Let's Talk About Immigration

Let's start with this:  We have an immigration problem because people WANT to come here.

 

For all the America-bashing by the left, the fact remains that this IS the land of opportunity.  If life here were not more attractive than life there, nobody would leave their home to come to America.  So it is good that life in America is desirable.  Great.  Wonderful. 

 

And it is good for America to have a legal flow of these immigrants because they will know better than those hot house inculcated liberals that life in America is WAY better than life anywhere else.  Our "poor" have a standard of living higher than most of the rest of the world.  We need the fresh blood to remind us of the benefits of our way of life.  Great.  Wonderful.

 

Here's the problem:  We have a system for people to legally become American citizens.  We have a system for people to legally visit the United States as a student or worker.  These are legal methods.  That is in contradistinction to illegal methods.  It is a violation of federal law to enter the U.S. without following the procedures.  Thomas Sowell has an excellent article about the difference between legal and illegal. 

 

Dictionary.com defines illegal thusly:

adj.
Prohibited by law.
Prohibited by official rules: an illegal pass in football.
Unacceptable to or not performable by a computer: an illegal operation.
n.
An illegal immigrant.

 

What is it about "illegal" that is so difficult to understand.  "Undocumented" does not mean "illegal".  "Guest worker" would imply that this is someone you have invited.  Again, look at dictionary.com's definition of "guest"(noun):

One who is a recipient of hospitality at the home or table of another.
One to whom entertainment or hospitality has been extended by another in the role of host or hostess, as at a party.
One who pays for meals or accommodations at a restaurant, hotel, or other establishment; a patron.
A distinguished visitor to whom the hospitality of an institution, city, or government is extended.
A visiting performer, speaker, or contestant, as on a radio or television program.
Zoology. A commensal organism, especially an insect that lives in the nest or burrow of another species.

 

Only the last comes anywhere near describing the illegal immigrant.

 

We need to address the issue of illegal immigration the same way we address the issue of illegal parking, illegal withdrawal of funds from a bank (aka "robbing"), illegal transporting of someone across state lines (aka "kidnapping"), and other illegal activities.  Or else we need to grant amnesty to these violations as well.
 
 I am all for immigration - just not illegal immigration.