Immigration Reform

Over 100 years ago, in 1907, Theodore Roosevelt, one of our greatest Presidents, said:

“In the first place, we should insist that if the immigrant who comes here in good faith becomes an American and assimilates himself to us, he shall be treated on an exact equality with everyone else, for it is an outrage to discriminate against any such man because of creed, or birthplace, or origin. But this is predicated upon the person's becoming in every facet an American, and nothing but an American ... There can be no divided allegiance here. Any man who says he is an American, but something else also, isn't an American at all. We have room for but one flag, the American flag ... We have room for but one language here, and that is the English language ... and we have room for but one sole loyalty and that is a loyalty to the American people.”

It was drilled into us throughout middle and high school social studies classes that the United States is a “Melting Pot”.  We are not made up of a single race, nationality, or class or people. We are Italians, English, French, Greek, Irish, Scottish, Spanish, Chinese, Japanese, Russian, Korean, Indians, and much more.  Let’s not forget that all of us are immigrants or descended from immigrants. Even the “Native Americans” can over from Asia via the land bridge many moons ago.

It is this heterogeneous mixture that gives us our strength. We are a diverse group of people who have united for a common cause. We need to maintain our diversity to maintain our strength. And that means welcoming good, hard-working people into our country who want to join us.

Right now, our immigration system is a complete mess.  All these candidates keep bringing up that there are 11 million illegal immigrants here today.  But what the always fail to mention is that it is virtually impossible for many people to get in legally.  Even if you have family already here, it can take over twenty years to get legal approval to immigrant here.  If you do not have a connection with someone already here, your chances of getting in are virtually zero.  That is just ridiculous!

We need people who will make our country better.  So, if you have a clean criminal record, and are willing to come here, obey our laws, get a job and work hard, and learn to speak, read, and write English, you should be welcome.  You must learn our culture and our language.  After all, it is you who are coming to our country, so don’t expect us to change for you. But, just like every drop of dye added to a can of paint will slightly change that can, we know that we will also benefit from the culture that you bring to us.

Non-citizen residents of our country should NOT be eligible for Food Stamps, Medicare, Medicaid, or other types of welfare and government assistance.  A felony conviction should result in immediate deportation, after you serve your sentence, of course. If they want to become citizens, and we should encourage this, they should be able after five years.  (This is the current law.)

We desperately need immigration reform, and here is how I would do it:

First, we need to control our borders.  People who want to come into our country need to do so through legal means. But I seriously doubt a $12 billion dollar wall will stop all the illegals. A ten foot wall can be defeated with a twelve foot ladder.  Or a tunnel.  What is needed is better surveillance technology to detect border crossings, and many more border guards to ensure a swift, physical response. The E-Verify program to be used by Employers is a great idea.

Second, we need to provide a better system for entering our country legally. Immigrating legally should be a short and easy process.   If you meet the basic requirements, agree to our terms, and have either sufficient funds to take care of yourself or have a sponsor who will help you get started, welcome aboard!


We must also address the issue of the 11 million people who are here illegally right now. Most of these people are hard-working, and have jobs.  Many have families here, and many have children who are U.S. Citizens.  Deporting them is ludicrous. They should be required to come forward and register, pay any back-taxes they may owe, and pay a fine. They must agree to live under the same terms as those entering the U.S. legally. And No Welfare!  AFTER that have paid their back taxes and fines, the Five Year clock should start, and they should be eligible for citizenship just as anyone else.

Think about it this way:  It takes a very driven individual to leave a country where he was born and raised, and move to a place where he has to learn an entirely new culture and a new language. A place where he is not made to feel welcome. As a non-citizen, he will be at a disadvantage, and will not have the opportunities the rest of us take for granted. He has to agree to terms, such as being told that he has to get and maintain a job or else be deported, that we would never agree to ourselves. Even with all of this, these people want to live here.

It seems to me that these people love America better than many of our own citizens.

With 11 million illegals, there are bound to be some bad apples. And when one commits a crime, the media blows it all out of proportion. But, for the most part, the illegal aliens in this country are probably better behaved as a group than our own citizens.  For they know that if they get caught even for a minor crime, they will lose everything that they have worked for.

There is the argument that these immigrants are taking jobs away from Americans.  But to what extent?  For the most part, immigrants take the jobs here that no one wants. Even Donald Trump admitted during the last debate that he has hired illegal aliens to work at his hotels because he could not find Americans willing to fill the positions he was offering. Most of the immigrants coming to our country are young and will work hard for many years. They take the low-paying jobs that nobody else wants.  Many of these people used fake social security numbers to get their jobs.  That means that they are having taxes taken out of their pay each week that they will never benefit from.  They are paying INTO social security and Medicare, but will never get the benefits from those programs.

When Social Security was created just beforer WWII, it was estimated that 10 people would be paying into it for every person receiving benefits. Now, there are only three people paying into for each person taking out. This is due not only to people living longer, but also to the fact that our workforce is aging. In 1992, the average age of U.S. workers was 38 years. Now, it is 42 years.Our workforce needs revitalization! Immigrant workers will help reduce our average workforce age, and help stabilize the Social Security system.

Right now, the fertility rate in the U.S. is 1.88 births per female. We need a rate of at least 2.1 just to sustain our population. Since we are below that rate, it means that our population would be shrinking if it were not for immigrants.


We DO need immigration reform.  We have needed it for many years. But our current system, as flawed as it is, has not destroyed our country. The 11 million illegal aliens here provide a labor force that we cannot do without. The contributions they make to our society offset many of the problems they cause. The Immigration problem is nowhere near our most pressing issue. ISIS, the Economy, Health Care, and Education are far more important to us right now.


Donald Trump and Ted Cruz have chosen to make Immigration Reform a major issue.  WHY?  Rule 101 in Politics is to gain supporters by giving them a common enemy. Illegal Immigrants make a great scapegoat. They can’t defend themselves. They ARE breaking the law. So, let’s make them the cause of all of our problems. Blame them for our shortcomings. We all want to believe that somebody else is to blame for whatever ails us.

Trump himself admits that Immigration was not a major issue until he made it one. That’s one of the points he keeps shouting out to Ted Cruz during the debates. But now that Trump and Cruz have made this the central issue, they have used it to propel themselves to the top of the pack.

It’s a proven strategy that works.  It certainly worked for Hitler.