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Don't let fear drive legislation

By ANDREW SKERRITT
Published June 5, 2007

So you want to ship those millions of illegal immigrants back where they came from?

You want to build a 1, 000-mile wall along the Mexican border? Protect us from terrorists?

You're frustrated that Mexicans, Salvadorans, Guatemalans and others are taking jobs, sending all their money back home. I can understand that.

No wonder you disagree with legislation that is being considered in the U.S. Senate that would bring 12-million illegals out of the shadows, that would create a guest worker program to open the door to people who just want to come to work.

Fear has dominated our national dialogue since Sept. 11, 2001. The loudest, extreme voices get the most attention. I couldn't escape the vitriol even while I was on vacation last week.

Thankfully, there are many Americans willing to keep an open mind. Illegal immigration is the price we pay for being better off than everyone else. People will always want to come to America.

The current system doesn't really work and we're not sure how to fix it. I and others just want something that's fair and makes sense.

As most of you know by now, I'm an immigrant. It colors my view on this issue. I came for college from the Caribbean more than 20 years ago and ended up staying - legally. I'm not one of those who believe that I should remove the ladder after I've climbed up. I believe immigration is good for this country. I believe, like most Americans, that immigrants as a whole add more than they subtract.

So it won't surprise you to hear that I'm swallowing hard here I agree with President Bush on this one. We need to make the law abiding hordes of undocumented immigrants legal. We need to find a way - call it amnesty if you want - to allow those who have been in this country and have made their homes here, who have children born here and who have deep roots here, to stay. Amnesty would allow them to pay a nominal fee to gain permanent legal status.

What the Senate is proposing is more like punishment. But it's a price many of these folks would be willing to pay to end their legal uncertainty.

Unfortunately, the guest worker proposal, expecting people to leave after two years, is unrealistic and needs tweaking.

We need a system that works. It might make some people feel good to hear about immigration crackdowns, agents raiding factories and detaining hundreds of people. But that's not sustainable in the long run. It's not like native-born Americans are lining up outside for the jobs immigrants are doing - even if the pay were $15 a hour.

Some of the current immigration reform proposals are trying to salve anti-immigrant fears by trying to attract skilled immigrants at the expense of family members and unskilled workers. Whatever happened to our talk of family values? What happened to bring us your tired, your poor?

This country must never close the door to people who come empty handed. They help keep the American dream alive, the desire to start from the bottom and aspiring to reach to the top. They help shatter old racial myths - color isn't an excuse to fail.

Some folks don't want to accept it, but we'll always be a nation of immigrants. If they don't like that, then they should try living somewhere else.

Andrew Skerritt can be reached at (813) 909-4602 or toll-free at 1-800-333-7505, ext. 4602. His e-mail address is askerritt@sptimes.com.

[Last modified June 5, 2007, 00:45:03]