We must make our voices heard: Immigration

Sigh, just when you thought things might work out, you sought to assure people things under the DuhNold would be okay, we get a very ill advised, rushed, and knee-jerk immigration executive order which is making America NOT so great again.  While I certainly understand and indeed share a desire to ensure immigrants and refugees coming to America are properly vetted, this policy flies in the face of what our Founding Fathers intended.  

We as citizens cannot tolerate an executive order which bars rightfully documented and vetted visitors and citizens from coming or returning to the United States.  Period.  We cannot stop green-card bearing travelers from returning to their home, the one they chose to make in America and we decided to grant. 

To have so sweepingly implemented such a policy via an executive order and not through legislation and debate seems more “Making America be UnAmerican” more than Making America great again.

Truth is, I loathed the previous administration’s love affair with executive orders.  We don’t live in a monarchy or a dictatorship.  There are rules which must be followed, or at least in every previous administration, both left and right leaning, they were.  Get out of line and the other two branches of government would shut it down.  Suddenly, it seems like our leaders don’t lead, they dictate.  That is seriously wrong and we should demand it be fixed regardless of your political leanings!

I am sending letters to my Congressman and my senators, because once again, I see an issue with many, many layers of complexity reduced to all black and all white, Jesus or Lucifer, freedom itself or Hitler-like extermination and nothing in between topic and it simply isn’t so clear.  As I have learned in my 49 years on this earth, the reality of what is best, what should be and the reality of the situation is this: it is all gray (in between the two).  

Our elected leaders must choose to listen to the entire chorus of American voices and cull the best ideas for solving the problem, not just permit knee-jerk reactions to situations.  We need a thoughtful solution to a very big problem now, but we need a policy which can be shaped into what we need for the rest of the century as well, not the next 6 months. 

To me at least, America is a shining beacon on top of the hill of a lost world, a world sadly replete with darkness.  It is a bastion of hope and freedom where one can pursue their dreams of a better life for themselves and more importantly, their children.  It is no wonder so many people want to live here and pursue the American Dream.

Now comes the hard part we must also accept: unfortunately America is not big enough for every human being on planet earth to live here.  Some level of determination as to who can and who cannot be admitted to the country must be made.  It should not however have anything to do with your skin color, your country of origin or simply your religious beliefs.  We must look a little deeper and therein is the real crux of the legitimate immigration debate.

Those who pursue a path of oppression, exploitation, fraud, corruption, chaos and the like are NOT welcome here.   Furthermore, there are lots of people ill-suited to survive and thrive in America.  You cannot casually dismiss those facts and have an intelligent discussion on the issue any more than you just say all people from ____ country are bad.

But one thing is crystal clear, we MUST have immigration. 

We need a constant infusion of drive, intellect, ambition, creativity, hard work, and people working to make the world a better place for their families.  It is a balance which has to be achieved in order for America to remain the world leader, and in fact is a big part of how America came to be as great as it is.

Now, we cannot have honest debate without acknowledging what has been noticeable for the past few years where unfettered immigration has taken place in Europe. European nations have taken in hundreds of thousands of immigrants and refugees in the past decade and they are encountering the kinds of issues which show the risks of such a wide open policy: higher crime rates in those areas, more terror-related incidents, and a drain on the public resources.  There is a very real unrest in their political power structure, with many of the leaders who embraced an open door policy on the verge of being shown the door by voters. 

Showing the good which comes from an influx of new citizens is not something which appears on the nightly news and is not something easily understood by a population which derives much of its news sadly from comedy shows and social media, both places infested with fake news.  There is a world of good which comes from immigration.  Google, eBay, Yahoo are all companies founded by immigrants.  The ATM machine, rechargeable batteries, Microsoft Word & Excel, LASIK eye surgery, and HDTV (just to name a few) all came about thanks to immigrants!

To me at least, perhaps just a misguided American voter, the one real key to immigration and granting refugees a place to live is simple: assimilation.  Those coming to America cannot live under the laws of their previous country.  They cannot keep Sharia Law or the equivalent they might have followed in their previous land, they must agree to abide by the laws of our nation.  They must strive to learn the laws and expectations of being an American citizen.  Also we have to be sure they will be able to support themselves once admitted. 

Bringing in people who might not have job skills sought for by the market here in the States means either they will have to be trained (and be able to be trained) or else they risk being reconciled to the lower economic rung on the ladder and the subsequent higher crime, more difficult chances of success that brings.  You could make the argument in some cases, immigrants would be better suited migrating to a country more in need of their particular set of skills. 

Now we are venturing into foreign affairs.  This too is a complex issue which requires the best among our elected officials to help craft a working, sustainable policy which might help other nations become a destination country for people well suited to live there, and to do so hopefully in a free and open society.

I have prattled on far too long, although this issue does take more than a few paragraphs to properly discuss.  So, please write to your elected representatives.  Call them.  Let them know you support immigration.  Let them know you support rules on it which derive from logic and not emotion.  Make sure they know you don’t support simply banning travel from X just because, and you also don’t support just letting everyone into the country either. 

One final thought, do you think a person living in ____ (insert country of your choice here) should view all Americans as the same?  Just take a look sometime at the lines at Disney or someplace similar.  Are all American families in the line just the same?  Do they all share the same political views, religious beliefs, parenting philosophies, lifetime goals, or even background?  Heck no.  So don’t just assume everyone from elsewhere has the same everything.  Now, please if you bothered to read this, go write, call or email your elected leaders in Washington.  This time, it is important!