Immigration debate heats up

This immigration debate is really getting interesting.

I’m not sure where I sit on the issue yet. I’m not against immigration. I am against illegal immigration. However, I understand why people want to leave Mexico, it sucks and there is no work. But I don’t understand why once they get here they try to turn it back into Mexico. If I moved to France I wouldn’t demand they let me celebrate American holidays, and then put my old flag all over the place. It’s a complicated issue.

I’m sure I don’t agree with him on much, but Rep. Steve king of Iowa had this to say about the issue today, "The elite class in America is becoming a ruling class and they've made enough money by hiring cheap illegal labor that they think they also have some kind of a right to cheap servants to manicure their nails and their lawn, for example….So this ruling class, this new ruling class of America, is expanding a servant class in America at the expense of the middle class of America, the blue collar of America that used to be able to punch a time clock, buy a modest house and raise their families. ... Those young people are cut out of this process." I think this sums up quite a bit in my view.

To read the whole article, you can see if at CNN.Com: http://www.cnn.com/2006/POLITICS/03/30/immigration.house.ap.ap/index.html

I think a lot of people are not looking at the real issue here, and that’s lack of development in Mexico. If there wasn’t as big a reason for people to immigrate over here from Mexico, we wouldn’t have these issues. Once has to wonder, does it make more sense to spend our money on helping to develop work in the communities on the Mexican side of the border, or does it make more sense to build up a big wall. Personally, I think building up jobs in Mexico is the long term solution.

If you give people a reason to stay in Mexico, I think they gladly will, which is evident by all the flags and Mexican culture they keep to close to their heart, and refuse to give up once they get there. Most of them don’t see themselves as American’s born in Mexico, they see themselves as Mexican’s living in America. Give them a reason to stay and they will. But I’ll be the last person who can be truly angry for someone for trying to come here just to get a job and give their families a decent chance at life, no matter how different they define “decent” from what I define it as.

-O