By: Nancy Lee

Day by day we walk in the streets, not knowing who are those who belong to this country, and it is not the matter how good or naive they are, or their distinction in sex, race, color, and religion: they are illegal immigrants. By law they shouldn't be here. In addition, people judge them -- thinking that their rights disappear when they step in this country without permission. But either way, can we judge them because they want to earn, day by day, the money to satisfy their necessities? Is it right to judge that?

Illegal immigrants work helping the productivity of the economy to progress because they are crucial to agriculture, industry, and tourism of the U.S., and it is not a taboo that they do all they work that nobody else wants to perform. Besides that, they take as few free benefits as possible, because they don't want to be caught by the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS). People immigrate here almost for the same reason: to live the "American Dream." So next time that you are walking in the street, you should become conscious that the world is full of different people from different places, illegal or not, and now you both share the same street and the same nation.

The United States is a nation built by immigrants. Whether they are legal or not, they helped to form this nation. We clearly know what is legal, however, do we know the real concept of an illegal alien? It is not hard to explain. It is a person who is in the in the United States without the government's consent. Many people believe that illegal aliens are only Mexican, but that is not the reality nowadays. They come from all of the places in the world. They may simply be called "undocumented immigrants," because they don't posses any document that demonstrates their legal situation. Anyhow, they are people who cross the Mexican or Canadian border without permission, visitors that overstay a visa, or violate its terms, and people with tourists visas that work. Permanent residents that committed a serious crime, and haven't been yet deported, are considered illegal aliens as well.

Illegal immigrants are not here in this country because they are willing to be in the country. It is because they feel compelled to have a better outlook for their families and for themselves, to change their lifestyles, to have a bright education, a healthier quality of life, because of the job opportunities. They may be here because of the poverty of their countries, any kind of war, lack of freedom, or oppression in their countries, or just because they aspire to live the famous "American Dream."

A lot of citizens feel that is unfair that undocumented immigrants reside in this country for the simple reason that they are stealing the nation's profits, or taking advantage of social services provided for the legal residents. That is only partially truth, because only Medicaid and limited food benefits are available to illegal immigrants, and most don't apply for these because thy fear detention by the INS" (Cozic, 69). So it is false that illegal immigrants harm this nation.

As they have motives to settle here, they as well have motives to leave. They work hard for a payment below the minimum wage. In addition, they suffer exploitation from their employers who may make their life miserable and sad, who make them always afraid to be reported by the INS. Another issue is that they often can't speak English, and it is complicated to learn. It is hard when you don't study it every day, because you have to work, and it makes the illegal aliens feel frustrated. Discrimination may be one of the greatest objectives that make illegal aliens jeopardize their integrity, and their values. Moreover, in San Diego County some illegal immigrants don't even have a safe place to eat, nor sleep. They reside under bushes, in the canyons near the fields where they work. Besides, they are an easy target to be seriously hurt, murdered or raped (in the case of the women).

If the government desires to lend a hand to the illegal aliens within the United States, it should be starting by creating laws that allow giving visas to work in this country, because many people would love to reside in the place where they like to live, and work in the United States.

Moreover because the population of illegal immigrants has increased over the past years, the government of California wanted to launch the Proposition 187, a ballot initiative that would prohibit undocumented immigrants from receiving public health care, education, and social services (Cozic, 119). This affected the state, dividing it into two sides while the government discussed it. "Illegal aliens are not eligible for most benefit programs, including Supplementary Security Income, Aid to Families with Dependant Children, food stamps, unemployment compensation, and financial assistance for higher education" (U.S. General Accounting Office, GAO/HEHS-95-22-3). If the government of the United States wants illegal aliens to be smart, and contribute to the progress of the country, they should allow the them to go to school or be admitted to colleges, so they can obtain any kind of jobs that will develop this country. The government also should provide illegal immigrants with health care, because this government wants people healthier and to be able to work.

We should help each other as human beings in bad or good situations, we should extend a hand to those people who need us, and especially when they are not as wealthy as us. We are equal under god's eyes and we should learn to see beyond the limits and the land. The U.S.A. is a nation of immigrants. People came thousands of years ago to declare their independence here, and settle their new lives here; why not have the same action again?

We think that they don't deserve our help because some of us haven't yet suffered the hardships of a poor county, and we think that they are taking our jobs away. But which jobs? If we don't like to do all those things, immigrants will do what it takes to reach their goals. It is not just the dreams, it also has to deal with the hope of their families. If only we would understand what it is leave our country, give up everything, enter to a hostile place, work really hard to survive, be the hope of others, and be discriminated for the simple reason that they wish for something better. We should imagine ourselves in that position -- it wouldn't be a good experience.

The world has fallen in love with western civilization, because of its progress, its technology, its variety of culture, and its productivity. If we could share with others, it wouldn't be so hard to live in this world, but it is kind of impossible since sometimes people will feel superior. People may disagree with me, but we all know that has truth and we can't deny it. We have to take the responsibility of what we decide. We would have a satisfactory feeling if we helped illegal immigrants. My point is that the power to help people is in our hands and it depends on us to use it.

Sources:

Bean, Frank D. "Illegal Alien," The World Book Encyclopedia. Vol. 10, 1999.

Chavez, Leo R. Shadowed Lives: Undocumented Immigrants in American Society. Orlando, FL: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1992.

Conover, Ted. Coyote. New York, NY: Random House, Inc., 1987.

Cozic, Charles P. Illegal Immigration: Opposing Viewpoints. San Diego, CA: Greenhaven Press, Inc., 1997.

Epstein, Edward. "Push for Immigration Pact," San Francisco Chronicle, September 7, 2001, p A3.

Greenhouse, Steven. "Labor, in Switch, Urges Amnesty for All Illegal Immigrants," New York Times, February 16, 2001. International.

Hans, Johnson P. Undocumented Immigration to California: 1930-1993. California: Public Policy Institute of California, 1996.

Hafizov, Ildar. Counselor of Immigration, Interview at The International Institute of San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, October 25, 2001.

Illegal Immigrants: Assessing Estimates of Financial Burden on California, United States General Accounting Office, Washington D.C., 1994.

Purcell, Edward. Immigration. New York, NY: Orxy Press, 1995.

The Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act. Immigration and Naturalizations Service, October 10, 2001. www.ins.usdoj.gov/graphics/howdoi/illegal.htm

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