Prologue:

I realized, through writing this, why so little is done about immigration issues. It is almost impossible to make any changes without someone, somewhere, becoming very offended. Whether it is the racist voters who threaten to vote against anyone who makes it easier for the “damn Mexicans” to “take our jobs!” (working in chicken plants, or as janitors, or other such lowly jobs as their communities end up working in). Or if it is those who feel that they are people just like everyone else, who have every right to live on the land and breathe the air, and be unpunished, despite breaking a large number of laws (illegal border crossings, the various fake and/or forged documentations, etc). It doesn’t seem overly difficult to cross the border already, and any change that makes it easier for anyone to enter the country increases the chance of ‘terrorists’ slipping through cracks, generating a security risk. I understand that what I outline is not a perfect solution, but I believe it should be at least considered, and adjusted as appropriate for implementation. But hey, what do I know – an outsider, an immigrant myself, albeit a legal one.

Immigration has, for a long time, been an interesting issue. It’s hard to think of anywhere else in the world that has such a large problem with illegal immigration than the United States.

Australia and New Zealand both have issues with people overstaying, and Australia particularly with the “Boat people” from Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, and other places within that region, however neither country holds land-borders with another country, so it isn’t realistic to merely walk or drive over the border.

This may be my uninformed view, but it seems that most of the African nations either don’t care, don’t have the technology, or simply don’t have the problem of people crossing the borders illegally for it to be such a problem. Of course, it’s always possible that there simply hasn’t been the communication of the problem to the outside world.

The European Union has 27 member countries, all of which say that a resident or citizen of one member country, has the same rights as a resident of another member country, and can live or work in whichever of those countries they please.

After some reading in order to research views of others on the subject, it seems that Europe does have problems – particularly with boats coming across from North Africa, and parts of the Middle East, as well as parts of Asia.

The difference seems to be how they approach the situation. I know that in New Zealand, if you are caught by immigration without a legal permit to be in the country – especially if you are working – it is grounds for immediate deportation back to where you came from, and fines are given to employers and anyone else who knowingly assisted in your staying in the country. In Australia, the reaction is similar. This seems to work fairly well, and it seems to be the common way of thinking, that if they weren’t supposed to be here, they should be removed.

I personally believe this should apply to all migrants who simply relocate without going through the correct channels. Where I disagree with this, is when it is not fair for a person to be sent back to where they came from, for health, or personal safety reasons.

At the same time, this is not an excuse for people to simply cross a border, and give a sob-story about why they shouldn’t be sent back again. As an immigrant myself, I feel the US Government, as well as the culture of this country in general, needs to change in certain ways.

The most important of all things here, is to be fair to everyone, ensuring that liberty and justice is upheld for all – that this country was founded by immigrants, whether it be from England, France, Germany, South America, Canada, Asia, Africa, the Pacific – with the possible exception of the Native Americans, every person that lives in the United States is born to a family which somewhere in its history, immigrated from somewhere else to where they live now. No-one should be denied permission to live here without good reason (see real security threats), but liberty and justice for all also means punishment for all who break the law, whether it be murder, whether it be stealing a bottle of coke from Food Kitty, whether it be crossing the border without filing an I-191821391284851918485a with USCIS.

Here are the changes I would like to see in relation to immigrating to the United States.

Firstly, the immigration process needs to remain as secure as it is now, but become easier for those trying to migrate. That is, continue with the forms, the medical checks, the fingerprinting, the background checks, etc, but lower the fees, and/or allow more locations closer to peoples homes that will allow at least for the physical checks to be completed more easily.

Secondly, work on programs to allow those who are already here illegally to adjust their status, probably initially to a refugee status, and then on to residency. I feel this should be a temporary window of time (6 months, perhaps?) and be conditional on normal immigration processes. Outside of this, they should expect to be treated as criminals – being sought by either the state or the federal governments, held to consider the reasons for not sending them back to where they came from, and either processed as refugees or put on the next bus or plane, to where they came from – not just the Mexican border. I don’t like the idea of putting people in prison for wanting a better life, but if the process is available and the choice was made for not utilizing it, then how is it different to knowing one should pay for groceries, and leaving the store without doing so because it was an inconvenience?

Thirdly, school systems, employers, and any other appropriate organizations should support both the law, in not harboring illegal immigrants and hiding them from the government, but also support the immigrants themselves, with government financial aid in order to assist them in obtaining legal alien statuses.

These things mostly cover US immigration law, however, this is not the only thing I feel is at fault. The so-called “illegals” (for lack of a better generalization) need to be doing their part in this too. Filing the appropriate requests to immigrate – whether it be for work purposes, or seeking an asylum or refugee status from their war-torn countries. There are many reasons why these people are crossing the border daily – it is safer to risk being shot at the border than to remain in their hometowns, not leaving their houses without a gun or a knife. And the US needs to do more about accommodating these individuals also, whether it be by invading South America, or better by setting up secure safe camps on US soil for these people to make their immigration applications to become refugees.

My wife described it well not so long ago, that desensitizing ourselves to a group of people is wrong – it was the first step in the holocaust of the 1930’s and 40’s. I don’t expect the concentration camps and gassing to reoccur with regard to our South American brothers and sisters in humanity, but considering them as inferior based on where they were born, or the languages they do (or in the case of English, a lot of the time) don’t speak, is not just wrong, it’s not the America that so many people gave their lives for.

“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. — That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed.”

Immigrants are people, whether they are legal or otherwise. The illegal immigrants need to be accommodated by the government and accepted by the people, by providing them with what they need to become legal, and the government needs to change their policies regarding their handling of those who choose to remain in their illegal status, and provide that all potential immigrants, and legal residents of the United States, whether they were born here, or immigrated, whether they are black, white, Asian, African, South American, whether they speak English fluently or barely coherently, should be considered equally, with their rights to Life, to Liberty, and to the pursuit of Happiness.