Immigration

I am not very political but I feel strongly about immigration. It seems that the liberals are up in arms about the new Arizona immigration law and the conservatives are somehow offended that the liberals don't like the law. First, I want to point out that on a scale, I lean more liberal than I do conservative on many things, I am a tree-hugging recycler who thinks we should care about people, all people, so I am not about to bash anyone, liberal or conservative, but I want to say my opinion.

The truth is, it has nothing to do with this law. It is the fact that this law got passed and real reform is at a stand still. As it has been pointed out by many, there is no real need for this law. It is already a Federal crime to be in this country illegally. I mean really, what part of Illegal don't we understand? If Arizona, and all states would simply enforce the laws we have on the books, they would be able to detain and deport who ever they wanted. The problem is, no one wants to pass or enforce a law that punishes the companies that actually employ illegals. We get very self righteous about this topic and say that if someone wants to be in this country they should go through the proper channels, and fundamentally, I agree with that, but our ridiculously screwed up immigration system makes that nearly impossible for the average person. If you are face to face with an actual person who is here illegally and they tell you their story, it will most likely be that they are here to work, to provide food, clothing and shelter for their family and an education for their children. Most people are not here to become drug dealers or to blow anything up, yet we are making them the enemy, when in fact the enemy is already a US citizen. It is the person who employs the people who are here illegally. They employ them for less than minimum wage, don't provide them benefits and don't pay taxes for them. They do it because if the company gets caught, they might get fined, but the fine is far less than what they would have to pay if they had to pay each person what they were worth. How is it that we can say we care about people, and also say it is OK for employers to treat them like, well, slaves?

I have heard the argument that we need these laborers, who else would spend all day picking strawberries, avocados, onions, etc., but if we need then, then lets make the process of getting into this country legally accessible to all people and then let's pay them as if they are a real person, not just a "laborer." Instead, we want them to come here and pick our strawberries for $2 an hour but don't want to provide them with health care, education or basic human rights? How is that respecting human life? How is that treating everyone with dignity? I have heard that if we don't use this cheap labor force then our economy will collapse. All I have to say about this is that is the EXACT same argument that the south used to try and keep slavery alive.

If every person who is here illegally and is working had to go through a process to get documented, and then paid taxes and then every company had to provide at least minimum wage, pay taxes and pay for basic benefits, we would probably solve most our economic woes.

I think the problem is we are trying to correct this problem by punishing the people on the bottom of the problem instead of the top. I understand why, the people on the bottom don't contribute to political campaigns and they don't vote. That, however, doesn't make it right, and it certainly doesn't make the problem go away.