Carole Ellen’s This I Belive Essay
Carole’s “This I Believe” podcast
Get Out, or Get Legal!
I believe that all illegal immigrants should be deported back to their original countries. Call me heartless, but the way I see it, if you are coming to our country illegally, you are disgracing our ancestors who came here legally. Though there are those who may have come here illegally, but they at least took the time to respect the American citizens and became one themselves. I believe that if it’s so important for these illegal immigrants to stay in our country, that they should become legal citizens. Instead, we are now supplying them with homes, contributing to their social security benefits, giving them free medical care, and other things that they benefit from. And where does that money come from for all of this? From the hard working citizens of the United States. We even have a bank, The Bank of America, setting up credit cards that you can sign up for without a social security number – which legal citizens have, directed towards those illegal immigrants. Along with the luxury of being able to have a credit card they are being employed and taking the jobs from American citizens who are trying to find a job. I believe that in order to have a paying job, no matter the income, you should be a legal citizen to the country that you are residing in.
I believe that it is not fair for those illegal immigrants who have decided to become legal to now have to pay for the others who will not follow suite. If they can do it, why can’t the others? It’s estimated that nearly 12 million illegal immigrants are residing with in the United States. Several of the illegal immigrants are coming here from a country where they are making less than two dollars a day. I believe that we, the legal American citizens should not have to hold responsibility for another countries poor form of government. Sorry that the United States has a way of feeding our poor and supplying them with as much as we can to help them get by. It’s not America’s fault that several illegal immigrants are leaving their home land and coming to the United States because their country is incapable of caring for them.
Back in 2005, there was an illegal immigrant parade in the United States showing that they, the illegal immigrants, were benefiting the United States by working in the factories, restaurants, and construction businesses. Well, they most certainly were not working at that time and benefiting the United States with the time that they wasted to try and persuade the American’s that they are beneficial. Instead they could have done something productive with that time, such as registering to become a legal citizen.
There are those who are escaping their homeland from war, but they more than likely have no intention on going back. But why do they have to escape to America? Aren’t there other countries out there that are a lot closer to them that they could flee to?
Instead of having the mentality that the United States and its legal American citizens are out to get them, how ‘bout they try really making themselves useful to all of us and becoming legal American citizens. I believe that the only people in this country that have the right to complain are those of legal American citizenship. If the illegal immigrants are not happy with the fact that we don’t want them here, taking up space, taking our jobs that we work hard to find, taking our tax dollars that we, the real American citizens work hard for – then they can get out, or get legal.
March 30th, 2007 at 12:57 pm
Nice work! I am glad to see that you did some research on the topic as well.
April 2nd, 2007 at 9:00 am
Dear Carole Ellen,
One of the many things I love about this country is our right to publicly disagree with one another and with our government. You and I have somewhat (not completely) different views on the subject of immigration. I often wonder how Native Americans respond to the stance of many European American immigrants to their country that others should not be allowed to immigrate unless invited. It was our most distant relatives (before our Ellis Island ancestors) who were this country’s first illegal immigrants.
Thanks for sharing your thoughtful essay with your podcast readers. I enjoyed reading your reasoning!
Best wishes–
Janet Swenson
Associate Dean
MSU College of Arts & Letters
April 2nd, 2007 at 9:57 pm
Carole,
Thanks for sharing your stance on this important issue. I notice that you are making an appeal here to the logic of what is or is not legal. Sometimes people equate what is legal with what is moral and just–and if I’ve understood correctly, that is the approach you are taking here. That is one part of the issue, and worth considering. But it’s also worthwhile, I think, to consider what is merciful and compassionate. I wonder: what kinds of things would have to occur in my life to motivate me to move far from home–away from family and friends, away from my language, away from opportunities and status, away from people who accept and respect me…and then to move to a place filled with strangers, many of them hostile; to live in fear of neighbors and authorities; to worry about how my most basic needs for food, shelter, and health will be met; to be stripped of my dignity and live as a member of an untouchable caste…what would have to happen in my life to make me consider such a move? These are the choices many of my new friends and neighbors here in my small town have had to make, and for them and for me, what is moral and just has become a more complicated question than we had imagined it could be.
Meanwhile, we are learning to work together, to become a community. It can be a struggle at times, but we see *mutual* benefit. We imagine a future together and are working toward a way to make that a legal reality.
Thanks for considering this perspective,
Leah
May 22nd, 2007 at 11:32 pm
I thank you to all who have commented on my speech. This topic is very close to me. My great grandmother was from Scotland and my great grandfather was from Italy. They moved to Calumet Michigan to start working in or around the copper mine up in the area. They were both immigrants, but came to the states legally. It took them both, 3 times to go through the system to finally be able to come to America. My father and his mother both came from a little country in Europe called Luxembourg. They too came here legally. I have such a strong opinion on this topic because immigration, legal immigration, is what brought my family to the United States. I don’t see how hard it is to wait to see if you can because a citizen. My family did it. My great grandparents came from very poor livings in their old countries, they almost died waiting to get their chance to change their lives, but they still waited. Out of respect for those who are waiting to come to the United States legally, we shouldn’t allow others to cut in front of them. It’s not fair to those who wait to be pushed aside.
March 4th, 2008 at 3:25 pm
Carole
I also believe that ppl should come here legal. Yes we are a free nation but we should only be free to those who have come here legal and are legal in the u.s.