Tuesday, October 13, 2009

Immigration and Deportation

According to the New York Times, thousands of immigrants came to Capitol Hill requesting immigration reforms. They are upset that amidst all of the other issues in America, the immigration issue is not drawing much attention. Representative Luis V. Gutierrez of Illinois and chairman of the Immigration Task Force of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus unveiled a new bill regarding immigration reform. The new bill basically states that illegal immigrants who come to the US for job opportunities and a better life will get a chance at citizenship, but those who come to disrupt neighborhoods will get no such opportunities.

This new bill is basically aimed at quelling the anguish of people who don't want to see a mother torn from her child. Many illegal immigrants come to the US to have a child, but I guess that doesn't make them citizens of the US, just the child. From that you can see where the tearing the mother from her child comes into play. Gutierrez's new bill is less restrictive than the previously proposed bill by Senator Schumer of New York who says that the reform needs to “curtail future illegal immigration,” and have “operational control of our borders” and a "“biometric-based employer verification system.”

There are always the sob stories like that of Peter Derezinski, whose father was deported back to Poland after 18 years of working in the US. Gutierrez's new proposed reform does sound reasonable. I mean if illegal immigrants just want a better life and an opportunity at a job in America, why not let them. However, his new proposal may seem a little simplistic as in there has to be other consequences of just letting all of these new illegal immigrants in. I would have to read to the full details of Gutierrez's bill before making an informed decision of whether I support the bill, but from the looks of it now, it does seem pretty reasonable.

-Henry Zhang

8 comments:

Joe Seiden said...

I think the point that a lot of people miss in the debate over illegal immigration is that it is ILLEGAL! These people are committing a crime by coming to this country. Passively letting them suckle from the teat of bleeding heart social programs is not the way to solve this problem. And letting them "take the jobs Americans don't want" is not only a human rights disaster it's anti-competitive and cripples our economy. Businesses that employ illegal immigrants should be ashamed. Yes, it is terrible that families are separated by deportation but "anchor children" and the resulting familial strife is just as much the fault of the parents as the government enforcing its laws. I think we need to increase border security while simultaneously increasing the accessibility of legal immigration. If they want to be in America they can do it the legit way.

Lauren Nishizaki said...

One question that immediately came to mind is, what is the definition of "disrupting neighborhoods"? If this isn't explicitly spelled out in the bill, I see it as a potential loophole that politicians can exploit to deport any and all illegal immigrants in any neighborhood, simply because they are there illegally.

And yes, they are called illegal immigrants because they are in the country illegally. I agree that the US should strengthen its borders in order to deter more immigrants from enterring the country illegally. I also agree that the United States should make the application for citizenship more accesible. However, I also believe that laws can sometimes be too black and white, and too unforgiving towards gray issues.

Hen to the Ry said...

I also agree that "disrupting neighborhoods" is very ambiguous. However, I understand the case of Peter, whose father got deported back to Poland after 18 years. I think in situations like that, the application for citizenship should be made much easier.

-Henry Zhang

Serena said...

I understand the point that is being made here. If these immigrants are "illegal", then they are obviously conducting an act that is breaking the law. Also, allowing them in doesn't really solve anything. It is giving the signal to other immigrants that it is okay for them to cross the border illegally. Also, considering the condition of the economy today, many illegal immigrants won't even be able to take those jobs that "Americans don't want". There might be none of those jobs left. And with them in the way, our economy may make a turn for far more the worst.

I agree, if immigrants want to come to America, they should do so the proper way. Stricter laws need to be enforced to prevent further illegal immigration.

Serena said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
devin_yan said...

I think that because illegal immigration is illegal, when people are caught quickly trying to sneak into the U.S. they should be deported, but if they have been in the U.S. for a long period of time and even had children i don't think they should be deported because obviously if they have lived here for an extended period of time they have not done anythign wrong.
Plus it is just depressing for a child to be torn from his or her parents just because after many years the ofiicial are now deporting them.

The new Kevin (a.k.a Kevin Kwan) said...

Devin, you're talking about amnesty.

Anonymous said...

i disagree with the proposed plan by Gutierrez. i actually agree with joe's view on this topic. if our country is trying to allow these foreigners have a chance at a better life in america, than we should just increase the rate of legal immigration to america. allowing illegal immigrants stay in our country is wrong because they are illegal, first of all, and they take jobs that american citizens can be employed in (they are chosen to have the job over the american citizen because managers abuse their power over illegal immigrants)
it is the parents fault if they have to be seperated because they know the consequences of illegal immigration