Reform America - American Borders Forum

Will There Ever Be Comprehensive Immigration Reform in America?: Left of Center View

Change is inevitable. It comes despite all our best efforts to stop it. No matter how much we try, we cannot turn back the clock or keep everything just the way we might like it. Eventually there will have to be a comprehensive overhaul of the immigration system. There will be a change; a complete and total change from the immigration system in place in the United States of America today. The real question we should be asking ourselves is: will this be a change for the better?

Our immigration system is already stretched to its limits. Understaffing and under-budgeting have left our borders as porous as proverbial Swiss cheese. We already can’t properly secure our borders or process all the millions that are attempting to make the U.S. their home legally or illegally. And the world’s population is growing, not shrinking. It’s only a matter of time until something has to give. Let’s be honest with ourselves, with no end to the hordes in sight, the smart money would be on the system giving out.

Now is the time to fix the system. A complete re-vamping of our immigration system with realistic goals, standards and budget could actually save us money in the long run. We need to build a lot more than just a 500 mile fence to save the current system. Politicians will argue and grandstand about this issue, tearing each other down rather than actually discussing what to do about the issue and in the end they will likely accomplish nothing. So eventually, unless someone steps in and does something drastic, border security and the current immigration process will become about as effective as a smoking ban at a Grateful Dead concert.

But before we all panic, think about this. Is this collapse really such a bad thing? I mean the borders went un-patrolled for years and nothing all that horrible happened. Sure, migrant workers could come and go undocumented, but under the Bush administration aren’t we already all getting documented and eavesdropped on enough to save us from the “evil-doers”? It seems that in their hurry to vilify immigrants, the so-called border security activists have left a lot of details out of the discussion. You hear a lot of statistics being thrown out there about what immigrants cost us and how they threaten our way of life but if they are undocumented, how can these “experts” on border security know for sure what the undocumented worker’s actual individual impact is on anything?

I’m not saying that eradicating border security is the answer, nor am I saying that there should be no process in place for legal immigration. What I am saying is that we need to do more than just ignore this and hope it goes away or make up facts and figures to bolster our case when the facts are less than clear and the evidence cited is usually very subjective in nature. We need to pull our heads out of the sand and take a good, long look at what is actually going on around us and try to understand the real issues at the heart of immigration. Because you can’t fix a problem until you understand it.

Kyle Pesonen - Staff Writer | E-mail Comments on this column. | Click icon to Digg this article

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Last Week's View from the Left:
Do Undocumented Immigrants Pose a Health Risk for Americans?

Previous Weeks Views from the Left:
How Will the Oil Crisis Impact Foreign Policy?
What is a Fair Path to Citizenship for Undocumented Workers?
Which of the Presidential Candidates Will Bring the Best Immigration Policy Into Office?
Outsourcing, Bad Trade Policy and Recessions
Is America Capable of Breaking Free from Foreign Oil Dependency?
What Does the Globalization of Big Business Mean for America?
Are American Car Makers Ready for the Oil Crisis or Will Japan Reign Supreme Once Again?
Does Dependency on Foreign Oil Endanger America?
What is a "Real" American?
Racial Profiling - Is It Ever OK?
Who Wins When Undocumented Workers Come to America?
NAFTA and the Election
How Can We Curb Illegal Immigration?
Fear Mongering and Illegal Immigration
Border Security and the War on Drugs
Outsourcing or Undocumented Workers: Which Hurts American Workers More?
Sierra Club vs. Border Fence
Who Owns America?
Redefining Immigration
Racism and the Immigration Debate
Free Trade vs. Fair Trade
Migrant Farm Workers and the Cost of Groceries
What Does a New Leader for Cuba Mean for America?
High Tech Worker Visas and American Unemployment
What's Wrong With Our Current Immigration System?
How Will The Upcoming Election Impact Immigration Policy?
National ID Cards for American Citizens
American Children of Undocumented Immigrants
Globalization and Immigration
Human Rights and Immigration Policy
Archives by Date

Will There Ever Be Comprehensive Immigration Reform in America?: Right of Center View

It seems fairly obvious to those of us that spend any amount of time watching the goings on in Washington that real reform of any kind is a near impossibility for our politicians to achieve. Between the pandering to the special interests and the courting of certain voting blocks to win elections, our leaders have lost the ability to make decisions for the greater good of everyone. Everything is all about tailoring the message to their narrow little audience. In short, they often can’t see the forest for the trees.

That being said, I think that real reform is possible but we need to begin to look at how our leaders govern much more closely and reject rhetoric over results style campaigns for office. We need to hold them accountable for results and doing what is in the best interest of the entire nation. In our easily distracted mental state, we as a nation have been duped for decades into thinking that the politicians are even capable of thinking in a holistic manner to address the needs of the nation. It is wonderful that they represent the needs of their districts to a certain extent but they also need to be able to look at the big picture and find solutions that make sense for both the affluent businessman living in a penthouse overlooking the park in Manhattan and the impoverished single mother working three jobs to afford her run down apartment in Compton.

The big question becomes not if reform can happen but what we as Americans need to do to make it happen. When we go to the polls, we need to be armed with the information of how these leaders have used the power we have given them while they have been in power. With that information in hand we need to vote for the leaders who have been the most able to address the needs of the majority of Americans. Frankly, their stands on abortion or gay marriage really don’t matter a whit in their ability to solve our economic woes or fix the infrastructure of our nation and therefore we shouldn’t really care how they feel about those issues. We need to stop being distracted by the fake issues they use to manipulate us and focus on the substantive issues that impact our ability to feed, cloth and house ourselves and our children. Legislators are not supposed to be our moral compass. That’s what we have religions for after all.

So the short answer to the question of the day is there will only be comprehensive reform if we the people make it happen. We can keep voting based on the empty promises and divisive rhetoric of the politicians or we can start making them accountable for their actions. If we want reform we need to vote for reformers that have shown that they will actually take unpopular stands when it is in the best interests of the people to do so. We need to vote with our brains instead of our guts. If you want real reform, vote for the guys that the lobbyists hate and the ministers won’t endorse. Chances are, they are the ones actually trying to work for policies that are in your best interests.

The Realist - Patriot at Large | E-mail Comments on this column. | Click icon to Digg this article

Got a conservative viewpoint? We want to know what you think.

Next week's subject: Would Harsher Sentences for Undocumented Criminals Lower Crime?

Send in your view from the Right to be our featured Right of Center View for the week.

Click here to submit your article.

Last Week's View from the Right:
Do Undocumented Immigrants Pose a Health Risk for Americans?

Previous Weeks Views from the Right:
How Will the Oil Crisis Impact Foreign Policy?
What is a Fair Path to Citizenship for Undocumented Workers?
Which of the Presidential Candidates Will Bring the Best Immigration Policy Into Office?
Outsourcing, Bad Trade Policy and Recessions
Is America Capable of Breaking Free from Foreign Oil Dependency?
What Does the Globalization of Big Business Mean for America?
Are American Car Makers Ready for the Oil Crisis or Will Japan Reign Supreme Once Again?
Does Dependency on Foreign Oil Endanger America?
What is a "Real" American?
Racial Profiling - Is It Ever OK?
Who Wins When Undocumented Workers Come to America?
NAFTA and the Election
How Can We Curb Illegal Immigration?
Fear Mongering and Illegal Immigration
Border Security and the War on Drugs
Outsourcing or Undocumented Workers: Which Hurts American Workers More?
Sierra Club vs. Border Fence
Who Owns America?
Redefining Immigration
Racism and the Immigration Debate
Free Trade vs. Fair Trade
Migrant Farm Workers and the Cost of Groceries
What Does a New Leader for Cuba Mean for America?
High Tech Worker Visas and American Unemployment
What's Wrong With Our Current Immigration System?
How Will The Upcoming Election Impact Immigration Policy?
National ID Cards for American Citizens
American Children of Undocumented Immigrants
Globalization and Immigration
Human Rights and Immigration Policy
Archives by Date

A Legal Immigrant’s Perspective

If you are not a Native American, you are an immigrant, so am I. I came legally to this country at the age of five with my parents who worked hard, paid taxes (even Jesus paid taxes), lived by the rules of this great nation and never took or accepted a penny from the government. We came seeking FREEDOM from a communist country. It was months before we were able to enter the US legally. I remember us getting medical exams, shots (small pox), background check, references, and going through numerous interviews once we arrived. I also remembered people coming to the US from all over the world who waited years since it was based on "Quotas". Read more...

Solving Our Immigration Problem

The major problem our country is facing with illegal immigrants today is because of the exploitation of these immigrants. We believe the solution to this problem is two-fold. First, we should allow more immigrants in this country to cut down on the number of illegal ones. Second, all immigrants should be educated about their rights at the expense of the government. Below, you will find an in-depth look at our suggested reforms.

Reforms for immigration limitations:

-New immigrants can't equal more than 1% of the US population in a given year (the population being from the last recorded census). That 1% will be further divided up to allow only a certain number of immigrants each month.
-Each country of origin for immigrants will be allowed a certain percentage of that 1%. No country could receive more than 10% of the total amount and no country can receive less than .1% of it. The left over percentage will be divided up between all countries as follows: Read more...

Do Elements Within the La Raza Movement Pose a Threat to America?

La Raza means literally “The Race” in Spanish. The movement was formed in 1968 to promote the interests of the Mexican-American community. Like the NAACP and other affirmative-action minded organizations, La Raza has many members that are interested in being part of America and promoting equality for all Americans. The fundamental goals as stated by the movement are benign and represent the ideals of American diversity and cultural pride.

There is another movement affiliated with La Raza that has historically been more militant and still maintains documents within their organization that point to isolationistic views Read More

A Plan

The one major thing that seems to be lacking in the immigration debate is a real plan that addresses the legitimate concerns with illegal immigration. There are strong opinions on both sides and a lot of rhetoric but there isn’t really any solid plan being promoted to address the illegal immigration issue in a way that is both fair and logical.

So, that being said here is my idea:Read More

Trucking Cross Borders

This is mainly a concern for the trucking business. If we allow these people to come into our country, bringing cargo that we in America have, and can supply, then we are saying that the American working people are not needed, and have lost all say to legally enforced DOT (Department of Transportation) laws.Read More