Immigration,
Economy and National Security
By Siddique Malik
www.spreadfreedom.com
As
late as just over a decade ago, America held a
yearly immigration lottery open to foreigners
with each lottery winner getting a Green Card.
Originally, the requirements to participate in
this lottery were so lenient that some of the
winners couldn’t even read or write. Later,
the requirements were toughened a bit but were
still a far cry from what a country should seek
in potential immigrants. This lottery mechanism,
an ‘idiotic’ complacence in a complex
world, is now a thing of the past. However, America
continues to struggle with its immigration policy.
Time has come for America to clearly define what
it expects from immigration. Is it supposed to
be a lubricant for economy or a vehicle of family
unions, or both? Both these objectives cannot
be easily met unless visa quotas are expanded
and visa procedures streamlined. Moreover, in
the post-9/11 world, all immigration mechanics
must function within the straitjacket of national
security. Also, for the sake of fairness and compassion
(America excels at these qualities), mitigating
circumstances must be taken into consideration
while contemplating what the future will hold
for ‘illegal’ immigrants.
It has become fashionable to sympathize with undocumented
workers but in the same breath complain that they
have ‘broken our laws’. Hypocrisy
has the last laugh, as dinners are served in restaurants,
delicious fruits and vegetables purchased, lawns
mowed and houses built across America. How many
of us pause to think that some (if not all) of
these activities would have been curtailed if
not impossible, had it not been for these workers?
Why allow negativity to dampen our lifestyle?
It is not rocket science; it boils down to the
simple law of supply and demand. Get the ‘proponents’
of law to pick fruits in summer heat, and the
problem of ‘violation of law’ will
diminish. Why help ‘law-breakers’
break the law by retiring into the comfort of
air-conditioned living rooms?
If you claim to be concerned about the law, then,
sweat a little, but not in the ‘guardian
angel’ style stomping of the Mexican-American
border, because this is tantamount to treating
symptoms. Pick a few berries and thus help eliminate
the disease of the demand for ‘illegal’
immigrants.
In this shrinking world and the age of globalization,
it is madness to criminalize the activities of
those who are willing to take back-breaking jobs
at minimal wages and be extremely thankful about
it. We are ready to take political refugees from
anywhere in the world and pay them to settle in
America (I say this proudly and approvingly) but
is penury also not a form of persecution?
Who would get locked up in a trailer for hours
or walk for unending miles in the desert heat
(sometimes with infants), had it not been because
of utter desperation? The issue is no less related
with humanity than political persecution; it is
not a law and order problem. Therefore, building
fences and deploying national guards would be
an exercise in futility.
By its nature, immigration should be a civil matter,
not a criminal one, as it directly controls the
activities of people basically interested in becoming
cogs of our giant economic wheel. They take jobs
that no one wants but help create more jobs by
helping this wheel turn. Moreover, the matter
deals with an individual’s ‘inalienable
right to pursue happiness’. We need these
people as they bring their dreams (yes, they have
dreams, too) and energy into our economic system.
The pursuit of these dreams has made America what
it is today. How can we turn our back on history?
It is often said that today’s ‘illegal’
immigrants cannot be compared with America’s
early immigrants because they came here legally.
In those days, people in Europe just boarded the
ships headed towards the land of liberty. The
concept of passports and visas is a relatively
new concept. However, what has not changed is
potential immigrants' unwavering will to pursue
the American dream.
I am not glorifying ‘illegal’ immigrants
or downplaying legal immigrants but suggesting
humanization of our immigration laws. We should
install a temporary worker visa program as suggested
by President Bush; at least for citizens of Mexico
(neighbors deserve special treatment). At the
same time, we must also start the process of legalizing
undocumented aliens. This will necessitate raising
numerical caps on visas and work permits, especially
for foreign spouses and parents of American residents.
Otherwise, it will engender resentment in and
outside America. Also, the staff that processes
immigration applications should be increased so
as to quash the backlogs.
Now, a word or two about legal immigrants:
Legal immigrants have only two avenues to America,
skill based and family based. An educated person
with unique skills will always pick a legal method
to obtain a Green Card as would someone who is
lucky enough to be sponsored by a family member
in America. Their state of mind cannot really
be compared with the desperation of the desert-trekkers,
who do not fall in any of these two categories.
Therefore, when I hear one take it out on those
who work from dawn to dusk (albeit, with expired
or no documents) because one’s relative
is waiting for a call from the US consulate abroad,
I call one callous.
As millions of American visas are issued yearly,
one wonders about some visa recipients’
commitment to American values. More than worrying
about fortifying the Mexican border, we need to
establish a program to ensure that all those who
enter our great country are ready to jump into
the melting pot, emotionally, psychologically
and intellectually, not just in terms of amassing
wealth.
Immigrants to America should become ambassadors
of freedom and human dignity when they visit countries
of their birth. This is their duty to their original
countries and a way to pay back America for its
hospitality because when freedom spreads, America
benefits. We must ensure that we admit only those
who possess these epochal strengths.
Issuing of skill based and family based visas
without any determination of the visa recipients’
psyche will eventually ghettoize America, causing
security problems in the long term. The London
train bombers were all born and raised in the
UK, but by parents who failed to assimilate the
Western values, especially respect for diversity
and a civilized approach to religion. It is not
just a country’s majority that must bear
these traits; the minorities must do it, too.
Last but not the least, America must turn its
naturalization test and oath into a serious look
into the applicant’s heart and mind. It
goes without saying that the vast majority of
all those who come to America are decent, honest,
hardworking and fair-minded people, but America
cannot afford to be complacent in this arena.
Some of those who died in the World Trade Center
on 9/11/2001 were ‘illegal’ immigrants
who performed meager but essential jobs in the
elegant edifice. They died in an inferno caused
by those who came to America on legal visas. If
a tragedy like this occurred again, there would
be no consolation in the fact that it was caused
by someone who entered America legally.
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