Sunday, February 26, 2006

Sliver of Hope?

This may be a bit late, but I must comment:
Thank you. Finally someone in this government has realized the impact of immigrants on this society and country[mind you, founded by immigrants]. I am talking about the McCain-Kennedy Immigration Reform, and well [first] as a Californian and non-citizen, I can see the benefits. To my dismay, I know that more immigrant workers live through labor exploitation, fear of deportation, and discrimination. I must agree with Fair Immigration Reform M [FIRM] organizer Deepak Bhargava, who states,"No longer can the federal government defend the status quo of an immigration system which exploits hard working immigrants while breaking their dreams and dignity everyday...America deserves an immigration system that reflects our values of fairness and equality."
I found a website that, although anti-immigrant, contains alot of information about McCain and Kennedy's reform proposition. You can see the site here : http://cayankee.blogs.com/cayankee/2005/05/mccainkennedy_i.html
The act named the 2005 Secure America and Orderly Immigration Act proposes to:

Allow illegal immigrants to apply for temporary work permits that could last for six years. They would have to clear criminal background checks, pass an English language test and pay a $2,000 fee to qualify.

At the end of the six years, they and their families could apply for permanent resident status, and five years later for citizenship.

Also allow foreign citizens to apply for low-paid jobs that Americans do not want to do from outside the country. If the worker lost his job, he would have 60 days to find a new one or return home.

In the site posted above, the author says that the act is disguised as an amnesty. In my opinion, amnesty never did anything but help. True, American taxpayers face the consequences of paying for illegal immigrants to receive "X" benefits- but they also pay for frauds within their own government system led by high-ranking men and women. However, this act seems to help the American economy.

Think about it. For example, the Mexican immigrant worker: he works extremely hard every single day [or at least 6 days out of the week], and then where does his money go? American economy- or, he sends the remaining to his family. Down in Mexico- where does THAT money go? American economy too. These families now have access to stores like Walmart and warehouse stores that in turn benefits the U.S. economy[profit].
Since the rise of stores like these, Mexican families are rushing to get American products.

Anywho, the immigration act differs GREATLY from the Real ID act. The latter equates immigrants to terrorists, when this isn't even the case! We are not terrorists. We are people seeking the "American dream."
But what IS this American dream??? Apparently, this dream is restricted to immigrants from only 200 years ago. Just because we seek citizenship at a time that seems [frustratingly] impossible, have we no right to hope? To hope that one day we stop facing discrimination in the workforce [for those who luckily have a job], to hope to give our children a future many of us will never experience.

I hope you read this with an open mind, for I believe that the immigrants have now become the backbone of the American economy.

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