So I am driving and I see a hoarding with Uncle Sam, and the words "Press 2 for English". I am close to our northern border, not the southern one, but the fear factor even here is English is becoming a second language. It's on TV, radio and the papers more and more - the immigrants from the south are overrunning us. Our hospitals and other infrastructure cannot cope. And on and on.
For a nation of immigrants, the average American knows little about our immigration laws. Like to become a US citizen and acquire the right to vote, it takes immigrants a multi-step process which winds through 10+ years with our red tape. That plenty of people carry US permanent residence (green cards) but have little interest in becoming US citizens. In our mobile world, it is just a back up for them - many of them only come to the US once a year to preserve the privilege. That the easiest way to become a US immigrant is to marry a US citizen. Or through sheer luck - through a "diversity lottery" we run each year for 50,000 slots (termed diversity to favor immigrants from low density countries - Mexico, India, China and a few other countries which have had significant recent immigration slots are excluded).
Our immigration policy needs tweaking, not major overhaul. It has worked for decades and has produced generation after generation of leaders and upstanding citizens. But if we are afraid of being run over by people who come here for labor, let's be just as questioning of those through love or lottery.
I would rather take those who break their backs in our orange groves and restaurants. Or the guy who pumped my gas (in Oregon as in NJ, they only have full service) and was surprised - then delighted and profusely thankful for the $ 2 tip I gave him.
