Illegal Immigrants

The media magnifying glass has been on the subject of illegal aliens recently. We've seen hundreds of thousands of
people leave their jobs for a day to petition the US government to provide amnesty to those who have entered the
country illegally but contribute to American society. The argument is that these folks want to be Americans,
contribute to the American way of life, take jobs that are either unwanted or underpaid, and are of indespensable
utility to the US. For this reason, illegal immigrants should not be prosecuted, and should instead be made full
citizens and given the right to vote.

This just doesn't sit right with me. It's not that I have something against people wanting to become American
citizens. I think that's fantastic. It shows just what a great country we have the people are falling over
themselves to break in and become Americans. What bothers me is the attitude that, if enough people do something
illegal over a long enough period of time, we should just accept it. There are literally millions of people in
the United States who broke the law to get here. To give up on our legal system and just say, "Ok, you beat the
law, so you win" sends a terrible message. It's sets a precedent for other types of unlawful behavior to become
acceptable. What other difficult to enforce laws are going to hit with this same reasoning?

Here's an analogy. Imagine someone breaks into your home in the middle of the night. They wash your dirty dishes,
vacuum your floors, and generally tidy up around the house. In the morning, you wake up, and find your house is
truly better for it, but aren't you a little creeped out that someone has invaded your home? What if the breakin
artist hadn't been so benevolent?

The system for gaining citizenship in the US is broken, there is no doubt about that. The solution, though, is
not to throw out our immigration laws but to find a way to allow those who want to be Americans and contribute
to our society to enter our country in an organized way. What makes our country great is not just our freedoms,
but our melting pot of cultures and peoples. The way to keep our brew going, so to speak, is to continue to bring
in people from all over the world to contribute to our society.

So to those out there in our country illegal, I'm sorry, but I can't sympathize with you. You have broken the law
and you should not simply be forgiven because so many other people have done it for so long. I have worked with
too many good people who have done the long and arduous paper shuffle to legitimately become citizens to allow you
to shortcut the system like that. I appreciate your desire to contribute to our society, and I do want you to
eventually be able to do that. Before you do, I beg you to come to our country in the free and clear.