In this Opinion Piece, I voiced my thoughts on illegal immigration and
also provide what I think would be a viable solution.
Illegal Immigration: A Problem With A Solution
- By Javier Chavez
According to the Department of Homeland Security's Office of Immigration Statistics (OIS), an estimated 11.5 million unauthorized immigrants resided in the United States as of January 2011. Of these nearly 12 million, 6.8 million are of Mexican Origin. Contrary to what some believe, most of these immigrants are not criminals, but in fact people that are looking for a brighter future for themselves and their families.
Living so close to the U.S.-Mexico border has given me great insight on how the approach towards illegal immigration has changed throughout the years. As my parents, family and friends have told me, security at the border has increased exponentially since the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. Before 9/11, my parents would cross back and forth between nations without being checked on either side, but after 9/11, the line has gotten longer, it went from any valid identification or birth certificate was enough to pass, to needing a passport to enter back into the U.S.
However, despite this vast increase in security technology, undocumented immigrants are already inside the U.S. and will continue to live here. Deporting non-criminal immigrants is harsh, especially if it means separating a family. Many of these undocumented immigrants are children or young adults that have been raised here in America and have no ties to their native country other than the fact that they were born there. Nonetheless, these immigrants still get deported despite the fact that they would have nowhere to go once out of America. It does not make any sense in deporting non-criminal undocumented immigrants; there is no way to justify it.
Steps have already been taken to try to deal with the illegal immigration problem we are currently facing. The Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals policy although not a law, has already helped thousands of undocumented immigrants by allowing them to work legally here in the U.S. This however, is not enough, it does not give legal status to those who qualify and has to be renewed every two years. We need a permanent solution to the immigration problem. Comprehensive immigration reform is a must, and must have a pathway to legal status in the U.S. Maybe now that the Republicans know that they cannot win without the help of Latinos, a reform could finally have a chance of passing into law.
Living so close to the U.S.-Mexico border has given me great insight on how the approach towards illegal immigration has changed throughout the years. As my parents, family and friends have told me, security at the border has increased exponentially since the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. Before 9/11, my parents would cross back and forth between nations without being checked on either side, but after 9/11, the line has gotten longer, it went from any valid identification or birth certificate was enough to pass, to needing a passport to enter back into the U.S.
However, despite this vast increase in security technology, undocumented immigrants are already inside the U.S. and will continue to live here. Deporting non-criminal immigrants is harsh, especially if it means separating a family. Many of these undocumented immigrants are children or young adults that have been raised here in America and have no ties to their native country other than the fact that they were born there. Nonetheless, these immigrants still get deported despite the fact that they would have nowhere to go once out of America. It does not make any sense in deporting non-criminal undocumented immigrants; there is no way to justify it.
Steps have already been taken to try to deal with the illegal immigration problem we are currently facing. The Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals policy although not a law, has already helped thousands of undocumented immigrants by allowing them to work legally here in the U.S. This however, is not enough, it does not give legal status to those who qualify and has to be renewed every two years. We need a permanent solution to the immigration problem. Comprehensive immigration reform is a must, and must have a pathway to legal status in the U.S. Maybe now that the Republicans know that they cannot win without the help of Latinos, a reform could finally have a chance of passing into law.