Home » Archives » October 2007 » A Legitimate Exception
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10/03/2007: "A Legitimate Exception"
I have pretty strong opinions when it comes to the increasingly large problem we have with illegal immigration in this country. Unlike so many of my countrymen, I can still tell the difference between legal and illegal immigration, and while I support streamlining the process to accept legal immigrants, I also support strong enforcement of our existing policies - including the exportation of those who have chosen to come here illegally.
To me, it doesn't really matter what you've done in this country if you chose to cross the border illegally. I don't care how hard you've worked, or how many children you've had, or how fully you've integrated yourself into American culture or how dependant you've become on your morning Starbucks fix - if you're here illegally, that fact can trump all the others.
But that doesn't mean it should do so automatically. As wrong as it is for some to insist that illegal immigrants have some kind of "right" to be here, it is also wrong for others to demand that every single one should be rounded up and immediately deported. Sometimes, it's going to require a case-by-case review.
A perfect candidate for such a review are the families of solders serving in the military. We are willing to let non-citizen immigrants serve - and sometimes, die - in the military. Possessing nothing more than a green card - and sometimes even less - we hand them a rifle and send them to God knows where to defend our country. Yet the families of these same solders can be deported while he serves overseas.
I'm not going to defend the idea of someone who is here legally, but temporarily, bringing their families to the country illegally, but I understand it. Service in the military has always been a fast-track to citizenship - and damned well should be! - and they hope to extend that permanent status to their families as well. The fact that the family is here illegally can't be changed, nor should it. But anyone who is willing to take a bullet for me has earned the right to at least have his case reviewed.
We as a country allowed illegal immigration to fester for generations, and we cannot fix it overnight. We must fix the problem, without a doubt, both by locking down our borders and streamlining our existing legal immigration processes. But we must do so with thought, intelligence, leadership and compassion. After all, when your front door mat says, "Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to be free" you create one hell of an obligation to those who accept the invitation - even if they snuck in through the unlocked side door.
