North America was colonized by Britain, France, Spain and the Dutch largely for political and economic reasons, not as an outlet for religious expression. Unfortunately, many colonials nurtured a bias against persons who came later to our shores. Benjamin Franklin asked in 1751: “Why should Pennsylvania, founded by the English, become a colony of aliens, who will shortly be so numerous as to Germanize us, instead of our Anglifying them?” Today, that question is asked … why should the United States, founded by Europeans, become a country of aliens, who will shortly be so numerous as to globalize us, instead of our Americanizing them? While there are no easy answers, that should not deter us from seeking solutions to our current problem.
We desperately need immigration reform now, but that reform must address politics and economics. Sadly, there is no real incentive for Congress to start reforming immigration policy.
Democratic legislators are too wedded to sloganeering (“Abolish ICE!”) and luring immigrants to their party to deal with political questions. Republican legislators continue to welcome cheap immigrant labor and ignore the economic issues associated with immigration.
So what we get instead are congressional Band-Aids, sound bites and deportations. Like most Americans, I support a secure border, a workable path to citizenship and humane treatment of those seeking to enter our country. With nearly 70 million displaced persons worldwide (13 million under the age of 18) looking for a new home, we desperately need immigration reform to avoid an even larger political and economic crisis in the future.
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Keep the discussion civilized. Absolutely NO personal attacks or insults directed toward writers, nor others who make comments.
Keep it clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, racist or sexually-oriented language.
Don't threaten. Threats of harming another person will not be tolerated.
Be truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone or anything.
Be proactive. Use the 'Report' link on each comment to let us know of abusive posts.
PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK.
Anyone violating these rules will be issued a warning. After the warning, comment privileges can be revoked.