Immigration Rally

Rallys took place across the country yesterday calling for immigration reform. I would have like to have gone, but being pregnant and having a demanding toddler with a pretty rigid sleep/eat/poop schedule prevented me from going. In honor of May day, I'm going to share some more thoughts on immigration reform.

Talks about mass deportations scare me. I've already talked about the mass deportations that happened between the 1920's - 1940's. That kind of talk gives rise to serious racism and dehumanizes people. I, being part of the group in question do not want to lose my humanity, nor do I want that for my children.

Americans need to accept the fact that we have a serious dependance on illegal labor. When we can understand the magnitude of our dependance, we can then start having serious talks about a worker program or making work visas more accessable for the world's poor that want to come to make a new life here. We also need to hold employers accountable for the living and work conditions of the workers they hire. Legitimizing workers will force employers to treat them as human beings and help end the appauling abuse that is happening today.

The borders should be secured, but spending hundreds of millions of dollars on building a wall will probably not make a big difference. Making visas more accessable may help curb the influx of people as well as give the US more control over who is entering and who isn't.

I support an amnesty. Parents of american citizens, home owners, and business owners should take priority. Undocumented workers would be willing to pay fines, so go ahead and charge a fine to help pay for the cost associated with processing them. Anyone who has committed a crime, including DUIs should not be given amnesty and should be deported. Anyone given legal status through the amenesty should also be held to that standard. If you commit a crime, especially against another person, you should be deported.

That's about all I have to say. Our politicians need to take this problem seriously and come up with some workable solutions. My fear is that this is just another political hot button that's going to be used to drive the political parties further apart. This is a win-win situation for both parties. The democrats have finally found an issue that will bring Latinos to the polling booths, and republicans have found yet another topic that will instill fear in the hearts of middle class white america. Let's not get played people! I'm not going to vote for someone just because they show their face at a rally. Let me see what your ideas are, let me see that you really understand the problem and are willing to do something about it.