The Illegal Immigration Argument Marches On!

The United States still tussles with illegal immigration; and it seems that the states are making some progress despite the languor of the Federal government.

Utah is probably going to pass a bill that will allow illegal immigrants to stay in the state and work legally if they pass a criminal check, pay a fine of $2500, and apply for a permit from the state’s Department of Workforce Services. This program is very reminiscent of the Bracero Program that allowed alien Mexicans to come into the U.S. legally for limited periods between 1942 and 1964. Those Mexicans were imported temporarily to work in agricultural venues, for the most part. The Bracero Program decreased illegal immigration by 95% between 1952 and 1959.

My wife and I work with illegal immigrants twice weekly in a food bank; and there is one problem we see with this Utah solution: We do not know a single undocumented Mexican who can raise $2500 to pay the fine required. But…this idea of Utah’s is a start back to sanity on the part of the U.S. concerning illegal immigration.

The other disincentive for illegal immigration that is cooking through U.S. legislative channels is a move to eliminate the automatic awarding of citizenship to babies born to illegal immigrants in the U.S. About 340,000 babies are born to illegal Hispanics in the U.S. each year; and these “anchor babies” serve as justification for keeping their parents in the U.S. permanently, despite that fact that the parents are illegals.

If you wish to contribute to the passage of this kind of legislation, I would appeal to you to write to your Congressional representative and ask him/her to vote for and support the passage of the Birthright Citizenship Act of 2011 (H.R. 140).