Bring me your tired, your poor

I apologize that it has been two weeks sionce my last post.  Between Thanksgiving and the ever popular holiday time in the food service business I have been a bit lax on keeping up.  I wanted to dwell in to the realm of immigration reform.  We have heard so much about it in the news.  There are many arguements on what the best course should be.  Like everyone else, I too have an opinion.  There are an estimated 11.5 million illegal immigrants in the United States.  They are here, what should we do about it?

Before I begin with my opinion, I want one thing understood.  When we hear illegal immigrant we stereotypically think Mexican.  The latest estimate I have seen says about half come from Mexico.  The other nearly 6 million come from elsewhere.  The reason why the number of Mexicans living here illegally is so high is only because of a shared border.  If I were to guess, and I am sure I am correct, most come here for the work.  For those of you who say they are taking jobs away from Americans, I call BS.  Alot of them are serving in jobs that most Americans look down on, dishwashing, lawn care, construction, food prep, farms and slaughterhouses.  There are an abundance of these jobs that need filling, but even when the economy collapsed and people were out of work, they were not seeking employment here.  The next thing I would like to point out is that there are many who are not here by choice.  At any given time there are about fifteen thousand people in the US against there will, victims of human trafficking and the modern day sex trade.

There is no doubt that we are a country founded by immigrants and built on the backs of immigrants.  That is one thing that makes the United States special and unique.  We are a melting pot of cultures.  If you want an example, simply go to NYC.  There is Little Italy, Chinatown, Spanish Harlem, Russians in Brighton Beach, and Koreans in Fresh Meadow just to name a few.  Even our Native American ancestors came from somewhere else.  Every nation deserves the right to set laws pertaining to who may come into their country and the process for doing so.  Are we trying to protect our borders or are we trying to isolate ourselves?

One solution floated by George W. Bush was blanket amnesty.  In this program a clear path to citizenship was outlined.  It included returning to country of orgin to apply for citizenship and sped up the process if you were already here.  The idea is a good one.  My question would be why send them back first.  Have them apply here.  They are already here.  Once they are citizens then there are tax benefits as well since they will be paying tax.  Another option he floated was a guest worker program.  These would allow people, primarily migrant workers on farms, to come to the US to work on a temporary basis.  A worker could start in Washington in the fall to pick apples, southern California in the Spring for oranges and grapes in Napa in the fall.

Another solution would be to send out immigration officials to round up and deport illegals back to their country of orgin.  This would only work however if the military were deployed to defend our borders.  In this scenario illegals would be treated as invaders.  I do not think a war should be declared on hardworking civilians, but this would have to be the approach taken to make this option work.

I think we can do one better than both these options.  We could adopt a free movement policy much like in the European Union among the NAFTA countries of the United States, Canada and Mexico.  In this scenario citizens of either of these three nations may look for a job in another NAFTA country, work there without needing a work permit, reside there for that purpose, stay there even after employment has finished and enjoy equal treatment with nationals in access to employment, working conditions and all other social and tax advantages.  These would allow workers in all three nations cross the border to work, not lose their citizenship, and creates equality under the law.

Three options, three ways to combat this issue.Option three is in keeping in the spirit of Ezra Lazarus and the "New Collossus":
Not like the brazen giant of Greek fame,
With conquering limbs astride from land to land;
Here at our sea-washed, sunset gates shall stand
A mighty woman with a torch, whose flame
Is the imprisoned lightning, and her name
Mother of Exiles. From her beacon-hand that
Glows world-wide welcome; her mild eyes command
The air-bridged harbor that twin cities frame.
"Keep, ancient lands, your storied pomp!" cries she
With silent lips. "Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!"

Love me, hate me, everyone is entitled to my opnion!