Immigration Reform: Who is Going to Speak for the Invisibles?

The raging immigration reform debate has confused me so much that I don't know what to make of it: the guest worker program and felony charges for anyone staying here illegally. Then there is the talk about giving citizenship to undocumented workers who have been living here for more than a certain number of years. One policy says stay, and the other policy says get out.

To better understand the dilemma an illegal person is facing let me give you an example. A student comes to the hoping for a university education, great job, green card and a peaceful life. Things don't go as planned, he/she does not have an employer willing to sponsor for work visa (H1 or H2), and so the green card is out of the question. At the same time the visa expires, the person is unable to extend the visa and, not wanting to go back to the life at home, the person decides to stay. No social security number, no driver's license, no insurance for the person struggling to live and work at a job that no American wants to take. Then one fine day, the whole nation erupts saying that the person is here to rob the nation, taking away the jobs and, sucking the benefits system dry. What is that person to do? You tell me.

Another scenario: A poor farmer in Central America, struggling to feed his family, hears about the opportunities offers. He goes to an embassy to get a visa, but under which category? Skilled labor? He does not qualify for that. A person with exceptional ability? No. Among all of the visa categories for entry into the , he does not qualify for any of them. There is no "a person who is struggling to stay alive under poverty and apathetic government" visa category. Or is there such a category? He decides to come here the difficult way, cross the border through the Arizona desert, and live his life with an "illegal" tag.