Dear Senator,
The immigration "compromise" bill being considered in the Senate this week is all wrong. It illustrates the dangers of compromise, of "getting something done" over the careful consideration of fundamental principles. Rather than embody the best features of differing views, it gets only the worst. Rather than drive real, meaningful, restorative change, it depends our entrenchment in a broken system.
This country was founded by immigrants. This country has been built by immigrants. The uniquely diverse American culture is the product of all the different cultures welcomed to come together and share their unique character under the canopy of common ideals. The foundation of America is the power of a vast collection of unique individuals, and fundamental principles of liberty and justice, equally applied, valued above all else. Without immigration, America would never be. This is why immigration policy is perhaps our most important national issue, second only to national defense as the priority for our Congress.
Our current system is, without doubt, broken. It is far easier to immigrate illegally than legally. Illegal immigrants become trapped in an existence without options, which leads to a great many bad things. Those that strive to be legal immigrants face high hurdles and irrational processes with arbitrary restrictions and intolerably long delays. Clearly, something needs to be done.
This bill is completely wrong. It rewards those who have broken the law, and makes it even more difficult for those that wish to do the right thing. It disrespects the generations of immigrants who have built America: it says "your contribution is no longer needed" by creating more barriers to legal immigration. It reinforces the largest flaw in our current immigration policy: it rewards those that ignore the law. Worse than that it says "you may come here to clean our houses and pick our produce, but don’t bring your ideas". That’s not the right approach. What needs to be done is fix the immigration policy, for real.
Some parts of the bill appear to move in the right direction, but upon inspection reveal flaws. The point system, while presented as a mechanism to attract more desirable immigration, in fact is in fundamental conflict with the basis of our laws: that law and policy apply equally to all people. The system as detailed in the bill is modeled after the system in Australia, which is profoundly unjust and equally unwise. Is Australia the most productive nation in the world? No. Their system of immigration does not server to build a better nation.
American history shows the folly of Australia’s system: the greatest contributors to economic growth did not come here wealthy, skilled or educated. Our greatest non-native innovators brought with them only their desire to rise above the circumstance of their birth and their belief that America was the place where they could do that. They came here, became educated, acquired skills, drove innovation, and changed the world.
We should honor and respect those that have built America. But more to the point, we need to continue in our great tradition, continue to be the place were freedom and opportunity drive innovation. This bill is an affront to all those who did the right thing, came here despite hardship and struggle, came to abide by the law. It reflects, in many ways, how completely out of touch those of you in Congress have become to the world of the rest of us.
Consider an example: in California, out-of state tuition at a State University is $15000 per year greater than for a California resident. Legal foreign students pay the out of state rate, plus an additional fee. Some Senators have suggested we should mandate that illegal immigrants be given in-state tuition rates. What message does this send to our college students? Break the law - it’s much cheaper. The process for getting INS approval for our student was arduous and expensive, and filled with unexplained delays and irrational restrictions. For example, our student has not visited his family in Poland for 4 years, because the INS has told us if he leaves the country he will not be allowed to return. They have given no explanation. Clearly, this is wrong and something needs to be done.
Illegal immigration is a modern form of slavery. We have an oppressed class of people with few opportunities to rise above the circumstances they find themselves in. That is as opposite of the American ideal as can be. That is a class-based society in which a class of people will never have the freedom to dream, stretch, achieve and change the world. The provisions in this bill maintain this system of oppression. The guest worker program, for example, ensures a ready stream of low skilled workers who would lack the legal rights of a citizen, but more importantly, lack exposure to the culture which will enable them to one day become more than low skilled workers.
No, this is not the American way. The system we have is, without question, broken. But this bill doesn’t fix what is broken. It won’t streamline legal immigration. In fact it further punishes people who are trying to do the right things. It preserves the dysfunctional policies and organizations now in place. It does little good, but perpetuates the injustice of our present system, and in so doing threatens a fundamental element in America’s greatness – the ability of any individual to see beyond the present and make a new future. Please, vote “NAY”, reject this politically opportunistic bill and do all in your ability to convince your colleagues to defeat this bill. It may not be easy, but it is what is right. Then sit down with your colleagues and get to work: come up with real solutions that reflect American as it has been and as we wish it to remain: the finest example of a free, open, diverse, innovative and prosperous people collectively forming a society where the rights endowed upon all people by their creator are respected above all else, that respect being what define America. It won’t be easy. But it is the right thing to do.