Immigration Amnesty - Why is it "Legal" to be an Illegal Alien in America?

I want to make it clear from the start - I am all for those immigrants who come to America and follow the legal avenues to citizenship. That is what America is all about - being the "Land of Opportunity" the place everyone wants to be. If I were born elsewhere I would want to live here too.

It has become more apparent in recent years that America is overflowing with immigrants who choose to live in our country without pursuing American citizenship. These illegal immigrants increase our unemployment rates, increase the costs of our healthcare and education systems, and make things more challenging for those who come here legally with the intent to make a better life for themselves. According to "Ending Illegal Immigration.com" in 2008 there were 11.9 million illegals living in the country. 7.7 million illegals were employed in 2008, I'm sure these numbers are even higher today.

Those 7.7 million illegal workers cost Americans jobs and cost Americans reasonable wages. If the illegal worker will do the labor for less than minimum wage the offending Corporations have no incentive to pay a reasonable wage to the American citizens willing to also do that work.

Public schools are forced to hire interpreters to work with the children of these families to help them learn English, all at an added expense to American tax payers. Physicians and hospitals are also required to provide interpreter services to their non English speaking clients. This cost is picked up by the physicians and hospitals who must recoup their losses by passing the expense on to insured and cash pay patients. This adds to Americans costs as well.

President Obama just announced that his administration will no longer seek deportation of young illegal immigrants. This is a proclamation that he swore he could not enact just two years ago. But now, during an election year where his support is dwindling, Obama now has the power to enforce this act without the support of Congress? A definite ploy to get more Hispanic votes.

MSNBC reporter Michael O'Brien wrote the following in his report on this matter "Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano said that the shift represented neither immunity nor amnesty -- buzzwords for conservatives who oppose illegal immigration -- but instead represented an instance of "prosecutorial discretion" in which the government had re-evaluated its priorities in enforcing the law." What I find most ironic about this paragraph is his statement that he seems to be putting down conservatives who "oppose ILLEGAL immigration." Seems to me that most decent citizens would oppose anything which is ILLEGAL.

American tax payers spend a lot of money fighting illegal immigration, dealing with crime associated with illegals, and funding government programs that support the illegals while they are here.

As many as 80% of illegal aliens have commited crimes against Americans other than just being in our country illegally. This clogs up our court systems and increases our tax payer demand. Of the menacing criminal group of illegals another 40 % of them have committed violent crimes against our legal population. These violent offenses take a much more gruesome toll on American citizens. it is unacceptable to have these offenders in our country.

We may suffer in the political arena as well. Obama and his minions are fighting against Florida. Lawmakers are wanting to mandate that proper and legal means of identification be shown prior to an individual being allowed to vote. The Democratic argument against this is that we are discriminating against the individuals that are not savvy enough to obtain such documents. Come on folks - if you cannot obtain an ID card then odds are you aren't smart enough to find your way to the voting booth in the first place. Everybody has to obtain a social security card to be legally employed, a drivers license to drive legally, and you get a legal birth certificate if you were born here. Why shouldn't you be required to prove that you are a legal citizen to vote here?

The term "illegal immigrant" itself states the immigrant is here illegally. Why can't Arizona, Florida, Georgia or any other state verify the immigration status of anyone suspected of being here illegally? If you or I were pulled over for a traffic violation and could not provide a drivers license or proper/legal ID we may be subject to incarceration until we could show who we are and that we were here legally. Why should it be any different for someone who appears to be of any other nationality? Should someone who cannot speak english be able to simply say "no comprende" not show ID, and expect to be able to go on about their day? That seems to be what the Democrats and Obama would like to happen. They have been battling Arizona for several months on this very issue.

With the new announcement from Obama - banning deportation of young illegal immigrants - illegal immigration essentially became legal on June 15, 2012.

To be considered, applicants must meet these criteria:

1. Were under the age of 31 as of June 15, 2012;
2. Came to the United States before reaching their 16th birthday;
3. Have continuously resided in the United States since June 15, 2007, up to the present time;
4. Were physically present in the United States on June 15, 2012, and at the time of making their request for consideration of deferred action;
5. Entered without inspection before June 15, 2012, or their lawful immigration status expired as of June 15, 2012;
6. Are currently in school, have graduated or obtained a certificate of completion from high school, have obtained a general education development (GED) certificate, or are an honorably discharged veteran of the Coast Guard or Armed Forces of the United States; and
7. Have not been convicted of a felony, significant misdemeanor, three or more other misdemeanors, and do not otherwise pose a threat to national security or public safety.

All legal Americans need to vote for those politicians who support States rights to check for legal status if the individual in question cannot provide sufficient proof of identification. We need to support the E-Verify system to check workers citizenship rights before they are given a job here. We need to demand that all immigrants learn English and not put it on the tax payers backs to pay for interpreter services. If you or I went to live in a foreign country we would expect to have to learn the language of that country in order to survive and thrive there. We should offer English as a second language to those here legally but if the immigrant declines then they must hire their own interpreter for schools, hospitals, and physicians clinics if they want or need that service.