Legal immigration and the lack thereof

This blog will serve as my stage 6 blog, in which I must write a commentary or a critique to a classmate’s blog. I will be critiquing jasonhol24’s blog “Immigration”. In his blog, jasonhol24 details State Rep. Leo Bermen’s attempt to deny state services to undocumented children and their American born children. In his blog jasonhol24

“Now, is this the right thing to do? Deny services, basically to children? Honestly, I'm on the fence with this proposal. No, because children who can't be taken care of because their parents can't take care of them for some reason or another needs help. But that's kind of where my sympathy stops.”

It is very true that we need to attend to the least of our society, the children. It is also true that illegal immigrants tend to be on the lower end of the financial spectrum. Does this automatically mean that Joe Taxpayer really needs to foot the bill for a child that for all intensive purposes shouldn’t even be in our country? I have found myself coming to the same conclusion as jasonhol24, which is begrudgingly yes. I can not stand to let children, the most innocent among us, be the casualty of a parent’s bad mistake and illegal activity. While my stance on and about illegal immigration is COMEPLETLY different, I can not snub the children.

There are several examples of government simply not being able to furnish the needs of its people. During those times, an independent advocacy group can be called on to provide for them. I’m not sure why the same couldn’t be done with illegal immigrants. Assuming their concern is genuine, why shouldn’t we expect the concerned part of the population to pay for the people they want staying here. Government services are reserved for the citizens and legal visitors of our state. It would seem that we would not have this issue if recognition of social status had not been put above immigration law.


Jasonhol24 continues:
“Look, I'm all for people, no matter where they are from, coming to America to make a better lives for themselves, but for god sakes, do it legally! Don't come to America to work, get paid under the table, not pay taxes, send your money back to Mexico, and not contribute a single thing to society! But most of all learn at least some English! At least enough to get by. If you are not going to do that, then good riddance! You or your children don't need to be taken care of! Leave the money for the people who do contribute.”

Illegal immigration is just that, ILLEGAL! This country was founded on immigration, and melded itself into its own American culture. Let us analyze the situation a bit more by presuming a Mexican “migrant worker” came to America illegally and worked. Normally illegal workers receive monetary compensation well below that of a normal legal worker, even if the normal worker makes minimum wage! So even to the migrant worker it would be beneficial to come into America legally. The safety concerns for these illegal migrants are also an issue. In 2003 18 dead illegal immigrants were found inside an 18 wheeler's trailer in Victoria, TX. They died due to suffocation and the heat. This happens a lot when Mexican citizens cross the border illegally.

The issue of culture is another good point by jasonhol24. He wants illegal immigrants to “…But most of all learn at least some English! At least enough to get by” and that is a big deal to me as well. One argument by illegal immigrant advocate groups has always been the illegal immigrant who is just coming over for a little bit and working to feed his starving family and many variations of the same story. However, no mention ever comes of how a large population of non-English speaking people affects the population at large. Businesses are inhibited by people who can not ask for what they want in an understandable language, communication between citizens and illegal immigrants are inhibited, as well as the influx of Hispanic culture over most things Texan and American. I regularly see signs advertizing ONLY in Spanish… HOW FAIR IS THAT?!

It’s not our fault that Mexico can not support its people, and it should not be America’s issue to just “grin and bear”. Eventually it just comes down to the fact that it is ILLEGAL and unethical to expect anything from a government where you are existing illegally! It has been long enough since this issue started to see the detrimental effects this illegal immigration has had both on our society and our government. We have problems with our own citizens being treated as well as illegal immigrants and that to me is the last straw. Our country should put its citizen’s problems first and let the other nations do the same, and if you commit a crime in this country you go to jail, so why does being an illegal immigrant garnish you any special treatment.