There is perhaps no other issue as complex or as difficult to resolve than the problem of stemming the flow illegal immigration into the United States. After years of deliberate neglect by the federal government in enforcing existing immigration laws, today we are confronted with a problem of major proportions with no easy solutions.
There is no accurate figure for the number of undocumented immigrants currently residing in the United States, but figures range as high as 20 million or more and the number of new immigrants crossing the border each year is growing exponentially. Most of these immigrants are young adults with children, many of whom are American citizens by virtue of having been born in this country. In fact many of them serve in our military. However we view this situation, it is one that will be confronting our nation for decades to come.
While the effects of “illegal immigration” both positive and negative have long been felt in states bordering Mexico, it has only been within the past decade or so that other states, such as Indiana, have begun to experience this influx of newcomers.
This isn't the first mass migration of people to come to United States in search of a better life for themselves and their families, nor will it be the last. As in the past we have seen how various religious, ethnic and racial groups have been pitted against one another in order to divide workers and drive down wages. That is why we must be careful not to scapegoat immigrants, legal or otherwise as the problem for why the standard of living for so many Americans seems to be declining.
That problem lies with a political and economic system, which encourages outsourcing of jobs to low wage countries and the importation of low-wage workers for those jobs that can't be outsourced. I believe America's foolish "free trade" policies and embrace of globalization are largely at fault for creating conditions in places like Mexico and elsewhere that encourage tens of thousands of impoverished workers to come to the United States in search of work while high paying American jobs are being shipped overseas to places like China and India.
At the time Bill Clinton signed NAFTA into law, he stated, "One of the reasons that I so strongly support this North American Free Trade Agreement is...that [it] will dramatically reduce the pressure felt by Mexican working people to come here for jobs." Like the promise that NAFTA would create tens of thousands of good paying jobs here at home, that one too proved to be false.
This is why I favor the repeal of NAFTA, CAFTA and all the other subsequent so-called free trade agreements. These agreements have done irreparable damage to our economy and our people.
I am not opposed to trade, but believe that trade should conducted on a fair basis so that American workers can compete. I do not believe the role of the government should be to promote the "free market." The role of the government should be to promote the interests of the nation and the people as a whole.
While many politicians call for comprehensive immigration reform, I believe we need to go one step further and institute comprehensive economic reform to improve wages and working conditions for low-income workers at home by raising the minimum wage to a living wage adjustable to the rate of inflation. This more than anything would take away the incentive for businesses to hire undocumented workers.
America is a wealthy and generous nation, we do not however have unlimited recourses. We must be able to control the borders, but we must do so humanely. What I don’t want to see is our country turn into a police state, with people being rounded up in raids, border walls being erected and everyone forced to carry a national ID card as proof of citizenship. If anyone is to face prosecution it should be those employers who profit from exploiting undocumented workers by paying them below minimum wages and forcing them to work under inadequate and often-dangerous working conditions.
I am for building bridges between people not for building fences or walls to keep them apart. As a nation we should embrace cultural diversity, not fear it. I believe that if we all join together we can build a better country that we all can be proud of. We should guard against those who would use this issue to divide us by playing on our fears.
