Immigrants deserve rights

By NICOLE DONNER

Since the issue of immigration has arisen, many have bashed immigrants and their pursuit of happiness. They have been accused of skipping out on taxes, stealing welfare and Medicare from citizens and taking jobs under the table for very little pay.
People blame those who cross the Mexican border of being lazy and skipping the entire citizenship process.
These claims are entirely untrue and are not the issue when it comes to the topic of immigration.

Programs such as Medicare and welfare are unavailable to those who are not U.S. citizens, so they are not stealing money from America’s poor. As for taxes, employers are sometimes required to take taxes straight out of employees’ checks before the employees get the money. And, really, should we blame the immigrants because of sleazy corporate hounds who hire these people, work them to the bone and pay them thousands less than what an average American earns? The Mexican immigrants are not the criminals; several of America’s corporations are.

The number of illegal immigrants in America is not a reason to put up barriers to protect the U.S. border, but to take the borders down and assist those who are so desperate as to risk their lives and their families’ lives to live here.

The immigration process includes rigorous tests of knowledge of America’s history, government and other things. On top of those tests are mountains of paperwork to be filled out and a three-year waiting period for all applicants. Many don’t have three years to wait to live a life that can be theirs. This is evidence of why people are desperate enough to face the odds and live here illegally.

I believe we need to change our system, make our system more inviting to people who want to live here and make a difference. To pluck out the illegal immigrants who already live, work and play here seems excessive and ludicrous. Threats to have them deported and jailed will not bring them out of hiding. Instead of fighting them, we need to give them a chance to earn their citizenship.

I believe immigrants should register as “non-citizens” and work their way to becoming U.S. citizens. We need them as much as they need us. Is it possible for America to live without these poor souls, working away in strawberry fields beneath a hot sun with small meal breaks and even smaller pay? They do jobs Americans would never do on their own, yet Mexican immigrants have enough pride to do them for us. Can our economy withstand the extraction of Mexican immigrants? Sixty percent of California’s economy depends on its agriculture alone and one-third of their population is of Mexican descent. Undoubtedly, we would have to make a major adjustment to their absence and it’s an adjustment many Americans would not want to make.