Thread: Why America cannot solve illegal immigration problem

Quite interesting view from Asia....
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http://www.financialexpress-bd.com/inde ... 11&spcl=no


Why America cannot solve illegal immigration problem
Bruce A. Ritter of Inter Press Service
9/22/2006

It is estimated that 11 to 12 million foreigners live and work in the US illegally, with 500,000 to 1.0 million aliens migrating to America every year. Largely fleeing from poverty and unemployment in their native countries, many are poorly educated and work menial, low-paying jobs that most native-born Americans will not accept.

Emerging from this underground workforce is a collective voice that is demanding its "rights" -- the right to amnesty -- the right to pay in-state college tuition rates -- the right to citizenship. That voice was heard in the streets of Washington, D.C., New York, Boston, Phoenix, Atlanta, Los Angeles, San Francisco, San Diego and other U.S. cities. Teeming masses of activists -- numbered in tens and hundreds of thousands -- protested against congressional plans to crack down on illegal immigrants.
Illegal immigration is a controversial issue that is being hotly debated between -- and within -- the ranks of Republicans and Democrats. Politicians fear it will be a key issue in the November 2006 mid-term elections.

Most Republicans seeking re-election must play to their conservative base and call for stronger immigration laws. Yet this will be at the risk of losing Hispanic voters, a key voting bloc for the midterm elections. (In the 2004 presidential election, President George W. Bush received an estimated 40% of Hispanic votes.)

The Republicans also realise that enacting tougher immigration reforms could diminish the support of businesses. With fewer workers available to take on low-paying jobs, wages will go up, and profit margins will go down.

The Democrats must also walk a political balancing act. Will they risk aligning themselves with the president, who advocates guest-worker programs and other incentives for illegal aliens -- and miss an opportunity to set themselves apart from the current administration?

US congressional lawmakers are divided between two opposing camps, with many liberals and conservatives strangely finding they agree on this issue. Yet even among those who agree, proposals vary as to how to resolve the problem.

On one side of the debate are those who support reforms that benefit "undocumented workers." Plans range from opposing any immigration restrictions -- to amnesty for illegal aliens (or for employers willing to sponsor them) and for their spouses and children -- to temporary guest-worker programs -- to allowing additional "temporary workers" and their families into the country -- to legalising the 12 million illegals already living in the US -- to giving illegal students amnesty and free college educations. (Ironically, some activists protest the use of the word "amnesty" because it denotes that a crime has been committed. Others would argue that when one lives and works in a country illegally, a crime has been committed -- the law has been broken.)

Meanwhile, House and Senate lawmakers are also keenly aware of the growing tide of Minutemen groups, private citizens who police America's southern border and confront illegal workers in cities throughout the nation. These groups advocate tighter controls for the 2,000-mile US-Mexican border.

Speaking to the news media, a Minuteman border watch leader gave the president an ultimatum: Deploy military reserves and the National Guard to the Arizona border by May 25, or else private citizens will break ground to start building a fence.

Some have charged that a wall erected between Mexico and the US would serve as a monument to American racism. Yet many immigrants who have come to the US legally have joined the ranks of citizens who call for tougher immigration measures.

Congressmen who advocate cracking down on illegal immigration offer a wide range of proposals:
l Opposing any guest-worker programme
l Increased funding for the US Border Patrol and adding more federal agents
l Enabling local law enforcement to protect citizens from illegal immigration
l Requiring foreign countries to quickly accept their citizens back
l Denying "birthright citizenship" to new-born children of illegals
l Ending welfare benefits for illegal immigrants
l Building a fence along the U.S. border
l Prohibiting in-state education to the children of illegals
l Requiring certain businesses to verify, via a computerised system, an employee's Social Security number
l Enforcing laws that forbid localities from preventing police from reporting immigration information
l Implementing a national exit-entry tracking system for all aliens (as mandated by the 1996 Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act)
l Enacting stiffer penalties for alien smugglers
l Cracking down on the construction or financing of tunnels into the U.S.
l Authorising the use of the armed forces on the border
l Preventing driver's licenses issued to illegal immigrants from being used for federal purposes, such as boarding a plane

Much of America fears the prospect of 12 million illegal immigrants instantly receiving US citizenship -- including the right to vote.
Politicians are left with making decisions that will ultimately please almost no one, and will anger most.

There is a reason America is grappling with its ever-growing immigration problem. There is a reason commentators, politicians, bureaucrats and think tanks cannot agree on a solution. The country is feeling the effects of physical symptoms that have spiritual causes.

And the answers to spiritual causes are found in Scripture. Yet sadly, very few, including the leading scholars, thinkers and leaders of traditional Christianity, are aware of this.

To get a better understanding of America's immigration headaches, we must first understand that, even since ancient times, nations and kingdoms have had to contend with growing populations of foreigners living among them. Consider the beginning of the ancient nation of Israel. Even those who possess little biblical knowledge are familiar with the story of Joseph and his brothers, the family of Israel, coming to live in Egypt. At first, they were welcome. But after some years had passed -- and as the Israelites began to reproduce faster than the Egyptians did -- the rulers of Egypt began to see them as a threat. This fear led to Israel's enslavement.

While most are familiar with the biblical account of God delivering them from slavery, few understand that the Jews consisted of only a fraction of the ancient Israelites. Israel was actually comprised of 12 tribes, which eventually divided into two distinct kingdoms: the house of Israel (led by the half-tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh) and the house of Judah (with parts of Levi, Benjamin and Simeon).

Years ago, immigrants came to this country to begin a new and better life. They believed in the American Dream: the idea that through hard work, courage and determination anyone could achieve prosperity. This and other work-ethic values were passed on to successive generations.
The American Dream did not immediately pay out for most immigrants, but their diligence and willingness to sacrifice for their families became an investment that yielded dividends in following generations. Life became much easier for their sons and daughters, grandchildren and great-grandchildren, who (because of their parents) were able to earn college degrees and pursue successful professions -- engineering, finance, medicine, law, etc. It was once common for every new generation to aspire to live better than its parents did.

Becoming an American meant learning another language; learning and obeying the laws and customs of the land; embracing the US over native countries and siding with America in war, including volunteering for military combat. Many believed that fighting for one's country was a sure way to prove that his heart, soul and future were vested in it. But today, the American Dream has radically changed -- and some would argue shattered.

Many immigrants come to the U.S. to find a better life, while others come strictly for employment, sending their wages back home to their families in the native lands.

Foreigners once came to America to become Americans, to be "Americanised." They instilled this desire in their children as they assimilated into society. Their culture fused into the greater American culture, which became the Great Melting Pot.

And that, many argue, is precisely why so many who come to the U.S. no longer desire to assimilate. They fear losing their national culture and traditions, their identity. And so they cling to their languages and customs, even to the point of expecting -- even insisting -- that street signs and driver's tests and government forms be given in their native language. Speaking, reading and writing in English -- once considered necessary to fulfilling the American Dream -- is now viewed as obsolete, intrusive, even an infringement upon one's "right" to live however he or she may choose.

Millions of Americans, even most who claim to be Christian, consider the Law of God burdensome and that it restricts individual freedoms. Yet God's Law, contained in the pages of the Bible, can be held in one hand -- while men produce vast libraries of laws, codes, rulings and regulations that attempt to address virtually every miniscule detail of life!
And what has this yielded? Mass bureaucracy -- inconsistent and unjust court renderings -- abuses in interpreting the law -- legal chaos and confusion! This is freedom?

The US already has laws in place that address the rise of illegal immigration -- yet the people lack the will to enforce them. Lawmakers are at a crossroads: If they do nothing, the problem will not go away; it will only grow worse. On the other hand, no matter what proposals are passed and enforced, a large segment of the voting populace will be upset -- and they will show their anger in the ballot box.
Without the Law of God as their guiding light, the people of modern Manasseh are entering dark times ahead.
Asia Time Online (Abridged)

"Do Not Trespass," the other reading "Help Wanted: Inquire Within."

Hopefully they would get the direction of the signs orientated right. Right now the sign reading Help Wanted would be the intro sign into the US.

(In the 2004 presidential election, President George W. Bush received an estimated 40% of Hispanic votes.)

How many of these votes do you think were actually legal citizens?

Politicians fear it will be a key issue in the November 2006 mid-term elections.

They had better be afraid. I think they are starting to get the message that Americans are fed up with their imcompentance and selling out the American people.