The Immigration Issue: Then, Now, and Ahead

Lou Dobbs scares me. He is on a mission to raise awareness about the illegal immigrant population, and the cost of their being here. He suggests that we are not only taxing ourselves through the educational system, the healthcare system, and a variety of other ways that public institutions are being used by non-taxpayers. Today, I heard something from Lou that I'd not heard before: our natural resources, like water, are in danger from overpopulation. In response to the recent controversy over immigration over the summer, I decided to learn Spanish. Likewise, I suppose I should begin doing all I can to recycle, conserve water, and not pollute more than necessary.

If people are moving here from Mexico and Latin America, then they are moving here, and if they are going to stay, we should all do the best we can to make room for them. Otherwise, we will feel marginalized in our own country. Change is inevitable, so why not change for the better? For one thing, if we are going to have a large population of illegal immigrants, why aren't they made to pay taxes? According to CNN, the illegal immigrants are paid twice the minimum wage. I don't have a problem with learning a new language; I don't have a problem with immigration. I do have a problem paying taxes if others are not paying taxes. But how difficult is it to fix that?

Since the beginning of the United States, people who were here first didn't like those who were new. The Jews were not welcome; the eastern Europeans were not welcome, the Irish were not welcome; the Italians were not welcome. Now, the Mexicans are getting the same not welcome arrival, so how is this any different except for the space in time that it is happening? It seems that the problem that many US citizens have is with the fact that illegal immigrants aren't paying taxes, aren't screened for criminal backgrounds, and are commiting crimes here in the US once they leave their native countries.