GINNY HANSON
Contributing Writer
Most people don’t think twice about immigration laws, yet in Sept. 2004, Time magazine reported that at the beginning of 2005, 15 million illegal immigrants were reportedly living in the United States, and one-fifth of them arrived in 2004 alone.
Gov. Janet Napolitano of Arizona and Gov. Bill Richardson of New Mexico (the state with the highest percentage of Hispanics) have decided enough is enough. Both have declared a state of emergency to free government funds for better border patrol and are urging Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger to do the same.
“We’ve got a border-smuggling of people; we’ve got smuggling of drugs; we’ve got kidnappings, murders,” said Richardson to a Dutch radio network.
Some illegal immigrants are going to extreme and violent lengths to get on American soil. But of course, just as not all people from the Middle East are terrorists, not all immigrants are criminals. Some are families earnestly seeking work, education and freedom in hopes of establishing a better life for their posterity. But for both Richardson and Napolitano, the cons outweigh the pros.
Why are Bush and Congress seemingly doing nothing about this? Bush’s most recent proposal regarding this increase in illegal immigration, dated roughly a year ago, is a guest-worker program that would allow millions of undocumented immigrants to legally live in the United States and work for industries dependent on migrant labor, such as agriculture. This is blatant discrimination. This proposal is essentially saying it’s OK for illegal immigrants to be here as long as they are doing the menial jobs with demanding hours that Americans are too good for, while being underpaid and deprived of the benefits such as unions and insurance. More importantly, these people are living in the United States undocumented. Think about the key way criminals are caught: their records.
There may be hope.
“We have decided to stand back and take a look at how we address the problem and solve it once and for all. The American public is rightly distressed about a situation in which they feel we do not have the proper control over our borders,” Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff told reporters at a press conference, two weeks ago.Earlier in August, President Bush said there were three immigration reform bills on the agenda and that this issue is expected to be resolved by the end of fall.
Yet the fact remains that too many industries are dependent on illegal migrant labor. My solution to this is simple and efficient. Get juvenile and adult criminals out there doing the typical work of an immigrant. It would give prisoners something to do, build character in them and free us of this dependence on immigrant labor. Besides, I would rather have my tax money pay for extra guards to manage these prisoners at work. Best of all is that immigrants who truly seek the equality that the United States offers would have a much better chance of succeeding because the stereotypical mold of “immigration labor” would no longer be in place. This would give new meaning to immigrant equality. Strict immigration laws would have to be instated and enforced so that legitimate immigrants who want to be American citizens can apply to do so.
With the government’s approval and a year of probation to prove they are law-abiding citizens, they could be granted legal status. What this means for Pepperdine students so close to Los Angeles is that illegal immigration from Mexico will not be decreasing in the near future. Especially if you plan to stay in Southern California, seriously consider using your foreign language requirement on Spanish.
09-08-2005