I am more than six decades in age; I have been through years of upheaval and have seen the changes of our country, trends in society and in people, in general. People have changed and NOT for the good. The worst of them, I believe, is the ruthless business man or woman, especially the CEOs. Millions of dollars in wages and perks, high living and others just like him or her has changed America and America’s horizon. Now we stand on the precipice of yet another internal danger.

SOPA and PIPA

What is all the controversy about the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) and the Protect IP Act (PIPA) that are currently before Congress? We have until January 24 to find out and to also discover for ourselves what is really behind these bills and to stop the bills. Where there is smoke, there is fire and the smoke of these bills are obscuring the truth.

Why does the entertainment industry need a couple of over-kill bills to protect their rights? This is like swatting a fly with a Buick. Why hasn’t the entertainment industry done more to protect itself? That protection does not need the big guns of government censorship, destruction of the “offender’s” website, loss of income and credibility, not to mention the harm done to global commerce. Yet, the biggest loss could very well be American freedom.

America

America has always stood for freedom – freedom for the little guy just as well as for the big guy. Now we find that freedom eroded and sliding toward the edge of the abyss. There is entirely too much confusion about these bills. That alone should warn us that smoke is covering the real issues. The old adage, Follow the Money, applies. Who and what are behind these bills? Think for a moment.

See through the smoke. If the government gained control of the Internet via these “benign” and “nothing to worry about” bills, what then could we expect?

First of all, the loss of freedom. We would be told what we could and couldn’t do on our own web sites. We could expect our web sites to be monitored and regulated. We would be expected to back government agendas; to speak against them would mean a shutdown of our web sites.

Secondly, governments have been predictable for centuries; they vacuum money from their people, legally and illegally, in the form of taxes, fees, fines and takeovers. We have seen entirely too many acts of corruption by our leaders. The attitude of the public is blasé. Too many public leaders are crooked; we all know that. The crooked politician or president does not get put out of office, but arrogantly continues, term after term, running up debt and furthering corruption.

Thirdly, the government would control information. When information is controlled, the people are controlled, when the people are controlled, the government can carry on its agenda without obstacles. Soon we would find ourselves no longer in a democracy.

The Predictability of Government

The government already has a stinking track record of “regulating” their own agencies, offices, departments, administrations, programs and others. Remember these debacles?

Waco and the Branch Davidians and the strong-arm use of the federal law system; FEMA in general, FEMA in particular during Katrina; the Social Security loss of funds due to government entities that “borrowed” funds from the Social Security program for their own pet projects and never returned the money. Now it is the impoverished, aged, sick and premature tiny babies that are blamed as a “drain” on Social Security!

What about the health care system? To call it a mess is an understatement. Benefits and other aids are being ripped from those afore-mentioned and given to illegal immigrants who receive benefits not due them because of their illegal status.

We do not allow American prisoners some rights and felons are denied most rights: the right to vote or hold government jobs, and so on. Yes, the government won’t step up to the plate and do something about illegal entry into the U.S., even though our citizens are denied their rights when they have acted illegally. The government’s mishandling of immigration is undermining our economy and our national security.

The government has mishandled money since the first tax was levied in our country. We are already taxed for everything imaginable. Blinded by dollar signs, they are desperate to get their foot in the door of the Internet. From the examples of Freddie Mac and Fanny Mae, the government can’t handle money. Our money. They have never figured out why Americans are forced to live on credit until their cards are maxed.

What about the waste of money in wars? Wars that the U.S. never intended to win. The loss of technology, money, materials and military personnel is an injustice and irresponsible. I recognize that there are times a country must go to war. But it should be under a set of predetermined conditions with a goal in mind.

American Losses

Our country’s men, women and children in the past decade has seen horrid catastrophic weather-related destruction: the tornadoes in Oklahoma and rains, floods, fires, mud slides, tornadoes, hail, drought and hurricanes have  battered the nation, racking up commercial losses through business loss and infrastructure damage and loss, loss of property and homes. Loss of citizens, pets, wild life, trees, food crops, gardens, food animals and fowl is heartbreaking.

Countless people are standing their own losses because the government did not deem their situation as grave enough to warrant federal aid.

I could go on. We have been victimized over and over again by our government and its hand in our pocket. Now the government wants to further withdraw money from our accounts by trying to shoulder its way into the Internet. Not just the government, but other dark undercurrents who also are vying for money and power. Undercurrents who fund lobbyists and other powerful groups to force their selfish interests to the forefront. The American citizen is under siege from all directions.

American Victims

Who will suffer the most should these bills be passed into law? The middle income, low income and the poverty level will be affected the most. This is where they find the information they need to make decisions, to find more critical information, to stay abreast of trends, to stay in touch with family, friends, neighbors and acquaintances around the world.

Stand UP, America!

The Internet helps the citizenry to make informed choices in their medical treatments, political candidates, businesses, and much, much more. Further, it is FREE! Since these income brackets — the middle, low and poverty — make up the majority of the population, it stands to reason that these are the most feared. They can make changes! They are a force to be reckoned with.

The marketing and commerce industries already know the value of Facebook, Twitter, Google, Reddit, Tumblr, Yahoo, eBay, Mozilla, Kickstarter, AOL, Zynga, and other social sites that are fertile grounds for advertisements and word of mouth endorsements. The government could impose injurious regulations on American businesses and enterprises.

The government would also gain control of all of these and countless others. Other countries would also play into our government’s hands because of the commerce and shipping prospects.

The Senate will begin voting on January 24. Sign all the online petitions you can find and let them know how you feel about this smokescreen and that you will not fall for their trickery. Write, e-mail and call your congress and senate representatives, your friends, family members and neighbors.

When I realized that my party had a hand in all this, I was really angry, this should not be, people should not be suffering the way they are and we need to understand how this happened and resolve that we, as Americans, will NEVER allow this to happen again. Ever.

So what happened, and how do we prevent it from happening again? Read on gentle reader and I will tell you what we must do if we want our republic to survive and restore our constitutional government to one of the people, by the people and for the people.

Without going in to the grisly details of legislation and laws that got us to where we are now, I am going to boil it down and over simplify it somewhat. But if you give it some thought, this is really the core of the decisions and inaction that lead us to the tragic state we find ourselves in now:

Politicians allowed the far left to make outrageous demands of the government regarding everything from entitlements and home ownership to immigration. And the republicans stood by and allowed them to make these demands and start these programs without nary a whimper of protest. Much less any concrete actions, and in far too many cases voted for these programs themselves. Yes, both sides got us here, and we must never allow it to happen again!! We must stop electing RINO’s. The time for bipartisanship with these radicals is over.

First and foremost, we must secure our southern border. And I mean lock that bitch down tight. Within that we must find and deport every illegal alien we can possibly find, and that means allowing local law enforcement officers to demand proof of immigration status pursuant to a lawful arrest or when they have a legitimate contact with a person and have a reasonable suspicion that they may be here illegally. And then, DEPORT THEM!!!

Any city that declares itself a ‘Sanctuary City’ and instructs its LEO’s to ignore the immigration status of arrestees should immediately have ALL federal funds cut off until they begin to enforce the law.

Secondly there needs to be an immediate lifting of the drilling moratorium in the ANWR and the OCS. The environmental wackos can piss and moan all they want, and we need to simply tell them to go to hell, we are tired of their obstruction and their attempts to take the country back to the horse and buggy. If they want to live in a mud hut then more power to them. But they do not have the right to force the rest of us to do so.

Additionally we should begin developing nuclear power plants across the length and breadth of this country as soon as possibly by streamlining any permit process and again telling the enviro-wackos and NIMBY’s to bugger off.

These two actions alone would impact the US economy in a positive way almost immediately.

And, of course, I saved the best for last. Repeal Obamacare. Kill it, kill it dead and forever more. Do these things and you will see the markets rebound and the economy take off like a rocket sled on rails.

Certainly there are many other thing that would need to be done, such as disbanding the EPA, reigning in an out of control judiciary (9th circuit I’m looking at you) and either closing or fundamentally reforming Fannie and Freddie, but these are in my opinion the big three that would have an immediate and profound impact on the economy.

And after all this, we must never again allow politicians to create an environment in the United States where this can ever be remotely possible.

Today in the United States everyone is legally equal, blacks and whites, men and women, minorities and majorities, Hindus, Catholics, Taoists, Muslims, followers of any religion, belonging to any social or economic group, they are all equal— except immigrants. Immigrants to the United States without passports or visas or “papers” are treated and viewed as a social group that does not belong and that is less important or less deserving than the social group of people who were born in the United States, or who went through the proper channels to be legally allowed to live in the United States.

Legally allowed to live in the United States? To most everyone this is normal, if you want to come to the States from some other country you have to get permission, and if you want to stay, you need even more permission. But everyone who was born here can stay for as long as they like, they have the right to live here and pursue happiness. As the founders of the United States wrote, pursuing happiness is an inalienable right that every man, woman, and child has because they are a man, woman, or child, not because they were born some place, or because they are a certain color, speak a certain language, worship a certain god, but because they are people. Why is it then that people who are not from here, people who have a different social background than us, ​are not freely allowed to pursue happiness in what most Americans will tell you is the greatest country on Earth?

There are a lot of people who want to come to the United States, and some would argue that we cannot possibly let them all in, but why? Someone seeking a better life in the United States has just as much of a right to do so than anyone legally in the country has the right to buy a nicer house. What is the difference between an immigrant seeking a better life here and a citizen seeking a better life across town? Unlike all of my other questions, I will answer this one for you—they are not like us. Someone from another country belongs to a different social group; we do not share a culture with them. That is why people rally for stricter border control while they complain about the wait at US Customs. The United States has a long history of segregating people for being different, and it also has a long history of later realizing its mistake and granting equal rights to those people, but it has always overlooked immigrants.

However, America is not the only country to overlook immigrants. In June of 2009 some Kurds living in Japan were seeking to be granted the legal status of Refugee. The Japanese government was not cooperating and the Kurds staged a 72 day sit-in protest, which ended when they were forcibly removed.  In Japan  “citizens possess an exclusive right to political speech and action. Protests by refugees undoubtedly question citizens’ monopoly of this right” (Shindo).

The protesters were human, and the people who removed them were human, yet they were separated into the two mutually exclusive groups of “Citizen” and “Non-Citizen.” Even though Article 15 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights states “Everyone has the right to a nationality,” and “no one shall be arbitrarily deprived of his nationality nor denied the right to change his nationality.” Non-Citizens were denied basic human rights. As refugees without ​legal Refugee status these Kurds had no nationality, and were being denied the right to stay in Japan. On top of this it was popular opinion that, “in retaliation for the sit-in, the Kurd refugees might not only be denied recognition as ‘refugees’, but also be detained for a longer period than others” (Shindo). Because these people were not citizens, it was widely believed that they would receive punishment for doing something which all citizens of the country have the right to do.

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights is a document made by the United Nations, of which both Japan and the United States are members. By being members they agree to the rights granted by this document, yet because there is no United Nations enforcement agency, the rights are free to be trampled upon. In some regions of Mexico, living conditions could hardly be called “living” conditions, where necessities such as food, water, and shelter, are not met. People experiencing these conditions often pursue happiness in the United States, and are subsequently expelled. This occurs despite article 9 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, “no one shall be subjected to arbitrary arrest, detention or exile.”

It is easy for a powerful country like the United States to deny Non-Citizens basic human rights, such as those from Article 13 in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights concerning the freedom of movement, which is elaborated on by Human Rights Education Associates.

The right to free movement affects economic migrants, those who have fled their homes not in fear of persecution but in search of a higher standard of living, which would bring increased job and educational opportunities.

Immigrants are directly affected by this freedom due to the fact that ​they have entered a new nation intending to settle there. If they are not allowed into that nation, or the government in any way restricts movement within their new society, then clearly this is in violation of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights as well as the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. 

All people have the right to be exempt from expulsion from their country of origin or nationality as well as countries they have immigrated to. This right applies to individuals as well as large groups of people.

It could be argued that merely putting up a fence between the United States and Mexico is denying passage between the two to those who seek it. And because there is no agency or military body to enforce the United Nations’ declaration the United States frequently ignores it.

If illegal immigrants manage to find work in the United States, it is often low paying work that legal residents and citizens do not wish to perform. Food harvesting is often done by illegal immigrants, at wages below state minimum, and it is because of this that the food can be sold so cheaply. Under article 23 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, sub-standard payment is forbidden.

Everyone, without any discrimination, has the right to equal pay for equal work.

Everyone who works has the right to just and favorable remuneration ensuring for himself and his family an existence worthy of human dignity, and supplemented, if necessary, by other means of social protection.

But because this group of people is segregated by the Citizen/Non-Citizen line,​ citizens feel that they can treat the illegal immigrants in this manner. That because they belong to this other group they are inferior people. This is very similar, if not identical, to the views that were held about women and African Americans in the United States until they were legally defined as being equal to all others.

In the United States it is a well established more that immigrants apply for citizenship and not stay illegally. This more is so strong that it is even fashioned into a law, becoming a formal norm. It is from this law that the term “illegal immigrant” derives. A very interesting term, as it labels a person as illegal. It is not their actions or their possessions that are illegal, but their presence. Treating a group differently for demographics they cannot change is discrimination. The only thing that these people have done wrong is having been born in another country, much like African Americans were discriminated against for merely the color of their skin decades ago.

One thing that is very different between immigrants and African Americans however is the law, the formal norm that allows others to inhumanly treat this group of people. African Americans have all the same legal rights as every other citizen, but illegal immigrants are not citizens, and do not have any of the rights of citizens. By keeping this group of people legally distinct from others, it only enforces the more that keeps them from being welcomed into the country.

Referencing back to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights yet again, Article 5 states that, “no one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.” Often the first part of this article is cited in cases of prisoners of war, or suspects of treason being tortured and dehumanized into revealing some information that their captors seek. But all too often the rest of this article is left out. It is a human right to be treated as ​human, something that is easily derived. Yet what it means to be treated as human has gray areas, which is why the article adds that no one should be subjected to degrading treatment or punishment. Degrading, while not of perfect diction itself, is a much more defined term. Few people would argue that being deported is not degrading, or that performing labor for a lower wage than a citizen would be given is not degrading, yet the United States government and its citizens continue these practices.

A functionalist approach to this situation would state that the lower earning illegal immigrants are crucial for the economic development of the country, as they enable the cheap production of raw goods. An extended look at this could include the goods produced from the immigrant-harvested food. Something simple and seemingly insignificant can play a large role in the functioning of society. Non-Citizens produce food for the Citizens, and in return the Citizens offer a stable job and some financial compensation, though the two groups often do not interact directly, they rely on each other intensely. Citizens and Non-Citizens are far more likely to be around people of their own group, and it is because of this that Citizens may never know someone who does work for a degrading sum, which brings us to the interactionalist perspective.

Interactionalists would see this as a separation. The two groups hardly interact with each other, a Citizen may only see a Non-Citizen if they are the person who hires them. Often, it is the case that the two groups will not speak the same language, so their interactions would be even more limited. Hand gestures and facial expressions would have to go a long way for these communications. Approval and disapproval may only be expressed as a thumbs-up or thumbs-down. On top of this the Citizen group interacting with the Non-Citizen group may very well view themselves as superior, leading in to the ​feminist view.

Not only are the illegal immigrants treated poorly because they belong to the Non-Citizen group, but also because some of them are women. When it comes to picking oranges, anyone can do it, but employers will often view jobs as suitable for certain genders and selectively hire employees based on that view. This is something which is illegal in the United States, gender discrimination is not allowed in the work place, but when an employer is hiring someone who is an undocumented illegal immigrant, they can be as discriminating  as they want. Feminists would view this as an inequality between genders, as the males pick oranges, their female counter parts clean houses, and without an equal balance of genders doing both jobs it certainly is an inequality. The Non-Citizen group struggles to find work, and is even faced with gender discrimination if work is found. The Citizens and Non-Citizens conflict, taking us to the Conflict view.

From the Conflict perspective, the Citizens are the Haves, and the Non-Citizens are the Have-Nots. The Non-Citizens struggle to increase their quality of life, while the Citizens take advantage of their cheap labor.

Historically, conflict always leads to rebellion, and perhaps one day the illegal immigrants will rebel in large enough numbers with a loud enough voice that the Citizens may feel their plight and realize the extreme discrimination and violation of human rights.

​Works Cited

Shindo, Reiko. “Struggle for Citizenship: Interaction between Political Society and Civil Society at a Kurd Refugee Protest in Tokyo.” Citizenship Studies 13.3 (2009): 219-37. Print.

Gees, Sarah. “Freedom of Movement.” Hrea.org. Human Rights Education Associates, 2003. Web. 20 Oct. 2010.

First, strong believers in the United States Constitution would agree with the inalienable rights already given to us. Now the guarantee of life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness are the motivators of our nation’s success. These are all necessities that one needs in order to live his life. It could be argued that the guarantee of life includes the guarantee of health care, for if you are not able to get normal health care, your life will no longer be. However, we cannot forget about the right for liberty and pursuit of happiness. If one has liberty and the right to pursuit happiness, then one has the opportunity to get health care. Especially in this country, every single citizen is given the right and opportunity to become whatever they wish to become. Although it might be harder for some than the others, still the argument is that it is possible. That alone, puts all the burden on the individuals and the choices that they make. To argue that one is born in a family of minority and low economic class would be invalid, for there clearly are many examples of minorities born in low socioeconomic neighborhoods, yet they managed to succeed in life and afford health care. Again, nobody is arguing that people who are born and raised in minority families and low socioeconomic neighborhoods have easy lives, because of course they don’t, but the factor still remains that they have the chance to get out of their low status.        

Second, health care has never been an inalienable right and it never should be. As much as the history has taught us, until previously in some developed countries, there has never been national health care. Even in biblical times, cities and nations have never thought of health care as a right. Families were obligated, and until today are seen to have the duty to care for their family members’ health. Usually, it is parents who take care of their children’s health problems, and if they are incapable of doing it, they ask for help from others, yet others always have had the right to refuse. One cannot put a burden on a whole nation to care for others’ health. They ask us to help the very needy, and we do. Medical is provided for needy families until they are able to move forward in life and to be able to afford health care themselves. Even though some tend to abuse the generosity of the general population, others are both thankful and ashamed of using Medical, hence they work very hard to get back on their feet and pay for their own health care.          

Third, some might say that it is not right nor just to let fellow citizens to be uninsured and to go bankrupt after they end up being hospitalized. To them I say, “It is not just at all”, but we have to leave the choice of national health care in the hands of our citizens. If our citizens want to provide national health care, let them do so, but one should never think of health care as an inalienable right, for the same citizens should have the right to privatize the health care the next day with their votes if they wish to. The same people who might say that it is unjust to let fellow citizens to not have health care, should also consider the fact that it would be unjust to force fellow citizens to pay for others’ health. We call ourselves a country of free men and women, yet if one does not feel the need to pay for others’ health from his own pocket, and he is forced to do so, then where is his freedom? We are a country of mostly good men and women, and I know good men and women care for their fellow citizens, hence they might pass a national health care plan, but in no way should they consider the health care as an inalienable right.        

Fourth, an inalienable right has to be god-given or given by nature. Men should not interfere with inalienable rights. However, health care has never been god-given nor has it been given by nature. In fact, we are all born to get sick and die eventually. It has always been left up to us and our families to take care of our own health and to try not to get sick. Civilizations from centuries ago have killed animals and used plants to make clothes for themselves. They have taken all these steps to prevent sickness. Everyone was expected to take care of themselves and to make sure they don’t get sick. If they ever did get sick, they would be helped by friends and family, but others would not be obligated to help them, unless of course, they felt like it.        

Fifth and last point about health care is about it’s uniqueness. Arguably, it might be tempting to classify health care as an inalienable right, though once you open the door for health care, then many other things in life may start to look inalienable. We should be very careful with the term inalienable, for it is something that cannot be given away, nor can it be taken away. It is something that you are given without choice. One does not choose to be born, nor to be free, and neither to pursuit happiness. We are all born with these inalienable rights, though some countries until today deprive their citizens of some of those rights, sooner or later they will be brought down by their own people. Caring for someone’s health is a business. One needs to work hard and acquire currency in order to purchase health care nowadays.        

All together, the right for liberty and pursuit of happiness, the history of no inalienable health care, the injustice of forcing fellow citizens to pay for others, the fact that inalienable right has to be god-given, and the temptation to classify the health care as an inalienable right, all comes to conclude that health care cannot be an inalienable right. We are a country of reasonable people, and reasonable people do not simply follow their emotions, but they look at the totality of factors around them. Simply put, health care may seem to be an inalienable right, and actually might be very close to it, but it clearly is not. 

Attorney General Eric Holder has declared that the federal government is filing suit against the state of Alabama to stop the enactment of their new immigration laws. He has stated that immigration is a national responsibility and the states cannot get involved in this procedure. The suit states that legal residents and visitors may face harassment and possible discrimination from law enforcement authorities.

The state of Alabama recently passed tougher laws because the government was ignoring the increasing illegal alien problem that has been plaguing many states such as Alabama. Alabama has seen a recent influx in illegal aliens entering the state and has received no cooperation from the federal government to help fight the problem. Alabama Governor Robert Bentley says that the laws were passed to help protect the jobs of legal residents and fully intends to see that these laws are enforced.

Advocacy groups have claimed that these laws have thrown the state into “chaos” and that Hispanic residents are too afraid to go to work. They said that many residents are too scared to come out during the day because they will be harassed by law authorities.

The government has stated that these new laws unfairly disrupt the daily routine of immigrant workers. But isn’t this supposed to be the result of correctly enforced laws? If a person is in the country illegally, shouldn’t they be tracked down and dealt with? The Obama administration knows that cracking down on states that try to enforce immigration laws will help get the illegal alien vote. This sounds like a contradiction because illegal aliens should not have the right to vote. However, there are 5 states that still allow illegal aliens the right to obtain a driver’s licenses. These states are Hawaii, Maine, New Mexico, Utah and Washington. The governor of New Mexico has tried to stop this process, but her actions have been shot down by a state judge.

 Obtaining a driver’s license is just the first step toward voting. President Obama knows this and will do everything he can to court this group. He needs every vote he can get in the next election – even the illegal ones.

There can be classification of jobs so that people who immigrate and want to become citizens have to do such types of works before being considered good enough for the country. Such stern measures can perhaps reduce illegal immigrants.

Excuse me, but if Nicky Dias Santillian is an illegal immigrant then she has no right to work in America so she can’t be disrespected any more then she showed her disrespect for America and America’s laws.

After illegally entering America Nicky Diaz Santillian apparently took a job in America under false pretenses therefore Ms. Santillian can’t be anymore, and in fact less humiliated then her American Employer whom was apparently led to believe Nicky Diaz Santillian was in America legally while under employment.

For Nicky Diaz Santillian to claim anything is actually an outrage and for any American to take that woman’s defense should be considered a crime. This woman’s actions is typical of Illegal Immigrants wanting attention and free money; knowing that criminal lovers like the ACLU will jump at the opportunity to take the criminal’s side of the Illegal Immigrant against the people of America.

As far as many American Legal Citizens are concerned Ms. Santillian rightfully lost a job she should never have had. As far as I’m concerned the ACLU are criminals engaging in criminal activities by aiding and harboring Illegal Immigrants just as San Francisco, California  for aiding, harboring and granting immunity to an Illegal Immigrant wanted for murder in the state of Texas a few years back and had refused deportation of the Illegal murder to stand trial for his crimes.

My daughter raised an issue a while back that seems to have become a stumbling block for many people in America. “If we send one or both parents back to where ever they came from because they are here illegally what happens to or what should we do about their children that are born in America; we can’t just separate them.”

The willful disobedience of the law makes all Illegal Immigrants criminals living in America. Do we reward criminals for being criminals in America? There once was a time when everyone would immediately have stood on a resounding no; today it would seem that true criminals are indeed actually getting away with literally murder in America.

The way I see it we are given a choice; send the entire bunch back, children and all or just send back the offenders; by sending back just the offenders we would indeed be splitting up families. I suggest we send them all back to keep from splitting up the families since that seems to be the stumbling block for this issue.

Hear me out before pressing the hate button. Here is my solution to some of the many problems plaguing America today.  Like I said earlier, my daughter asked this question some time ago. After doing some research and paying attention to what is going on around us I have come to the conclusion that by sending most of these families back to where they came from may just be the better solution to help the people from their parent countries.

Fingerprint every child born in America before sending them with their parents and keep those documents handy. Later should the children decide to come back to America they may do so; if the children do return, and then they want to help the rest of their families to legally return to America fine.

The older children that have learned the most from American schooling will have the chance to go to their parent’s country and make a difference within that country. America spends thousands of dollars on some student exchange programs in hopes of those people returning to their countries and making a difference only to have them learn about America’s strengths and weaknesses and attempt to create chaos in America and attempt mass killings in America.

These are people actually wanting a better life, or so they claim; let them make that better life in their own country after having lived in America and seeing how it was done here. Older children have had at least some schooling in America, so if they take with them what they learned in America and apply it in what would and should have been their country who knows; someday one of, or all of those countries just might surpass America in growth and intelligence.

Personally I’d like to see those that have learned in the medical fields, technological fields, mechanical field’s, architectural fields and so on go to their ancestral homelands and take a stand to make things better for the people there. I believe they actually could do it rather than some of these jokers in America pretending to be here for that purpose.

It is time for other countries to start standing on their own and take care of their own people in a positive manner. So long as America remains the crutch for other countries the other countries will never go where they need to be in life; they will forever be dependent on others like America.

No country should be providing arms to other countries for any reason. America, Germany, Russia, England, France and all other countries should be providing tractors for farming and work, pipes for various projects like water, sewage, etc., cement for building, seeds for crops and much more. Let those countries learn to produce at their own pace as they mature and you may find they will actually learn to make their own weapons some day and might even make better ones then there are available today.

I believe we could accomplish more by sending the Illegal Immigrants back as a family unit then we have with the exchange student program we have in place today. Although I don’t condone Illegal Immigrants coming into America I do believe there is a higher purpose to sending them back home.

Instead of treating the Illegal Immigrants as the criminals we know they truly are send them and their families back as dignified exchange students having lived on American soil as an American as if under an exchange program. Let America see visually in a few years what these people have learned by living in America for the years they have been in America.

If viable changes were in fact being made after a few years showing betterment in life within their countries then we know at least some of them learned well. View it as a test for America to consider the possibility of viable options to consider in revising the Immigration laws and exchange student criteria.

This is a way to make a problematical situation into a positive one that may benefit more than just America.

Reading “They take our Jobs” by Aviva Chomsky refutes many of the claims made by Americans irate that  illegal immigrants have stolen their jobs or that undocumented workers get more in services than they pay in taxes. In fact, the opposite is true.

According to Chomsky, native born Americans tend to use more in local services than they pay in local taxes! Many of the immigrants, being of prime working age, are ineligible for many public services and tend to use local services like schools, transportation and libraries. So immigrants are not the “drain on the economy” that many narrow minded, lazy Americans perceive them to be.

This writer is not claiming immigration reform is not necessary. Just be careful what you ask for because an alteration in immigration laws could deny citizenship to that loyal employee who is keeping the costs down in your family business! Some USA employers actually petition the USCIS for the citizenship of undocumented workers who are serving them as loyal and relatively low cost, low hassle employees.

In closing, sweeping amnesty for all illegal immigrants is not being proposed, but some lenience and latitude should be extended for the illegals that have been working dutifully and responsibly for many years.

Introduction:

            Illegal Immigration to United States has become a huge problem, as well as a benefit. With 14 million immigrants in 10 years, many of them undocumented, the United States has to do something about this. Closing the borders is a possibility, so is completely opening them to immigration. These two extremes could never work, so there needs to be a balance. 80% of Illegal immigrants come from Latin America, 57% from Mexico alone (Passel). These immigrants come here seeking a better life for themselves and their families, risking their lives to come to the country they adore. On the other hand, they take American jobs and do not pay taxes. They take the resources from free American schools and take emergency health care that the American taxpayer pays for. Illegal Immigration from Mexico is an important issue because it covers such a huge amount of immigration to the United States. As well as illegal aliens specifically from Mexico, many Central and South Americans come through Mexico to reach America, so not all immigrants crossing the Mexican border will be Mexican. Some come here to escape drug wars in South American countries, some come to enjoy the freedom of America, and many just come to make more money to feed their family.

Statistics of Illegal Immigration:

The net migration of immigrants to America between 2000 and 2010 is 14 million; this includes at least 400,000 Mexicans every year. This is a huge amount a people, as stated in the introduction 57% of the immigrants that come to America every year are from Mexico (Passel). The Mexican-born population in the United States is at 13 million in 2010, this accounts for over 10% of all people born in Mexico in total (Passel). This means less than 90% of the population that was born in Mexico is still in Mexico (Passel). The flow of Mexicans, while still at a huge amount of people coming in every year, it is less than the levels of Mexican’s coming into America in the late 1990s, it is still larger than the flow of Mexicans in the early 1990s (Passel).             The flow of Mexicans into the United States is huge, the illegal Mexican population is even larger. Since Mexico is not as developed of a country, most of the immigrants coming to America from Mexico are illegal. In fact, 80% of the immigrants crossing the border from Mexico are illegal (Passel). Many of the immigrants that cross the border illegally must become citizens later though, because half of the Mexicans in the United States are illegal (Passel). The illegal immigrants come from all continents in the world, most notably Mexico and Latin America, and that is why Mexico is considered the largest, they do bring in 57% of the illegal immigrants coming to America, the rest of Latin America accounts for 23%, making all of Latin America 80% of the undocumented population in the United States (Passel). Asia is the second largest, at 10%, Europe and Canada account for 5% and Africa and everywhere else account for 5% of the illegal immigrants in the United States (Passel). The states with the largest percentage of immigrants being illegal immigrants are Arkansas, Colorado, Georgia, North Carolina, and Utah, each with between 40 and 49% of immigrants being undocumented (Passel). The state with the most illegal aliens is California, at 2.6 million, the next being Texas at 1.68 million. Texas had the largest increase in illegal population from 2000 to 2009, with the population growing from 1.09 million and 1.68 million (“Cost and Benefits”).  The amount of immigrants has increased from earlier years, in 1986, only 66,000 came to the United States from Mexico. While in 2004, 175,000 came to the United States from Mexico, immigration to America from Mexico is increasing (“Immigration Statistics USA”).

Benefits of Illegal Immigration:

            The benefits of illegal immigration are undeniable. A common argument against illegal immigration is that the immigrants take American jobs, this is mostly wrong because illegal immigrants only take jobs that Americans do not want. Bruce Vang says, “Because there is a shortage of unskilled labor in many segments of the U.S. economy, numerous low-skilled positions are being filled by illegal immigrant workers” (Vang). They definitely contribute to the economy by taking low-skilled jobs. Bruce Vang also says that many illegal immigrants are willing to pay taxes because they want to contribute to America, this statement seems invalid to me, because I have never heard from a reputable source that any illegal immigrants pay taxes or how they would pay the taxes (Vang). A bit of evidence to support this claim is that “In comparison, a corporate law firm called the Washington-based American Immigration Lawyers Association, states that “immigrant households paid an estimated $133 billion in taxes to federal, state, and local governments in 1997” (Vang). This includes all immigrants, not just illegal immigrants, but illegal aliens are included. They also contribute to the American economy by consuming. They need to eat, and need common necessities like any other human, and they get these necessities from American stores and businesses (Vang). It’s not like they can go to Mexico every time they need to eat. With many low-paying jobs not being filled in the United States, illegal immigrants fill this void by providing a cheap workforce. The benefit that most Americans will care about is the fact that illegal immigrant labor decreases the price of goods. When a business can produce goods cheaply, they can sell them cheaply as well, making the price of the goods cheaper (Vang).

Cons of illegal immigration:

            As well as there being benefits, there are cots. The costs of illegal immigration are paid by the taxpayers. The children of illegal immigrants are given free lunches and a free education (Wooldridge). A Bear Stearns report says they do not pay $401 billion in annual taxes (Wooldridge). This is on top of them sending $80 billion back to their mother countries in untaxed money transfers (Wooldridge). The Office of Foreign Labor Certification, immigrants workers hurt the US job market, making wages for American-born Americans go down, and a decrease in federal revenue by $100 billion every year (Wooldridge). The US taxpayer also pays out $250 million in emergency hospital bills every year (Wooldridge). Another department that suffers is the Bureau of Land Management, they spend $1 million every year to offset the environmental costs of illegal immigrants crossing the Mexican border (Wooldridge). There are also other agencies affected by illegal immigration, 15 different executive agencies of the US government are affected by immigrants (Wooldridge). The cost on taxes is huge; immigrant households get welfare from the US government, and do not pay enough taxes to offset the cost. The average immigrant household gets $13,326 in federal welfare, this is slightly offset by the taxes they pay, but not entirely, the average immigrant household only pays $10,664 in federal taxes, this means the average immigrant household costs the federal government, which leads to the taxpayer, $2,682 each year for each household of immigrants (Wooldridge). This, however, is only at the federal level, the cost for illegal immigrants at the state, and local level is also quite large.

Conclusion:

            Illegal immigrants are more American than many people living in America. Many of the people living in America do not appreciate what they have. They don’t appreciate that they live a nation where they are free from being persecuted for their beliefs or how they look. The United States of America is the most free nation in the world, a person here can protest whatever they want and not be arrested. Even in modern countries like France they are not as free as us. France bans the use of the burqa, a headdress holy to the Islamic faith.  Anyone who comes here from Mexico and South America will appreciate what America is, a secular, free, wonderful country where anyone can make something of themselves with a lot of hard work.

I am proud to call “Illegal Immigrants” my fellow Americans because of who they are and what they are trying to do. They love America and want to be here because of their love of this country and them wanting to better themselves and their lives, as well as the lives of their families. They love the American dream and just want to live like the rest of us. They come for the same reasons immigrants came from Europe in the early 20th century and 19th century. It is not fair for someone to be denied the American dream. America is a country made on immigrants; the original colonists came from England, then more from the rest of Europe in the few hundred years following the first immigrants. If we deny immigrants the right to come here today because of the color of their skin or the country they were raised in we might as well all get in galleons and ship ourselves back to our mother countries, because we are all immigrants today, no matter how many generations our lineage goes back, we all came here from somewhere else. Only the Native Americans can say they’ve been here long enough to call it theirs. America belongs to all people, it is a mix of all countries in the world and that includes Mexico and the rest of Latin America. These so called Illegal Immigrants should be welcomed to America so they begin bettering themselves in the nation that they love.

“Costs And Benefits Of Illegal Immigration Are Unequally Distributed.” KPBS. 
     KPBS, 23 July 2010. Web. 28 Mar. 2011.
     jul/23/costs-benefits-illegal-immigration-unequal/>.

“Immigration Statistics USA.” Maps of World. MapXL, 2009. Web. 28 Mar. 2011. 
     
     immigration-statistics-usa.html>.

Passel, Jeffrey. “Mexican Immigration to the US: The Latest Estimates .” mpi. 
     Migration Policy Institute, 2011. Web. 15 Mar. 2011. 
     .

Vang, Bruce. “Benefits of Illegal Immigration Offset Costs on the U.S. Economy.” 
     Yahoo. yahoo, 5 Dec. 2007. Web. 15 Mar. 2011. 
     
     benefits_of_illegal_immigration_offset.html?cat=17>.
Wooldridge, Frosty. “Staggering Cost Of Illegal Aliens in America.” rense. 
     Thehostpros, 10 Apr. 2008. Web. 15 Mar. 2011.
     general81/dtli.htm>.

Most people will make the argument that they are living off of our tax dollars. This is an ignorant and untrue statement. You NEED, yes capital N-E-E-D, to have a valid social security number to qualify for food stamps, housing assistance, unemployment, social security and any other government sponsored program you can imagine. The only free-bee that illegal immigrants can take advantage of is hospital care. I work in Hospital finance, and interestingly enough, in the New York Metro area, where illegal immigrants flock by the dozen. I can assure you that illegal immigrants using hospitals are so far and few between. Most are afraid to come here because its hard to be discharged as an inpatient if we don’t know exactly who you are and who is paying us. The point I am illustrating is they are NOT living off of your tax dollars. Period.

Another argument thrown around is that they are taking up all of our jobs. This also is in direct relation to high unemployment in this tough economy. What I can assure you is they are not taking many jobs away from Americans. They aren’t working cash registers at Macys or acting as sales associates at your local Ford dealer, so get that notion out of your head. The Non-English speaking guy working at your restaurant? He’s probably legal, just not American born. Most people on unemployment will not take the back-breaking, cash paid, manual labor jobs for $4.50 an hour that the illegal immigrants are getting. Do you really want a job paying HALF the legal minimum wage with NO benefits at all? I think not.

It is about time people stop using illegal immigrants as this country’s scape goats.

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