So who is an American and what an America can or cannot do are questions which are critical to the issue of legalizing immigrants. Does being an American mean you cannot show allegiance to any other country? The images of people raising and waving Mexican flag had enraged many but it need not have. It should be accepted that people who come from different countries would forever hold in their hearts a deep respect and love for their homeland. However to put the interests of home country ahead of your adopted country or to work in a way that benefits the home country but not the new country would definitely cause serious concern. It would be definitely foolish to direct or guide the behavior of illegal immigrants regarding countries and allegiance, but they should be expected to not work against the interests of their adopted land. That is fair and should be seen as a trade-off when American citizenship is required.
President Bush took some steps to solve the problem of illegal immigrants. In 2004 he planned to allow about eight million illegal immigrants to achieve a temporary work permit that would make their stay in the United States as legal. This was a bold step and many illegal immigrants actually want to become legal in the United States. So they would get their legal status while the country would receive its taxes from them. Moreover this would bring a lot of illegal immigrant on record and would filter out any terrorists or people with other negative agendas. However this would only solve the problem of the illegal immigrants who are already within the borders of the United States. What about the ones that are continuously seeping in each day? For a sovereign nation it is important to have full control on the borders. Full control would prevent any person from seeping into the country. Some have also suggested the installation of landmines at the border to prevent any crossover. Many suggestions have been given which is a good sign but others who are lazy about fighting this should understand that protecting the...
(Woody West, p.56).
What needs to be done is that sufficient funding must be allocated for the border patrol force. The numbers should be increased and a strict eye should be kept on the borders. Another fundamental problem in the United States is its "birthright citizenship" which it offers to any child born in the United States. This is a law, which actually attracts many illegal aliens to the United States. They give birth to a child and their child becomes an American citizen. Like most of the other world, citizenship should be awarded to new born who has at least one parent who is a citizen of the United States.
Illegal immigration is a vast topic then and one that is definitely controversial at the moment. While we would never support criminalizing illegal immigrants, it would be safer to either deport the ones who appear to pose a threat to the country or simply allow them to work on temporary permits till they have gained some kind of status and can become a proper citizen. Demonstrations, protests and rallies are a way of expressing your viewpoint and that is exactly what illegal immigrants have been doing. But the country needs to understand what is really important and how much flexibility will be effective both for country's security and to the cause of illegal immigrants.
References
Johnson, Leahy Colleen. Growing Up and Old In Italian-American Families, page 223, 1985
Michael T. Lempres. "Getting Serious about Illegal Immigration." National Review 46.3 (1994): 52.
Ted Hayes. "Illegal Immigration Threatens U.S. Sovereignty, Economy and Culture." Insight on the News 16.36 (2000): 46.
Michelle Malkin. "Dismissing the Dangers of Illegal Immigration." Insight on the News 18.32 (2002): 46.
Woody West. "Illegal Immigration Threatens U.S. Future." Insight on the News (2003): 56
