I am going to play devil’s advocate on this subject because it has a tendency to be over simplified and most people have an slightly romanticized view of our past and the people who have immigrated to this country over the years. For 
about 10 years I lived in Southern Arizona about 45 miles from the border and at one time I had a job that specifically dealt with some of the issues this complex and often heartbreaking problem presents.
My Position
Let me point out first that I am NOT for unrestrained and or illegal immigration but FOR comprehensive immigration reform. BUT, until we find a way to secure our borders it is a moot point. If we want to control and amount of people coming into our country, trying to do so with a completely porous and often lawless border make no sense at all. It is like monitoring the front door but leaving the back door completely open. When you have a country like Mexico (which to be perfectly honest owned or claimed large portions of the U.S. for quite some time) with it’s crippling economic problems, an open border is an open invitation. It’s as simple as that.
When I lived in Arizona the Border Patrol would often round up illegal immigrants and drive them over the border to Nogales or Aqua Prieta and dump them there. Of course with no food, job, shelter, money, and their family possibly living in Phoenix or other city in the U.S., they simply had no choice but to cross again and hope they made it this time. Of course there were (and are) the drug traffickers and other criminal elements but there were and are many just trying to get to family members and jobs here in the U.S. and are desperate. I remember one instance where the Border Patrol found a young Mexican woman in her 20s dead in the desert with her two very young children crying at her side. She had given her children all of her water and it had killed her. A friend of our in the Border Patrol was one of the men who found her and it was heartbreaking. Obviously this was an extreme case but seriously, with an open border and desperate people….. it is what it is.
I received a couple of email forwards recently and in the past demanding that the government round up all 12 million illegal aliens and dump them back over the border where they belong. Seriously? First of all, even from a logistical standpoint that is impossible, idiotic, and irrational. Second, we are assuming they all come from Mexico. Third, many may be illegal but have lived here most of their lives. Fourth, removing several million people from the service and agricultural sector, not to mention other job positions, would cripple the economy (not to mention we would all be paying $1.00 per grape) Also keep in mind that IF we don’t have a pool of unskilled workers for corporations to rely on they WILL take their factories over the borders to where the workers are. Unless we want to make clothing for NIKE or Levis or pack food in a cannery..we better come up with a different solution.
I have also received emails saying we should not be letting the children of illegal immigrants attend school Again, seriously? Does anyone actually believe that a whole population of people left uneducated, untrained, underserved, and marginalized is a good idea? Education IS the key to becoming productive members of the U.S. and the world. Education helps prevent over population, crime, and a host of other social ills. If we DON’T insure that these children are educated.what we will have is third world conditions like Afghanistan..education is really one tool we have to fighting poverty and crime.
Here’s another viewpoint people have mentioned to me….We should not give any who is here illegally any medical care Ok wow! That may sound like a great idea (I don’t know why but I am giving the benefit of the doubt here) but unless you are willing to stand in the emergency room and turn away injured people or dying children. that is not a valid answer to one of the problems. When I lived in Arizona I had four brothers-in-law who were doctors. This issue of treating illegal immigrants was extremely personal to them. There wasn’t enough funding, the hospitals and medical system was over crowded, and there was no relief in sight BUT. NONE of them found it an acceptable idea to turn someone injured away. How do you say to a parent who bring in a bleeding child sorry, you have no papers to be here please take your child away we will not treat him? I remember once when a van packed full of illegal immigrants. men, women, and children.crashed on the freeway by Benson, AZ 7 miles from where I lived. It was an extremely horrific accident and I knew doctors and EMTs who arrived on the scene and were sickened and completely overwhelmed by the carnage. They would have never said or even thought I am not going to treat these people because they are illegal. Sounless someone wants to apply for a job picking who gets care and who doesnt in an emergency room.this is not an answer.
Now.do I think things are fair? Absolutely not. I have a daughter who is trying to get funding for college and will not get as much as some minorities and some who are children of illegal immigrants. That sucks and I wish it were different at times. Do I want my neighborhood to become a barrio with nothing but Mexican markets and burrito stands? Of course not (but then again neither do MOST Hispanics). Do I want Mexican gangs running our cities..absolutely not (nor do I want white, black, Asian, or any other gangs)..But consider this; If people especially youth of any culture do NOT feel that they have a future, if they are uneducated, tossed aside, and left in the shadows, they will find gangs or other groups.like Al Qaeda to belong to.
Do I feel that people who come here should become American.speak Englishcarry OUR flag..and be part of this nation? You bet. BUT.if we keep these 12 million in the shadows, marginalized, fearful, and discriminated against..if we give them a handout rather than finding a pathway for them to become proud citizens.they will NOT feel pride for America and what it stands for they will continue to live in the shadows.
While I do understand Arizonas need to take action and I am glad their action put this issue back in the limelight, there are aspects of what they are doing that will be harmful to many and really solve nothing. It is a weak band-aid at best and a human rights issue at worst. Unfortunately, since the federal government has done nothing to finish the reform they started years ago..I can see the need to try something. The people of Arizona is acting out of desperation and the mostly Hispanic population it affects are reacting out of fear. I can understand both sides and hopefully things wont turn out as badly as I fear with this. It all sounds good to say hell, just tell um to go back to their own damn country or we will do it for um But realistically.this is the country they live in and the only country many of them have known. even though perhaps they didnt wait in line to get papers.
There are NO easy answers to this issue but over simplifying and or continuing to work with inadequate information, doing the same things over and over expecting different results (the definition of a mental disorder) is NOT the answer. Politicizing the issue by either marginalizing this population further or pandering to them further depending on your voting base is also not the answer. Bi-Partisan, comprehensive immigration reform with EVERYONE working together to come up with a humane, legal, cost effective, logistically effective plan that brings people out of the shadows of fear and the fringes of society and into citizenship AND at the same time drastically restricting our border is the key to solving this.
Brief History of Immigration – Or De-Romanticizing Our Ancestors
So, since I couldnt sleep last night.I decided to do a little research on this subject. While I was aware of some of these issues I wasnt aware of all of them. I think the first thing people need to do is become familiar with our 
immigration history over the years and the policies which have changed and begin to de-romanticize the myth of my family came here legally. Many people assume that their family came to America legally but the immigration system was very different when their families arrived and the fact is that their families more than likely would not have been allowed to enter if todays laws had been in effect. The word legally is somewhat inaccurate because undocumented immigration has been a reality for generations. The definition of who was legal and who was illegal has changed over the years depending on the immigration laws on the books at that time.
When many of our ancestors arrived to this country, there were no numerical limitations, no requirements to have existing family members here, and no requirement to have employment. Most of our ancestors simply would not have qualified under todays immigration laws.Until the late 1800s there was very little regulation and really no immigration laws to break. The nation needed worked and immigration was virtually unfettered. Immigrants did not need to obtain visas and would simply arrive at ports of entry such as Ellis Island, be inspected, and be allowed in if they didnt fall into any excluded category. In 1882 The Chinese Exclusion Act Was passed and the Chinese became the first illegal immigrants. There were many Chinese already here who had either come over with encouragement, to work on the railroads, or brought over illegally as indentured workers and slaves or prostitutes. When this act was passed, people who had lived here for years and years not became illegal. Over the years, other categories were restricted Asians (except Japanese and Filipinos) prostitutes, paupers, polygamists, persons with dangerous and loathsome contagious disease, anarchists, the feebleminded and or insane, and the illiterate. The vast majority entered and of course some lied about their health and politicalbeliefs.
There was virtually no bureaucracy responsible for enforcing immigration laws and people were unlikely to be deported because of the expense. Eventually in 1891 the Bureau of Immigration in the Treasury Department was created and in 1924 the first consular control system was set up which required visas. In the 1920s the first numerical limitations were imposed that was based on race and nationality favoring Western European immigrants and closing the door to undesirables.” Natives of Western Hemisphere countries were not subject to quotas but head taxes and literacy tests kept many from obtaining visas. Every restriction generated illegal immigrants depending on that particular restriction.
Many European immigrants benefitted from amnesties. Due to the large number of illegal Europeans in the U.S. the government devised ways for them to remain in the country. The 1929 Registry Act allowed honest and law-abiding alienswho may be in the country under some merely technical irregularity to register as permanent residents for a fee of $20 if they could prove they had lived in America since 1921 and were of good moral character.
Many people wonder why undocumented immigrant do not come to the U.S. legally or simple get in line to get a green card. The fact is that our laws have not been updated for over 20 years and are grossly out touch. Most undocumented immigrants do not work in professions that qualify for a green card and the annual number of green cards for low-skilled workers is extraordinarily small and hasnt kept up with Americas enormous economy which has a high demand on these often low skilled workers especially in the service and agricultural sector. The overly restrictive limits on green cards mean that most undocumented immigrants have no alternative for legal entry into the U.S. There is no line for the vast majority of immigrants and regular channels often do not include them.
The number of available workers for these jobs is dropping as Americans become better educated and have fewer children; the demand for workers in these industries is growing and expected to increase in coming years. Approximately 500,000 undocumented immigrants enter the U.S. each year most coming to work and typically to do so in the service sector yet there are only 5,000 green cards for unskilled workers.
There are generally four ways to try and obtain a green card:
1. An employer can request permission to bring in a qualified foreign worker in certain professions based on education and skill level if the employer cannot find a qualified U.S. worker to take the job first. Most of the qualifying professions are high-skilled and require high levels of education, such as scientists, professors, and multinational executives. The amount of green cards issues for low-skilled workers is out of synch with Americas needs.
2. There are limited and restricted caps on family members seeking permission to bring in eligible family members. The requirements are largely reasonable but the limitations on the number of cards are not. For example, an immigrant residing in the U.S. legally with a green card must wait at least five years to receive a green card for her minor child. U.S. citizens must wait 16 years for a green card for a married son or daughter if they are coming from Mexico. While U.S. citizens and Legal Permanent Residents wait their turn to get a green card for their family member, it is nearly impossible for that family member to receive permission to even visit the U.S. Mothers, fathers and children, therefore, face years of separation or they may decide to risk breaking the law by entering illegally. Doing so, however, makes their chances at eventually receiving green cards even more distant and unlikely.
3. Some political refugees are allowed to enter legally not economic refugees. They must prove that any harm that came to them is based on race, religion, membership in a particular social group, political opinion, or national origin. Even if they can meet this requirement, they are subject to numerical limits before they may get their residency, typically after a substantial waiting period.
4. There is a limited lottery for certain countries. There are 55,000 green cards available to people from countries with low rates of immigration to the U.S. People from Mexico, China, the Philippines, India, and other countries are not eligible, To qualify the applicants must have a high school education and two years job experience. Since there are millions of applicants each year, the chances of getting a green card are very low.
The Sins of the Fathers Children Pay the Price
For example, in 2007 an astounding 71 percent of voters in Arizona passed a referendum (Proposition 300) which states that only U.S. citizens and legal residents are eligible for in-state college tuition rates, tuition and fee waivers, and financial assistance. These are kids brought by their parents to this country as young children, in many instances infants in their mothers arms, and in every instance as children for whom the decision to come here was made without their participation. And yet, they shall pay the price, perhaps with their futures. Many children and teens have never lived anywhere except the U.S. and have no ties to the country of their parents origin.
In Conclusion:
There are NO easy answers because there have NEVER been easy answers and the questions of how to deal with this issue have changed time and time again On one hand we say Come, we need you, work for us..we will pay you under the table in cash and look the other way at your status. You will NEVER be one of us but we need you to work here. Then on the other hand we say Get the hell back where you came from. Just because you have lived here most of your life if you think you are going to live here forever and become part of society and make a life for you and your family.you have another thing coming. We have reached a tipping point and now.we have some choices to make but we really cant have it both ways anymore. The problem has become too large to just look the other way and hope it doesnt affect OUR neighborhood. It affects all of us.even those living in the shadows.
