Immigration reform continues to be one of the most pressing and politically sensitive domestic issues that America faces. It is estimated that more than twelve million illegal immigrants live and work the United States. While different measures are being taken to stop the influx of more immigrants, one imminent and pressing question is: What should be done with the illegal immigrants that are already here?
Question: Do you think that the illegal immigrants who are already living and working in America should be issued amnesty if they voluntarily come forth, complete the immigration process, and pay some assessed penalty? A penalty or restitution can be based upon what taxes have or have/not been collected, based upon the wages paid, or the assessment of a flat citizenship fee.
What do you think?
Comments
A fair solution
I think that if an individual is willing to admit their wrongdoings, and come forth to legally become a citizen, then go for it. If we do not give these individuals a chance to come forth without any huge penalty, we can't take the steps necessary to inch towards lowering prejudice, and making this country fair for every legal U.S. citizen. If these people do not come forth, and do the work to become a citizen, they will just be taking advantage of the benefits from our government and occupying jobs that legal citizens need to support their family. I think this is a great idea and needs to be implemented as soon as possible!
Let them contribute to the USA
I feel that anyone who is willing to work and contribute to the productivity of our country should legally be allowed to live in the USA. Look at how many citizens live in the USA and are constantly looking for government handouts. Our country is being led down a road where people get rewarded for sitting around and not contributing to our country. We wonder why our country is in so much debt and yet we want the government to solve our credit problems. By allowing immigrants to come and be citizens at least we would be able to have more people contributing to our government. Why should we send immigrants away when they are willing to take the jobs that most of us won't?
Immigration Reform
I believe that illegal immigrants already living here in America should have to come forward and pay some sort of fine based on the amount of time spent in America illegally. I understand that they want to come to America to have a better life. I have no problems with immigrants who do try and get their citizenship correctly and earn an honest living. But sneaking across a border is not the way to do it. Do it legally, and the way that is ethically correct. Coming here and living here without having to pay taxes is not right either. The government can probably find some ways to allow the ones already here to stay.
Immigrants
I believe that illegal immigrants that are already living in the United States should come forth and be honest. They should have to pay a penalty and complete the immigration process properly. I understand the want and need to live in a country that has ample job opportunities and freedom, but it's only fair that everyone has to go through the same process to recieve all of the benefits. To others that have not migrated to the United States but want to may not agree with this statement. From their perspective, if other people can illegally come over, get jobs and make a life here in the United States,why should everyone else have to go through the legal system to do the same? This topic is a touchy subject. Depending on what side you are coming from, things can be seen at the complete opposite ends of the spectrum, and this is what causes conflict in our society today.
Give em a chance!
I believe that giving amnesty to honest illegal immigrants who have completed the immigration process, and pay an assessed penalty fee is completely FAIR and in fact a brilliant solution to the issue. If someone wanted so badly a better chance for economic success, better education for their children, or just to live in America, that they would risk persecution to do so, then why not offer them a second chance to do so legally.
Final thought!!
Well I definitely understand your point about being fair to these illegal immigrants.But let us look at it at large.How many of these people will you give amnesty to?What criteria will u determine who qualifies to receive one and who does not.My point is if you are trying to help out those who already here,this will create a domino effect, and consequently pave the way for more illegal immigrants to influx the country.Am sorry but life can be unfair at times so you have to use all the resources available at your disposal to avoid being a prey of this unfairness.What about those who came in legally after spending God alone knows how much to process their documents?Is life fair to them too that other illegal immigrants should be forgiven and helped to settle here?Of course not.Therefore,I stick to my initially opinion that giving amnesty to illegal immigrants is not a very reasonable idea.
We need reform now
I understand your concerns regarding the difficulties with requirements, but I do not think that should be a reason to deny someone the opportunity to contribute to the country. Looking through the strict laws that are currently in place it is difficult for me to believe that most legal residents would complain about amnesty being unfair. Currently, to be considered for residency you must either have a close relative willing to vouch for you, have an employer sponsor your application, or be considered based on a humanitarian reason.
There has to be a more effective and reasonable way to deal with our undocumented population. The path to become a legal resident needs serious reform, especially considering how some states have taken it upon themselves to create anti-immigrant laws. I believe that amnesty would be a good start in the right direction. Additionally, I just don't find deportation to be a plausible solution because of the millions of undocumented immigrants currently living in the United States.
Amnesty?
I believe that illegal immigrants who are already living and working in our country that come forward and accept the penalty in exchange for amnesty should absolutely be accepted and granted amnesty. In my opinion, if these immigrants are coming forward, they obviously have nothing to hide. They aren't criminals or delinquents and they are working hard to provide for their family and can finally give back to the country that has given them an opportunity for a new life. They would no longer have to live in fear of being found out and possibly deported. They could become legal citizens and have the same rights of every other American citizen. This is the best of both worlds for both the immigrants and our country because the immigrants get to stay and work better jobs while receiving all of the personal rights while the country and its people benefit from the hard work these immigrants are doing. However, this should not take the place of the naturalization process which new immigrants coming into the country should still have to go through. This should only apply to those immigrants who were already in the country when the law was enacted.
The Obama administration
The Obama administration announced Thurs that it will revise the nation's deportation plan. Many of the almost 300,000 illegal immigrants now facing deportation will be allowed to stay and will be given the possibility to apply for work visas.Those with criminal records or could be a threat to public safety will be weeded out, claims the administration. This is going to keep some immigrants from taking out huge loans for legal help. This is big. In the midst of state anti-immigration legislation issue, tons of deportations, discrimination by the right, things are finally beginning to look up for undocumented students and other immigrants out of status who have been working and living as Americans for years.
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