Opinion : Immigration

I can't resist commenting on an issue this hot. It seems that congress wants to limit the number of immigrants in this country while Bush wants them to work here temporarily and then go back. Sounds like the usual uninspired politician crap. Militarizing the Mexican border will cost a lot and probably not accomplish much, other than to shoot several poor people whose only crime is wanting to live in the US. Building a wall falls under the same category: people will likely have no trouble going over, under, around, and through. Bush's guest worker plan is good for america if it works (cheap labor and tax revenues to spend on ourselves) and good for others if all the immigrants want is money. Of course most of them are seeking a higher standard of living, and therefore do not want to go back to their original homes without realizing the longterm fruits of their labor. Also, I cant imagine how Bush plans on implementing or enforcing this plan (other than "poorly") which would have to involve rounding up and deporting farm workers (millions) at the end of every harvest season. The only good that this plan would have is stopping smugglers. (a serious problem that does need to be addressed)

Stopping immigration altogether as some have proposed would be a disaster for the economy. (as well as an affont to what this country stands for). Someone has sugested that seasonal workers are taking jobs from working class americans. In reality there are simply not enough working class americans to take those jobs, and even if there were, how many americans want to work 12 hr days for minimum wage in a manual labor job? Good luck replacing 4 million mexican workers with 100k or so americans. And the $50/lb produce won't cause inflation...

The only solution that I see to this problem is to go back to the system that let my grandparents into this country: Simply allow anyone who is healthy, has some money and plans to survive, and respects american ideals to come in freely. If they stay and thrive for several years, then they can apply for citizenship. This solution would be simple and democratic, easy to implement, and allow our country to grow. I have never been comfortable with America as an exclusive birthright, and we should not limit it. "Give us your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free"