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Illegal Imigration: The Preamble

Not the immigration piece

I was invited to post my opinion at Skillipedia on whether Illegal Immigrants should be given amnesty. This is completely unedited, written in about 5 minutes, and the extremist level of my opinions. It does not represent everything on my opinions of Illegal immigration, but it is symbolic of them.

Amnesty: Thumbs Down

I’m not against immigration, I’m against the notion that illegal immigrants should be given a free pass for committing a crime. If immigrants want to come to America and take the risks of doing things illegally, then they need to accept the consequences of doing so. They should not be given amnesty for doing the wrong thing.

I see the benefits of illegal immigration, for both sides. People come here by and large because the alternative of staying in their home country is, in many cases, practically suicide. They can’t feed themselves or their families, they can’t live because their governments are failing and/or attacking them. I see that. I also see the benefits to American businesses. There are jobs that need workers, there are workers that need jobs, it’s almost that simple. Unfortunately, there are a lot of caveats that get in the way.

The fact of the matter is, rules exist for a reason; we cannot be lax at times and strict during others. This is a fact that our government does not seem to understand. Immigrants are necessary, but what about the legal residents? The ones whose wages are being depreciated, and who cannot get the jobs that need workers because there are other workers who’ll take any job for any price.

People may ask: “what about the illegal immigrants who accept jobs in meat factories with terrible practices. Meat factories that see many of their workers seriously injured (in Texas for example)?”

I sympathize, and I would fault the company, but never-the-less, these immigrants know that this is going on, and they accept the jobs anyway.

On this issue: “Dredd Scott and thousands of other slaves defied the Fugitive Slave Act and ran away from southern plantation masters in the 1800s. Would anyone today dare to claim that a runaway slave was a criminal?”

No, I would not say that a runaway slave was a criminal, but these are different circumstances. You must view each situation with it’s own merits. How are laws against illegal immigration similar to laws that make slavery legal? Would I say that all laws about immigration and immigrants (moreover, the governments enforcement of these laws) are all morally correct? No, but in this country, the government has a right to control it’s borders, controlling the way that a–should be–legal resident lives is a totally different matter.

Finally, if the US wants to maintain it’s legitimacy, it should not bend to the will of those who have no legal standing. It’s ridiculous and irresponsible. If illegal immigrants want to be here legally, they should come here legally.