Kris Broughton
+ FollowDemocrats Propose to Make Illegal Immigrants Americans by Choice
The immigration law just passed in Arizona has me in a quandary – while I can empathize deeply with the desire of undocumented workers who want jobs here, as a Real American, whose black ancestors, despite the ignorant and ill-informed comments of the Pat Buchanans of the world, were an integral part of the effort to build this country practically from the beginning, I am also of the mind that circumventing the legal process is wrong.
Americans put the characteristics of different racial groups and ethnicities of people in an imaginary box they carry around with them. I know they do because I carry the same box. Despite all my efforts to discard it, it is there, holding my preconceived notions about the characteristics and habits of Hispanic America, Asian America, Eastern European America, Western European America, Indian America and Native America. So to believe, even for a second, that the training exercises or techniques Arizona law enforcement officials will supposedly undergo have been devised to magically eradicate this bias is ludicrous at best.
But I can empathize with at least one element of this underlying sentiment, the element which is connected with a belief that if you are in this country, you should obey all U.S. laws. To have millions of people in the country who are so clearly violating our current immigration policy by coming over the border illegally instead of through legitimate channels makes me wonder – why should I waste time worrying about following any of the other rules or regulations out there that just don’t sit well with me? Why should I waste time attempting to adhere to protocols that just don’t suit my personal agenda?
But what do you do when the reality is, our corporate business system embraces illegal immigrants whenever they can put them to work for lower pay and little or no benefits? Do you grandfather them in? Give them guest worker permits? Or simply shut the whole thing down?
The Democrats in Congress unveiled their answer to these questions yesterday:
Senate Democrats officially unveiled a proposal to reform America’s immigration system on Thursday. The 26-page framework, which has not yet been written into a formal bill, emphasizes first taking steps to limit illegal immigration before offering new rights for those here illegally.
Under the proposal, illegal immigrants currently in the United States would be eligible for legal status in eight years, as long as they learned English, had not committed a crime and paid their taxes. The federal government would increase funding for border security and require all American workers get a new version of their Social Security card that would include a biometric identifier to protect against the creation of counterfeits.
Democrats Unveil Immigration-Reform Proposal Washington Post
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