Let's talk about the testy topic that's currently being brought up in this country, immigration reform. Immigration reform was the hot button issue of the 2016 election and it was one of the top 3 driving the forces that pushed Trump's campaign to win the White House. It's the issue that has divided families and pitted friends and colleagues against one another. Many view immigration reform under the belief that it's to keep the "terrorists" out, to kick out the criminals, to protect U.S. borders, to stop immigrants from taking over American jobs and using our resources [social services]. Others see this administration's immigration reform policies as a pretense to push a racist agenda; to create an anti-immigrant attitudes using fear mongering and alienation, deportation and discouraging immigrants and refugees from coming to this country in spite of if going through the process.
I think we can all agree, this country is in need of immigration reform. However, the way this administration is going about it the wrong way. The Trump administration is grasping for quick fixes by implementing travel bans, pushing for immigrant raids, deportations, cutting down on refugee applications, getting rid of DACA and building a wall. It's an anti-immigrant and anti-minority push, not a fix. For starters, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services is in urgent need of an overhaul. It's severely under staffed and they're an average of 2.5 yrs behind on paperwork. Paperwork is being constantly lost and misplaced, monies are paid by applicants but nothing is done for months or even years. This is a constant complaint among immigration staff. I can speak to this having gone through the process myself. It's nearly impossible to get anywhere even if you have the financial resources and a good attorney. In my case, it took my family and I ten years to get just a green card and an addition five years to be eligible for citizenship. The federal government needs to allocate additional staff and financial resources to help the process along, it needs to be reorganized, updated and restructured. By not doing so, we're deterring immigrants from going through the legal process. The process is difficult, expensive and drawn out with no guarantee of granted legal status in the end. The system needs to be overhauled.
Secondly, we don't need build a wall. We already have one. Every country has a right to protect its borders. However, without good diplomacy with neighboring countries, combating illegal immigration is made all the more difficult (or as we've seen in Europe almost impossible in some cases). We need to build strong and working relationships with other governments to curb illegal immigration. Diplomacy and additional border security (bodies) is key. A wall without security and diplomacy, is useless. All one needs to do it set up a ladder and climb over it.
Thirdly, mass deportations and raids are waste of time and resources. Mind you, most immigrants who are deported attempt to come back and most of them succeed. We need to create a pathway for citizenship for those who are already here (who aren't criminals). For those who commit serious crimes, they need to be punished in the U.S. and then deported. Instant deportation for serious criminals is ineffective, we must punish them and not let them back out into society.
Fourthly, by cutting down on "legal" immigration, by creating bans, cutting immigrant and refugee applications, the administration is only worsening the illegal immigration problem, we're encouraging it. What are we to expect? If you cut down or get rid of legal immigration procedures what do we think these individuals are going to do? When you're escaping war, poverty or persecution, you're fleeing merely to survive. They're looking to live another day. For these individuals, it's about life and death. The push for "no" immigration instead of "legal" immigration and it's only going to increase the illegal immigration problem.
Lastly, we need to keep DACA in place. These individuals are being punished for something that was no fault of their own. They're people who were brought here illegally at very young age and they had no choice in that matter. DACA applicants were raised in the states and assimilated to the American way of life. They're not criminals and they're not "stealing" our resources. Contrary to popular to belief, under DACA these individuals are barred from receiving social services and financial aid. They're granted a work permit and they must work or go to school to stay in the program. They also must have a clean criminal record. A crime automatically disqualify them from staying in the program. These dreamers are contributing to our economy and are the type of people that help America. To deport them is not only wrong, but inhumane. They are what makes America great, we need to protect them.
I'm not advocating for open boarders. However, we need immigration reform but it needs to be effective and humane. The process that is being put in place is cutting down on legal immigration and inadvertently encouraging illegal immigration. Simply put, immigration is not going to stop. Knowing this, we need to find a way to make it work for the benefit and betterment of society and this country. This administration is not pushing for reform, it's pushing a "no immigrant" agenda. This wasn't such a big issue until the last election. This country is looking for a scapegoat and what no better group to blame than those who can't defend themselves. America is the problem. WE (America) caused all the issues that are going in on in our county today. We have no one to blame but ourselves. In many circles, "illegal" has become the new fancy racist term for non-white, immigrant and non-English speaking individuals. People are hiding behind the word "illegal" to mask their racist mentalities. There's hate and a complete disgust hidden behind this word. I've been on the receiving end of this, so has my son and along with many others simply due to the color of our skin. This administration has turned something so beautiful into something so ugly. Immigration is what made this country what it is today. If you don't believe me, take a U.S. history course. America was built off the backs of immigrants.
I think we can all agree, this country is in need of immigration reform. However, the way this administration is going about it the wrong way. The Trump administration is grasping for quick fixes by implementing travel bans, pushing for immigrant raids, deportations, cutting down on refugee applications, getting rid of DACA and building a wall. It's an anti-immigrant and anti-minority push, not a fix. For starters, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services is in urgent need of an overhaul. It's severely under staffed and they're an average of 2.5 yrs behind on paperwork. Paperwork is being constantly lost and misplaced, monies are paid by applicants but nothing is done for months or even years. This is a constant complaint among immigration staff. I can speak to this having gone through the process myself. It's nearly impossible to get anywhere even if you have the financial resources and a good attorney. In my case, it took my family and I ten years to get just a green card and an addition five years to be eligible for citizenship. The federal government needs to allocate additional staff and financial resources to help the process along, it needs to be reorganized, updated and restructured. By not doing so, we're deterring immigrants from going through the legal process. The process is difficult, expensive and drawn out with no guarantee of granted legal status in the end. The system needs to be overhauled.
Secondly, we don't need build a wall. We already have one. Every country has a right to protect its borders. However, without good diplomacy with neighboring countries, combating illegal immigration is made all the more difficult (or as we've seen in Europe almost impossible in some cases). We need to build strong and working relationships with other governments to curb illegal immigration. Diplomacy and additional border security (bodies) is key. A wall without security and diplomacy, is useless. All one needs to do it set up a ladder and climb over it.
Thirdly, mass deportations and raids are waste of time and resources. Mind you, most immigrants who are deported attempt to come back and most of them succeed. We need to create a pathway for citizenship for those who are already here (who aren't criminals). For those who commit serious crimes, they need to be punished in the U.S. and then deported. Instant deportation for serious criminals is ineffective, we must punish them and not let them back out into society.
Fourthly, by cutting down on "legal" immigration, by creating bans, cutting immigrant and refugee applications, the administration is only worsening the illegal immigration problem, we're encouraging it. What are we to expect? If you cut down or get rid of legal immigration procedures what do we think these individuals are going to do? When you're escaping war, poverty or persecution, you're fleeing merely to survive. They're looking to live another day. For these individuals, it's about life and death. The push for "no" immigration instead of "legal" immigration and it's only going to increase the illegal immigration problem.
Lastly, we need to keep DACA in place. These individuals are being punished for something that was no fault of their own. They're people who were brought here illegally at very young age and they had no choice in that matter. DACA applicants were raised in the states and assimilated to the American way of life. They're not criminals and they're not "stealing" our resources. Contrary to popular to belief, under DACA these individuals are barred from receiving social services and financial aid. They're granted a work permit and they must work or go to school to stay in the program. They also must have a clean criminal record. A crime automatically disqualify them from staying in the program. These dreamers are contributing to our economy and are the type of people that help America. To deport them is not only wrong, but inhumane. They are what makes America great, we need to protect them.
I'm not advocating for open boarders. However, we need immigration reform but it needs to be effective and humane. The process that is being put in place is cutting down on legal immigration and inadvertently encouraging illegal immigration. Simply put, immigration is not going to stop. Knowing this, we need to find a way to make it work for the benefit and betterment of society and this country. This administration is not pushing for reform, it's pushing a "no immigrant" agenda. This wasn't such a big issue until the last election. This country is looking for a scapegoat and what no better group to blame than those who can't defend themselves. America is the problem. WE (America) caused all the issues that are going in on in our county today. We have no one to blame but ourselves. In many circles, "illegal" has become the new fancy racist term for non-white, immigrant and non-English speaking individuals. People are hiding behind the word "illegal" to mask their racist mentalities. There's hate and a complete disgust hidden behind this word. I've been on the receiving end of this, so has my son and along with many others simply due to the color of our skin. This administration has turned something so beautiful into something so ugly. Immigration is what made this country what it is today. If you don't believe me, take a U.S. history course. America was built off the backs of immigrants.
Comments
Post a Comment