What’s the Real Problem With Illegal Immigration?
By Anita Marie Bailey, co-host Inside The Ladies Locker Room
Why is illegal immigration such a problem? What’s the big deal? The heart of illegal immigration lies in the fact that native-born citizens do not want to share their rights and privileges with someone from another country who they consider an outsider. This self-centered, somewhat greedy and protective attitude in the US is one of the main reasons immigrants are discriminated against. Immigrants are prevented from obtaining, are not allowed access and/or are given limited access to certain benefits exclusively for native-born citizens. Benefits such as 1) obtaining a driver’s license and identification 2) access to public and private resources 3) higher education opportunities 4) voting 5) employment and business opportunities 6) housing 7) cultural and religious freedom 8) health insurance, and 9) legal representation.
When we discriminate against immigrants and deny them benefits, we are basically saying to them that their basic needs and wants are not important and they don’t deserve a better life, especially if we feel our rights and privileges as native-born citizens will be threatened. But what we don’t realize is that the more you tell someone they can’t have something, the more they are going to covet that object. The more we reject immigrants and refuse to accept them in the US, the more they are going to, in retaliation and out of desperation, risk entering the US illegally in order to obtain that which they covet most- freedom from oppression and poverty and to share in the wealth of our land.
I am reminded of the scripture in Leviticus 19:33-34, “And if a stranger dwells temporarily with you in your land, you shall not suppress and mistreat him. But the stranger who dwells with you shall be to you as one born among you; and you shall love him as yourself, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt. I am the Lord your God.” (Amplified Bible) In other words, God commanded the Israelites to care for those who were strangers (aliens and foreigners) in their land. Given their mistreatment in Egypt, He expected the Israelites to be more sympathetic and empathetic towards them. In return, God promised that whenever the Israelites traveled through a land in which they were considered strangers (aliens and foreigners), they would receive favor and grace from neighboring countries and be granted safe passage through the land.
But as history and current events have shown, neighboring countries have not been hospitable to us nor have we been to them. The dilemma then becomes a matter of trust. Trust is one of the biggest factors we have to consider in order to control illegal immigration. Can we trust that those who enter our country will not pose a threat to our well-being? How do we know if those who enter our country are an enemy or friend? If we are more accepting of immigrants and treat them fairly, how do we know if they will not use our hospitality against us? Why do immigrants want to really come to our country? Do they have a hidden agenda to undermine our government and established institutions? These and other pertinent questions must be thoroughly answered in order to formulate and implement policies that will effectively deal with illegal immigration. Currently, there are over 12 million illegal immigrants in the US!
Anything gotten by the wrong means, will not last very long. So if immigrants want to come to our country and be treated like a native-born citizen, then they must enter it legally and treat our country with love and respect just like a native-born citizen would. Then our government must implement policies and procedures that will make the transition for immigrants entering our country easier and less complicated and that includes stronger measures for effectively managing and monitoring the number of immigrants that travel in and out of our country. Get the lasted report on illegal immigration here.
Watch our next episode on “Discrimination Against Immigrants + Health Care and Illegal Immigrants” on January 20 at 11:30 a.m. on briconline.org/, channel 1. To get the latest news on civil rights, including immigration, become a fan of Inside the Ladies Locker Room at www.facebook.com/insidetheladieslockerroom.
Illegal immigration is a very complicated topic. There are a lot of things to consider before making our minds about this matter. I wrote about Jose, an undocumented worker who is trying to make a life in the U.S. You can check his story by clicking this link.
Best,
Carla Candia
Hi Carla,
Thanks so much for your comment. Please provide a link to your article or send it to us at irina@insidetheladieslockerroom.com. We’d love to read it especially since we are now preparing for our next episode on immigration.
what bothers me is this: we all started out as immigrants. This country was stolen from others. It’s a touchy subject. Perhaps this is why we can’t face issues on immigration? I met a man who was from Mexico and he told me some horrendous stories of how he spent his life savings of nearly 40,000 US dollars trying to escape to a better life in the US because of the drug wars in Mexico. His entire family was being decimated and he had to get out. What do we give him in America? Life. Even if it working as a busboy or in the back of a restaurant cutting up heads of lettuce. And what did we give the Chinese immigrants who came to this country hundreds of years ago? A life. And these children of Chinese immigrants are now saving lives at hospitals. Many of the department heads at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer center in NYC are Chinese, children of immigrants, given a chance to survive (LIFE) in the United States. and they show their gratitude back by creating cutting edge technology. I am proud of My Asian heritage and am so thankful America gave my mother, a Korean immigrant, a chance to survive. America gave my mom a job as a librarian and she gave the destitute kids in the Bronx, NY a place to call home. As a librarian, my mother welcomed many poor children into the library as a place to call home. Many children of single mothers and drug addict parents tha had nowhere else to go because my mother could identify with being homeless at one point in her young life as a victim of the Korean War. She is grateful to America and so am I for a place to call home, The Land of the Free and Beautiful and I hope it can keep its doors open for those seeking refuge.
That was retarted. The problem with illegal immigration is that many of them end up living off welfare, don’t pay taxes, and raise the crim rate. I work at a hospital and deal with illegals constantly because they refuse to pay their bills. They come here and expect everything to be handed to them, and th eproblem today is thar we let them get away with it.
Chris, thanks for your comment. Correction…immigrants actually pay taxes; as a matter of fact, they pay over 16 billion dollars in taxes. Many have a fake social security ID number, and when they work on the books, this money is taken out of their pay checks–this is only one of the ways how they contribute taxes. They actually do not raise the crime rate; they are about 110,000 illegal immigrants currently imprisoned, and only 11,000 are in jail for serious crimes, like murder and rape; the rest of them are awaiting deportation or are sitting for smaller crimes, like theft. More Americans and legal immigrants sit off welfare than illegal immigrants because they are not entitled to this benefit, but some do trick the system, although they do not represent a majority. You should definitely watch our show on Illegal Immigration that premieres on January 20th on http://www.briconline.org/bcat, channel 1 at 11:30 a.m. We will be posting it on YouTube.com as well at youtube.com/unlockthesilence.
Illegal immigrants are choking this nation. There are a million in Arizona alone, a state with only 7 million people total. These immigrants are not paying taxes. Think of the disastrous economic impact of that in AZ alone. Not to mention problems with these illegals not speaking English, the language of America, costs in healthcare, and spikes in violence. I have many American friends who are Latino. However, they are legal citizens who speak english and contribute to our society. There is much more going on here than people just being uncomfortable, Anita. Wise up.