(This article is from a newspaper asking for citizens to write in their fact based views on illegal immigration. The papers email address is at the end of this article)

A community dialogue on immigration

Friday, September 7, 2007

Here is a rough draft of Saturday's editorial, subject, as always, to change.
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Immigration — legal and illegal — is almost an overwhelming topic for the Mid-Valley. It touches virtually every aspect of our daily lives. Yet our community has not yet mustered a civil, rationale examination of immigration.

It’s time to start that discussion.

Almost everyone wants Congress and the state to do something: Kick out illegal immigrants. Legalize them because we need their labor. Teach them to drive safely, issuing driver’s licenses to them. Deny them driver’s licenses. Crack down on employers’ hiring undocumented workers. Educate children regardless of their status. And on and on.

Issues of such magnitude have the potential to rip a community apart, to create “usâ€