nuanced divide in the opinion of immigration between the United States and Europe. Although for different reasons the term ‘immigrant’ still holds a certain connotation that without further education won’t be disappearing anytime soon. And that is nothing more than a sad, sad reality. 

Throughout more research into the “problem” of illegal immigration I’ve found

numerous articles that both support and refute the idea that illegal immigration is beneficial to the economy. It’s hard to prove this point to those who are focused on illegal immigration being nothing but taking jobs away from “honest” Americans. I find that those on the right who contain extremely conservative values both fiscally and morally tend to believe illegal immigration is a problem. These same politicians who declare it a problem often aren’t willing to do anything about it. This is of course due to how much they’re profiting off the private prison industry but also their morals. It’s highly disturbing to think that we’re a nation of immigrants yet politicians in this country think more immigrants is a problem. They’re dirty, they stink, they have too many kids, and they don’t pay taxes. Oh, also they have a different skin color than us. That’s the most important thing. That’s just……wrong! But in all seriousness there are many people out there who believe such convoluted logic. 

Let’s take a look at a NY times article from back in 2008 talking about Immigrants benefit to social security.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/02/opinion/02wed3.html

The article outlines how many illegal immigrants pay into the social security program yet don’t claim the benefits because they don’t have citizenship. This in fact bolsters the amount of money paid into social security. In addition to this illegals are entering the country at a much faster rate as well as at a much younger rate than before. This boosts the economy as more working people are paying taxes. 

The main point is clear. We have an extremely complex yet fascinating relationship with those who enter this country illegally. They are often scorned far more than appreciated and the American Dream doesn’t seem fit for “them”. Bigotry and ignorance aside it’s important to look further into the issue of illegal immigration to fully conceptualize the issue as well as bring attention to the positive contributes many often overlook. 

Throughout reading into the problem of immigration it has surprised me as to how the facts are often only brought up to support one side of the case.

For instance, the Heritage foundation cites

• Immigrant unemployment rates are lower than the national average in the U.S.;
• Studies show that a 10 percent share increase of immigrant labor results in roughly a 1 percent reduction in native wages-a very minor effect;
• Most immigrant families have a positive net fiscal impact on the U.S., adding $88,000 more in tax revenues than they consume in services; and
• Social Security payroll taxes paid by improperly identified (undocumented) workers have led to a $463 billion funding surplus.

Of course, one would never see these facts if they were reading a different website, with “facts” written by a different author. For example, a quick online search into the problems of immigration not only turned up the facts above saying how immigrants are contributing to Americas economy but also various other websites denying such facts.

A great example comes from www.Endillegalimmigration.com which, as you may have guessed, isn’t exactly pro-immigration.

On this websites the “facts” as to why illegal immigration is ruining this great country of ours include, but are not limited to:

Attacks on Border Patrol and Law Enforcement agents

Deterioration of Common American Culture

Gangs, Graffiti, Drugs, Cartels, Smugglers, and Violence

Not Speaking English, loss of common language, Press 1 for English 

Overcrowded Schools and Negative Impact on American Education 

Overcrowded single family homes

These “negative impacts” of illegal immigration are quite contrary to what we saw in the heritage link above. The two are distinct in the sense that they are polar opposites of each other.

Following my recent post concerning the biased media in America, problems with illegal immigration are only “problems” when they aren’t supported with sufficient evidence. This causes problems as the population is receiving misinterpreted facts about the real cause of immigration problems in modern day society.

Of course the internet as well as the mainstream media is rife with inaccuracies concerning such “problems” as illegal immigration or the war on drugs in this country that it really takes an informed citizen to find out the facts for themselves. If we keep watching our favorite partisan talking heads on television telling us the “facts” instead of researching on our own we might be stuck in an era of pure misconception where the real problem is not what’s going on in the world but rather our uninformed opinions on such events.

The discussion surrounding immigration in the present day United States is almost always controversial. In my opinion this isn’t because of the sheer ignorance of the populous but rather the constantly biased media. Throughout a great deal of the 24/7 news cycle the media is constantly misinterpreting the real problems of immigration and instead focusing on the sole issue of the illegality of those who cross the border. 

These “aliens” as some declare them seem to be normal human beings searching for a better job and better pay. Many people often say this is all fine and dandy however these aliens should go through the proper steps to become a legal citizen of the United States of America. If only that were so easy.

According to the United States government, it can take anywhere from 2 years to simply achieve the status of receiving an interview. The interview process can than vary from 1-180 days. Even after all of that it STILL might take a couple years for everything to be finalized and processed to declare one’s status as a citizen. 

In my opinion this is simply ridiculous…those who make the argument that illegals should simply seek the legal route is absurd. The legal route is a bureacuracy which would take some people a good portion of their lives to simply attain.

In addition to this the media constantly focuses on negative issues surrounding immigration. Some of these include the drug smugglers that come across the Mexican American border, the deaths associated with the cartels, and the constant violence that surrounds illegal immigration.

However, what the media never focuses on is seeking a resolution to such a problem. It’s no big secret that negative stories gain more interest and are thusly promoted more on television and throughout newspapers. Why would the media focus on ending the drug war to stop the constant violence by the cartels or find a way to make it easier for those foreigners to attain U.S. citizenship? The simple reason is because both of these ideas aren’t popular and aren’t practical. Throughout the nightly news on average one will see homicides, rapes, and even reports about the war in Afghanistan. These stories, although mostly quite depressing, are what gains interest and increases revenue. That’s all the media really cares about. Of course after all the rape and violence they show you as you’re eating dinner they’ll finish off the nightly news with a report on Sparky the one legged dog..

Immigration is a problem that needs to be talked about more often. Looking to sources outside the mainstream media is, in my opinion, generally the most efficient way of doing so.