Legal Immigrants Question the Wisdom of Amnesty
Independence Hall Tea Party, Philadelphia
Greta Montes Scriboni
July 4, 2010
…I would like to share some sobering statistics regarding the impact of illegal immigration on our nation’s economy:
- Currently it is estimated that there are over 11 million illegal immigrants in the United States, which equates to illegal immigrants holding 1 in every 20 jobs.
- Illegal immigrants fill:
- 25% of all agricultural jobs.
- 17% of all office and house cleaning positions.
- 14% of construction jobs.
- 12% of food preparation positions. (1)
It is time for grown-up leadership in Washington and in Philadelphia regarding the issue of illegal immigration. In his recent speech, President Obama stated that the immigration system is broken. And he called for a “pathway to citizenship” for the millions of “undocumented workers” in the U.S. But does anyone believe that providing a pathway to citizenship, also known as amnesty, is going to stop illegal immigration? I believe providing amnesty to over 11 million illegal immigrants is only going to encourage more illegal immigration!
Even in our own city of Philadelphia, Mayor Nutter is refusing to make the tough decisions and to follow the rule of law. Mayor Nutter wants to block U.S. Immigration and Custom Enforcement officials from having full access to arrest records for fear of discouraging illegal immigrants from coming forward to report crime. Mayor Nutter believes that illegal immigrant informants will fear deportation. Mayor Nutter, it is not leadership to kowtow to illegal immigrants for fear that they will not report crime. Pockets of crime should be rooted out and perpetrators arrested and when appropriate deported, on a routine basis. Mayor Nutter’s approach does not demonstrate leadership, but rather it is the continuation of complacency and neglect in the enforcement of immigration laws.
Over 1 million immigrants enter the United States legally each year. They know that to live the immigrant experience is an honor and a tribute to our Republic, for it is a chance to live the American Dream. Legal immigrants do not take freedom for granted. They do not feel the government was created to take care of them. They believe it is their honor and duty to care for our country. Like anything that requires great effort to achieve, it is greatly valued and cherished.
My parents and four of my siblings were legal immigrants from Honduras, Central America. It was their dream to become naturalized citizens. In order to achieve this dream they were required to do the following:
- Wait their turn to enter the United States, through the quota system
- Post a bond to ensure they would not be a financial burden to taxpayers
- Go to classes to learn about American history and the US Constitution
Our family wanted to assimilate into the American culture, by speaking English, participating in boyscouts and girlscouts, playing football and baseball, trying out for cheerleader, making the honor roll, and working summers to buy our first car.
From my conversations with many legal immigrants, I believe they think it unwise and unfair to give amnesty to the millions of illegal aliens living in our country. They understand that our immigration system and its laws were developed to assimilate immigrants into our American culture, not to change our culture or accommodate special interest groups. Our immigration laws protect our economy, our society and our national security. Legal immigrants do not believe in politicizing this issue. They understand that amnesty is just an expedient way of buying votes. They support following and enforcing the rule of law!
And so, in closing, I ask you to stand with Conservatives like Arizona Governor Jan Brewer, who believe in defending the laws of our country. Please send this message to Washington and to City Hall:
“Do your job, secure our borders!”
(1) Number of Illegal Immigrants Hits 12M Mar 7 02:38 PM US/Eastern
By STEPHEN OHLEMACHER
Associated Press Writer published on Breitbart