Earlier this year the Associated Press decided that it was no longer going to use the terms, "illegal immigrants" or "illegal aliens" in its news reports. Making fun of of this major news organizatio's decision to cave in to the current era of political correctness, comedian Jay Leno suggested that the Associated Press should refer to those in this country illegally as "Undocumented Democrats" because the Democrats view the 11 million illegal immigrants in the U.S. as potential voters for the Democratic Party.
Once you view the issue of immigration reform through this lens, you begin to see why the Democrats want immigration reform with an easy or immediate path to citizenship for illegal immigrants so badly and why Republicans are so vehemently opposed to this idea.
A lot has been written and said about immigration reform. To most, this is a very complex issue with a lot of emotion. But when you think about it -- really think about it -- it is very simple although in reality it is a national security issue that has been turned into a political one.
The first step in any immigration reform must be securing our borders. To do otherwise would be kind of like bailing water out of a boat without first fixing the leak that's causing the boat to sink. Republicans see this as being the logical first step. Members of the other party see this as an effective way of stopping the influx of potential Democrat voters from crossing the border.
The second step is to figure out what to do with the 11 million illegal aliens currently in the U.S. A few Republican hardliners believe that they should simply be forced to return to their home countries. Realistically, there is no way to round up 11 million people and force them out of the country.
Moderate Republicans realize this and propose a path to citizenship over time, while the majority of Democrats believe that these illegal immigrants should simply be given an easy or immediate path to citizenship.
The most realistic approach, and one that would probably gain sufficient support from both parties to pass both the House and Senate, is to provide a path to citizenship for these illegal immigrants over a lengthy period of time, while providing them with a way they can stay in this country legally, work and pay taxes, without their having the right to vote.
I'm of the opinion that they should not be allowed to receive most major government benefits (i.e., welfare, social security, etc.) until they have worked a sufficient period of time and have paid taxes for a number of years. Otherwise, we're simply providing those who have broken the law a way to receive all of the benefits of being an American without having paid their fair share.
There are a number of other tough questions that need to be answered, including, "Should the children of illegal immigrants receive a free public education?" or "Should the children of illegal immigrants receive financial aid for college?" There are also a large number of children of illegal immigrants who were born in this country but don't have the documentation to become a U.S. citizen. These are tough questions that can be answered. Although I believe that the children of illegal immigrants should receive a free public education, I don't believe they should be entitled to financial aid for college until their parents have paid sufficiently into the system through taxes. We should encourage illegal immigrants to work, pay taxes and prosper. This would be one way to do just that.
I'm also of the opinion that our laws should be changed so that anyone born in this country has to have at least one parent who is a U.S. citizen in order to become an American citizen, which is the way most countries in the world allow citizenship for children born within their borders. Our current, outdated laws simply encourage those from other countries to cross the border so that their children can be born in America and become full-fledged citizens with all of the benefits afforded Americans.
A common sense and effective approach to immigration reform is possible, but only if both parties compromise just a little and look at the issue reasonably, instead of just looking at these 11 million illegal immigrants as potential Democrat voters.
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