The United States and Mexico Need to Improve Border Conditions

Max Weaver

            Excluding Native Americans, all of the persons living in the U.S. are immigrants.  The whole nation was built by immigrants.  Before the late 1800s, anyone could have settled in the states.  By 1882 the federal government began to make laws that controlled immigration.  It is estimated that between the year 2000 and 2001 the U.S. admitted more than 1 million immigrants and another 350,000 entered illegally.  After the 9/11 terrorist attack, the U.S. tightened down its security and many would-be immigrants felt unwelcome.

            Since 1994 3,000 have died at the U.S.-Mexico border.  The arid, hot desert climate that surrounds the border can be torture to many immigrants.  Temperatures can reach 120 to 130 degrees Fahrenheit and dehydration becomes eminent.  Coyotes smuggle illegals across.  It is a dangerous trade, but the job pays well. The illegals make their flights at night.  It is very dangerous.  Radical vigilantes terrorize certain areas from the border and they shoot to kill.  One must dodge both anti-immigrant groups and the Border Patrol.

            Many people try to cross illegally because they have concluded that going through the government takes too long.  They need money now so that their families can survive.  This process and can take months or even years.  It is less time consuming to cross illegally and then attain a fake ID inside the U.S.   The ports of entry need to improve.  Mexicans should be able to receive their VISAS as quickly as other persons, such as those living in the U.S.   It only takes U.S. citizens 6 weeks to receive their VISAS.  It is not possible for a lot Mexicans to support their families while waiting years for permission to leave the country to earn money.

            There are many who dislike the idea of immigration.  They claim that their jobs are being taken by the Mexicans.  They believe that companies will pay them a lower wage and therefore the Mexican would get priority over jobs.  If one would notice today, many immigrants work in fast food restaurants, poultry factories, Wal-Mart, and a lot of other jobs that a prospering U.S. citizen would hate doing.  The fact is if these immigrants were not here, a majority of the white population would be working in the factories, restaurants, and other lower wage jobs.  They would be packaging meat, taking fast food orders, picking up trash, and cleaning public areas.  These immigrants run the basics of our economy.  The economy would plummet without them. Mexican legal immigration needs to be easy as bending a wet noodle.  Mexicans need to support their families or they will die.  For those who want to simply live they should have equal opportunity and this needs to be a goal that one can easily achieve.

Increase the Mexican Immigration Quota

By Dirk Holsopple

            Rampant poverty in Mexico has caused millions of Mexicans from the lower end of Mexico ’s economic scale to attempt to come to the United States hoping for a better job. The number of Mexican immigrants allowed into the U.S. is far lower than the amount of people who wish to come. Economic refugees cannot wait 10 or 15 years, the typical wait, to come to the U.S. , so they come illegally. These immigrants typically pay “coyotes” around $2,000 to guide them across the border. Some coyotes simply abandon the immigrants in the desert to die. Those lucky enough to find a real coyote and reach the U.S. sometimes have to go into indentured service to pay the coyote. Even those who don’t indenture themselves are exploited. They have to work for extremely low wages without the guarantee of minimum wage. These immigrant workers allow companies to produce products more cheaply. They may take some jobs from Americans but Americans are not willing to do many of the jobs. Stopping illegal immigration without drastically increasing legal immigration would be economic suicide; there would simply not be enough factory and agriculture workers. The United States must greatly increase the number of immigrants allowed from Mexico to stop the exploitation of immigrants without destroying the U.S. economy.

Problems with Illegal Immigration

Gabriel Brunk

            As of late, the US has had an increasing problem with immigrants coming across the border from Mexico illegally, and the measures we have taken to stop the flow have done little to help.  The number of illegal immigrants entering the US has been rising continually over the past number of years, with few signs of slowing at this time.  The US needs to find some way to make legal immigration easier and cheaper, so that immigrants won’t have to feel that illegal immigration is the only option open to them.

            If the immigration process was somehow made quicker, it would make immigrants more open to this form of becoming a legal citizen.  Something that makes it difficult to become a citizen in the US is the long wait, which will almost surely take many years to finish the process.  If the process of citizenship was made quicker, that would make it seem like more of an option to many would-be immigrants.

            If the cost of citizenship was reduced, that would also help to make legal immigration seem like an option to many immigrants who would otherwise try to make it across the boarder illegally.  Many people who would like to become US citizens and work in the US don’t have the kind of resources to pay for the forms and entry fees that are needed to enter the US legally, so they see no choice but to come illegally.  Reducing the money needed to enter the country would increase the number of immigrants who would come to the US legally.

            Though these reforms may sound good on paper, they would be harder to bring around than one might think.  Even if it was possible to have these changes installed, there is still the question of whether it is our duty to change our laws to make immigration easier for people who break our laws in the first place.  Even though some Americans think like this, the people who enter our country illegally must be rather desperate to enter our country if they are willing to face the hardships that are needed to cross the southern border of our country.  Also, this country needs the immigrants to stabilize our economy, because they are willing to work in the jobs most people wouldn’t want to do, and for lower wages then Americans.

            Even though the immigrants who have entered the US illegally should be punished somehow, the immigration laws should be made more lenient; so that it is easier to come into the US legally than it is to enter illegally.  Once that barrier has been passed, the number of illegal immigrants would fall rapidly.  We should focus on fixing those problems, and that alone should help the problem with illegal immigration immensely.

Cooperating With Our Neighbors

Katelyn Shank

            I recently spent twenty-six days in the Southwest with the EMHS Discovery trip, and I spent three of those days intensely studying immigration issues.  An estimated four million illegal immigrants are entering the US at the Mexico border a year.  Though this seems like a horrible issue, we need to ask ourselves why this is happening and be open to reforming our immigration laws and helping Mexico with their economy in order to slow this migration. 

            Visiting Mexico for a day and speaking with families there, I have seen first hand the problems Mexicans are facing.  An average Mexican wage is 100 pesos a day or $10.00 a day in the US !  Though the prices of goods in Mexico may seem low, in proportion to what they make, the prices are quite high.  If America ’s wage-to-price ratio was the same, we would be paying $16.00 for 8 rolls of toilet paper!  Since charges are so high, Mexicans have to cut much needed foods like fruits, vegetables, and dairy out of their diets.  Mexicans are hungry and see promise and hope in the US markets.  Even if they get paid lower than minimum wage in America , they’re making probably double what they acquire in Mexico .  This also allows cheap goods for Americans, and companies like Wal Mart exist because of this cheap labor. 

            Mexicans also have a difficult time finding a job in Mexico .  I visited a Maquiladora, which is a US-owned factory where Mexicans make products for the US for very low wages.  This is one of the few options for job-seeking Mexicans, and this factory only employed 105 Mexicans.  Mexicans that work here work 9.6 hour days, and get a thirty minute break for lunch and ten minutes in the afternoon.  No wonder they come to the US to find jobs that most Americans wouldn’t think about doing.  Immigrants can easily find jobs like cleaning that may be “below us.”

            Some Americans believe that Mexicans are bringing drugs and violence into the US .  Other people claim they are terrorists.  Another problem is that the US pays for illegal migrants.  I believe that only a small fraction of immigrants are violent or dealing drugs.  We should not stereotype all migrants in this way.  When two women were asked what their one wish would be, they agreed that the discontinuation of drugs and violence in their city would be their wish.  Also, the fact that immigrants are risking their lives in order to cross into the US suggests they are not terrorists but are just trying to provide for their families. They either wait in Mexico to watch their families suffer, or risk their lives to save their families. 

            Since it is a fact that Mexicans are risking their lives to get into the US , I currently support programs that help keep them alive.  We spoke to the Border Angels which give water and shelter to immigrants suffering in the desert.  We also met with Grupos Beta, which is a Mexican federal government agency that provides booklets on how to survive in the desert and gives warning about how dangerous the desert is.  Matthew 25: 34-36, 40 says, “For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me… I tell you the truth, whatever you did for the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.”  I know that Mexicans and other immigrants are my brothers and sisters in Christ, and so I support efforts to feed, clothe, and care for them no matter what law they’re breaking.

            Though I support the care of the illegal immigrants, I think that a more long term solution is required.  I encourage everyone to become educated about the immigration issue.   Then I hope that our government will work on immigration reforms.  Family reunification, earned credit, and an increase in VISA distribution would be helpful.  Free travel between countries may cause a rush for a while, but then eventually stabilize.  The US also needs to work with Mexico to help them reform their government and economy so that Mexicans don’t have to leave their country.  God tells us to love our neighbors; what better way to demonstrate this love than to work together with Mexico , our neighboring country. 

"Help Illegal Immigrants to Become Citizens"

Leah Deputy

Too many immigrants who come to the United States are not finding the prosperous life and abundant opportunities that they intended to find.  This is particularly the case for illegal immigrants.  Many of these people immigrate to find better economic opportunity, join a family member, or to escape persecution in their homeland.  I know this is true because on a recent trip to Mexico I witnessed the struggles that people in third-world countries face.  I saw families living in horrible sanitary conditions and growing progressively poorer due to the decreasing value of the peso and outrageous prices on basic needs items.  These reasons for immigrating are dire and can not withstand a waiting period of up to twenty years for legal entry.  While I do not support illegal immigration, I believe that we must do everything possible to care for those who are struggling to realize their dreams here in the U.S.   One possible solution to this problem is the John McCain and Edward Kennedy immigration reform bill.

The McCain and Kennedy bill would improve the opportunities for illegal immigrants by allowing them to hold legal jobs and eventually gain citizenship.  They would be able to apply for temporary work permits, for permanent resident status, and then eventually for citizenship.  If a worker were to lose his or her job, he or she would be given sixty days to find a new job or return to his or her homeland.

However, passing a bill like the McCain and Kennedy bill may not be the best option in granting general amnesty to illegal immigrants.  In order to apply for the benefits previously listed, illegal immigrants must first pay $2,000 and pass an English test.  Some immigrants may not be able to afford this fee and aren’t proficient in English.  Secondly, receiving permanent resident status would require a six year waiting period, and gaining U.S. citizenship would require five years more.  Waiting eleven years to become a citizen and receive its benefits may be too long of a wait and inhibit those immigrants of being successful in the U.S.

Though illegal immigration is not permissible, the U.S. should do everything possible to help the illegal immigrants already in our country to live successfully.  The McCain and `Kennedy immigration reform bill is a possible option in assisting these immigrants in holding legal jobs and becoming citizens of the United States .   

No Borders

Mattias Clymer

            Currently 4 million Central and South Americans are attempting to cross the Mexico and United States Boarder a year.  Approximately 5 hundred thousand caught and deported back to Mexico .  The majority of these immigrants are coming because there is job demand in the United States and lack of work where they are from.  The people that do have jobs are paid very little compared to living costs in their area.  For example the minimum wage in Mexico is 45 pesos which is equivalent to $4.50 however most people do not earn this much.  The average person in Mexico earns 12 pesos an hour.  While this is more it would still take them 8 hours of work to buy 40 diapers in a Mexican grocery store.  Most of these people do not actually want to leave there homelands but feel that they have no other choice.  If we were to completely tear down the boarder this would enable who ever needs to come to the U.S. and find jobs.  People may believe that this would create a flood of Central and South Americans causing over population and less jobs for the U.S. citizens.  But we must remember when the Berlin wall fell most people expected the communists of East Berlin would flood into the more prosperous West Berlin .  While some did there were no major impacts and the populations leveled out.  We also must realize that these Americans do not want to come to the United States and are only coming to send money back to there families.  This will help there countries economy and create more jobs causing some of these immigrants to return to their homelands.  Creating no need for immigration and helping the poverty in the world.

Immigration into the U.S.

Nick Hertzler

            I’m with the Discovery 2005 group, a group of 22 high school students studying sustainability of resources and relationships in the Southwest United States .

            A good percentage of immigrants are illegal, undocumented immigrants from Mexico .  Most of these immigrants would come legally if it was possible for them; however, their current situation of poverty makes it impossible for them to immigrate legally.  I believe that we should make it easier to immigrate to the U.S.   If we do so, more Mexican immigrants will come legally, and will therefore be treated much better.  They will have a guarantee of minimum wage if they get a job, and they will not live in fear of being discovered.  The main way that we could make it easier to cross legally would be to reduce the cost of obtaining all the necessary documents and such to cross. 

            However, simply reducing the cost still would not make it accessible to everyone.  There would still be people out there that could not afford the cost of the immigration process.  Potentially, we could pay for those costs, or perhaps even get Mexico to fund them.

            What I recommend is that we get the government of both nations to partially fund the immigration process, greatly reducing the cost of legal immigration.  If we want immigrants to enjoy the rights and privileges of our nation, we should do our best to make it easier to be legal.

Immigration and Our Response

Steven Stauffer

            I recently took a trip with my high school around the Southwest and into Mexico .  During that time, we addressed and discussed the immigration issues the U.S. and Mexico are currently facing.  It is estimated that 4 million illegal immigrants cross the border into the U.S. every year, and only 500,000 are caught.  That means that there are millions of undocumented people in our country, and we as a people are faced with the decision of what to do.  I believe that we need to reach out to these people and accept them in our communities.

            First of all, the majority of immigrants are just trying to make enough money to support their families back home.  They are willing to take any job they can get.  This means that they end up doing all the jobs that others aren’t willing to do.  They aren’t trying to take over big businesses – they aren’t even competing for well-paying jobs.  They just want to support their own families and return home once they find some semblance of financial stability.  What’s wrong with immigrants doing the jobs that need to get done but no one else wants to do?      

The main reason that these immigrants are crossing the border illegally is because they feel they have no other choice.  When asked, the overwhelming majority of immigrants have said that they would much rather stay in their own country if it was a viable option.  The economic situation in Mexico is so poor right now, that these migrants are not only willing to risk the desert (where 3,000 have died since 1994) to cross into the U.S. illegally, but this is the only option for them to keep themselves and their families alive.  If there is anywhere to start with fixing this problem, it is to aid the Mexican government in some way that will help their economic status, so that their people won’t be so desperate.

            Yes, illegal immigrants are still illegal.  And what happens if these illegals are reported or caught?  They get a slap on the hand, and they’re dumped just across the border, only to try again the next day.  Most immigrants will try multiple times to get across, and not give up until they get into the country or die in the process.  So why don’t they just get in the legal way?  Right now, the U.S. has had its tightest restrictions ever on entering the country.  The process for getting a visa or green card is harder then ever, and most end up waiting for months and even years to get theirs.  There are month long waiting lists to even apply for a visa.  These people don’t have that kind of time.  Their families are suffering, and crossing illegally appears to be the only option.

I’m not supporting illegal immigration, but I am saying that our way of dealing with this situation is not very effective.  I suggest we start taking action by contacting our legislators and Congressmen and telling them that something different needs to be done.  And when effective legislation is proposed, learn about it, and tell our representatives in the government to support it.  But until there is a solution to this issue, we might as well accept the immigrants for who they are – people risking their lives to try to provide for their families.

Change our current Immigration System

Drew Kirk

We have a problem in America with immigration on our border with Mexico . In 2004, around 4 million people tried to cross our southern border illegally. Only around 1 in 8 were caught. Some of the people who crossed were violent drug traffickers smuggling narcotics into America . In fact, during 1 week this summer, over 1000 pounds of marijuana was seized in San Diego County alone from drug traffickers smuggling narcotics over our border from Mexico . Also, it is very possible that some of the people who crossed our border last year were terrorists. Even though a few people crossing our borders are criminals, the vast majority are hardworking, honest migrant workers seeking a job and a life in America . Our goal must be to keep criminals and terrorists out of our country while providing a way for honest migrant workers to enter our country legally. We can accomplish this goal by improving economic conditions in Mexico, making it easier and faster for Mexicans to legally enter the U.S., and tightening security along our borders.

            America can reduce the number of Mexicans looking for work in the U.S. by helping to improve economic conditions in Mexico . Mexican workers want to enter the U.S. because of high unemployment and poverty in their country. If jobs are available in Mexico , Mexican workers will not need to enter the U.S. to look for work. Our country must encourage Mexican President Fox to work harder at improving his country’s economy, and American investors should invest in Mexican companies and help create more jobs in Mexico .

            Our government must make it easier for Mexican workers to enter the United States legally. Under our current system, a Mexican wishing to enter our country must spend thousands on an immigration lawyer and wait years for a green card. Migrants would be willing to enter our country legally if the system were cheaper and quicker. In addition, if most workers are entering our country legally, we can make sure that they are the kind of people we would want in the U.S. by performing simple criminal background checks.

            To keep terrorists and drug traffickers out of our country, we must tighten security at our borders. We can deal with migrant workers entering our country illegally by improving Mexican economic conditions and making it easy for them to enter legally. However, there will always be people that must be kept out of our country. We can keep these people out by improving the security at our borders. We must train more border patrol officers and increase the border patrol budget. By doing this we can successfully keep criminals out of our country.

            We can allow hardworking, law-abiding workers into our country legally while keeping criminals out by helping to improve Mexican economic conditions, making it quicker and easier for workers to legally enter our country, and tightening security along our borders.

   Insight into Immigration

Stuart Ferguson

            I recently partook in an educational trip with Eastern Mennonite High School called “Discovering the Southwest.” The trip was 26 days long and focused on several issues, such as immigration, sustainable living, and our national community. Our immigration studies involved numerous meetings and projects teaching us of Mexican migrants illegally crossing over the U.S. ’s southern border and we debated if it was wrong for the migrants to do so. In our lectures, our discovery group listened to many people who openly supported the breaking of our immigration laws. I have come to understand that the migrants are seeking economic opportunity, but they shouldn’t need to cross illegally into our country. In doing so, the migrants are at risk for being taken advantage of in cheap labor and sweatshops or becoming victims of border violence. I would love to see legislation that would allow more migrants to pass legally into our nation. The majority of these Mexican migrants are hard working people who are only seeking jobs to support themselves and families. The United States is the land of opportunity and the land of the free. The U.S. is also the land of immigrants, so why shouldn’t the migrants coming from Mexico be allowed to legally enter our nation to make the best of the United State ’s freedoms and opportunities?

Immigration

Joel Kraus

            The problem of illegal immigration is an issue that needs to be taken care of. Everyday, undocumented migrants from Mexico slip through America ’s southern border illegally, and only one-eighth of them are caught.  Over time, illegal immigration has progressed to be more of a pressing problem.  Every year, three and a half million Mexicans move into our country without a green card or a visa.  Illegal immigration needs to be dealt with now before greater problems arise.

            A big danger to American citizens is the Mexican drug smugglers.  Not only do illegal drugs hurt people, but the drug traffickers may be armed and dangerous.  Drug traffickers don’t travel vulnerably.  At any moment a smuggler may have an automatic weapon in his hand ready to shoot anyone in the way.  The government can help prevent this looming problem.  The government needs to give funding to organizations such as the Friends of the Border Patrol.  Border Patrol Agents are in the line of danger everyday preventing the smuggling of crack cocaine and marijuana.  Although they are already doing their job to the best of their ability, they need to do it better with the help of the government, for they only catch one in eight illegal immigrants.

            Much of this problem lies with Mexico itself.  The economy is crashing and the average day wage is roughly ten dollars.  The Mexican government is corrupt and their laws are unfair.  Desperate migrants, therefore, turn to other people who may “help” them out.  There are groups within Mexico such as Grupo Beta and the coyotes who help Mexicans cross the border.  Grupo Beta provides information about survival in the desert and the coyotes, who are the immigrant smugglers, sneak the migrants across the border.  Such economic strife in Mexico should not be permitted.  We as Americans can write to our president or senators suggesting the intervention of the United States in Mexico .  Such an intervention must not be militaristic.  Starting a war won’t solve anything.  Only the urging for change from our government to the Mexican government must take place.

            Although Illegal immigrants help our economy by filling job spaces, the American citizen must have first priority in taking jobs.  Americans are continually losing jobs to those three million illegal migrants every year.  How can anyone say that this is fair?  Shouldn’t Americans work the American jobs?  Sure, illegal immigrants may get their visa eventually, but arriving undocumented is stealing another man’s paycheck.  So what should we do about this?  Give them a reason to not immigrate illegally to the United States and choke their motivations for doing so.

            This is the verdict: the government needs to tighten the southern border and help those who are patrolling it, our government needs to urge the changing of the Mexican laws and government, and the surety of American priority in the workforce must be secured.  I do not believe making the process of immigrating legally easier will help America ’s predicament.  The Mexican government is bleeding their citizens upon America . The bleeding must have pressure put upon it so it may heal.  Tightening the border is a Band-Aid, but changing Mexico will fix our problem.

Immigration

Jordan Lehman

              I recently went on a trip this summer with Eastern Mennonite High School .  We traveled to the southwest, where the main topic we looked at was immigration.  We read many articles about immigration and went with Border Links into Mexico .  We were very lucky to get to talk with Andy Ramirez and Enrique Morones.  These two men have very different opinions on immigration and have debated before on the radio and appeared on television. 

            A possible solution to the problem is to load the border with Boarder Patrol and try to catch as many illegals as possible.  This would be hard now, because the Bush Administration has cut the Border Patrols budget by 80 million dollars.  Andy Ramirez would be for stronger patrol of the border; he is a member of the Border Patrol and is strongly against illegal immigration.  Mr. Ramirez made many good points when we talked with him, saying, “I can’t see any benefits from illegal immigration, illegal immigrants take jobs from Americans, bring large amounts of drugs into the country, and join dangerous gangs such as MS-13.”  MS-13 is also the gang that killed Brenda Paz, a resident of Alexandria , Virginia , just two years ago.  Mr. Ramirez wanted to stop illegal immigration because the immigrants who cross the border are poor and have to pay coyotes (Immigrant smugglers) $2000 dollars.  The immigrants must then work in sweatshops in places like Los Angeles , where they are not fairly treated.

            Another possible solution to illegal immigration would be to realize the economic problems in Mexico and help save lives of immigrants who do choose to cross the border illegally.  This is Enrique Morones’ view on illegal immigration.  Mr. Morones is the president of an organization called Border Angels.  Border Angels leave water and food out in the desert for immigrants to find while they are crossing the desert.  Mr. Morones doesn’t agree with illegal immigration; however he knows the troubles in Mexico and wants to make a difference in people’s lives.  Border Angels recently handed out a pamphlet in Mexico that tells immigrants how to survive in the desert, if they were to try to cross the border.

            There is evidence for both sides of the problem.  In 2004, 5,000 illegal immigrants were caught trying to cross the border into the United States, however only 1 out of 8 aliens are caught, which means about 3.5 million illegal immigrants crossed the

U.S. border in 2004.  Also, of the 1,945 miles of southern border, only 60 miles are actually guarded.  These statistics support the idea of the need of more Border Patrol.  The other side of the issue also has its arguments.   Mexico ’s economy is ranked number 10 to the powerfully first ranked United States .  The average wage per day in Mexico is only about $3.50.  If you look at these statistics you can see that the Mexican immigrants don’t have a choice, and crossing into the United States may seem to be the only other way.

            From my experiences in Mexico and talking to Mr. Ramirez and Mr. Morones I overall believe illegal immigration is wrong, however I certainly understand why the immigrants come to the United States .  Without economic stability in Mexico , immigrants will keep crossing the border, so I believe the U.S. needs to some how work with Mexico to get their economy going if we ever want to prevent illegal immigration.  I would not feel right sending back an illegal immigrant when Mexico ’s economy is so bad, but if their economy was working and the people could get jobs and make good money, illegal immigrants wouldn’t need to enter the country.

Immigration

Ian Suttles  

U.S. Border Patrol estimates that nearly four million people try to cross the border illegally a year. After six months upon entry to the U.S. , an estimate of five percent are still not caught. Five percent of four million is two hundred thousand; these illegal aliens are living among us. Are these undocumented or illegal immigrants from south of the border really a bad thing for the United States of America ? No, although immigrants can and sometimes do bring trouble to our fine country, they more often bring with them benefits.

One huge benefit to the U.S. is the one on our economy. Undocumented immigrants accept labor intensive jobs that most citizens of the U.S. refuse to do. Since no one supposedly knows that the aliens are illegally in the U.S. they can be paid less than minimum wage. This saves the company that employs the alien a lot of money. This arrangement is beneficial to the immigrant as well. The average daily wage in Mexico is $3.80 so even if a U.S. company paid only two dollars an hour this would be a huge improvement to the immigrant. On top of that, since the aliens are not citizens they will not receive any of the money they pay into social security. The U.S.economy benefits greatly from illegal immigrants.

People that find illegal immigration to be a serious problem are overreacting. There is a threat of terrorists coming across the southern border, but there is the threat of another American terrorist like the Oklahoma City bomber that people seem to forget about. Drugs are another problem that can come from Mexico , but drugs could just as easily come across the Canadian border or from here at home.

If it was easier for Mexicans to get a visa to come to the U.S. illegal immigration would be reduced to a shadow of a problem. Border security should not be reduced because the border patrol does a good job of catching drug runners and if they were not burdened with catching regular immigrants with good intentions they could do a better job. Most immigrants are just trying to live the American dream and with a little help they can.

THE IMMIGRATION ISSUE

Mary Shank

The U.S. faces an immigration problem.  However, depending on who you talk to, the problem differs.  Perhaps the problem is that one-third of undocumented immigrants who get caught and die are unidentified.  However, the problem may be that 500,000 illlegal immigrants are caught every year and supposedly over 3.5 million cross the border.  That’s about one in eight that are caught.  According to Enrique Morones, founder and president of Border Angels, or Elwood Yoder, one of the history teachers at Eastern Mennonite High School , U.S. laws limiting immigration are the problem.  According to Andy Ramirez, head of Friends of the Border Patrol, too many immigrants and laws unable to truly enforce our immigration policies are the problem.  The problem, however, is the inability to find any middle ground between either of the sides.

The first action all taking part in the immigration issue must do is research, learn, and find out information about the subject.  On a school-sponsored trip, twenty-two high school students from Eastern Mennonite High School with six teachers traveled to the American Southwest to learn about the immigration issue, among other issues pertaining to the United States today.  We listened to Enrique Morones and Andy Ramirez, as well as traveled to Mexico and talked with a Mexican government agency, about immigration issues.  We have gained a wide variety of perspectives by listening to Morones and Ramirez, along with other knowledgeable speakers who work with immigration issues.

Another action those interested in affecting the United States ’ stance on immigration must take is attempting to influence government representatives.  Whether the stance is for less strict laws regarding immigration or better enforcement of the existing laws, the opinion of a U.S. citizen should be heard and respected.   Whether writing a senator, voting, or withdrawing money and support from candidates with whom one disagrees, everyone can influence the stance of the United States.  No matter how small the contribution may be, the action one may take is still a contribution that, in the long run, can affect much.

Maybe some think the immigration issue will never be resolved.  Some may say, after much research and thought, the two can never be brought together.  Perhaps these persons are right.  Maybe the two viewpoints will never be brought together; however, I have hope.

I have hope upon hope that the viewpoints will be brought together.  Perhaps the viewpoints will never totally coincide, but the viewpoints do coincide on more issues than many realize.  I went on the trip to the American Southwest and I have learned much about the immigration issue.  The viewpoints do coincide simply because they want to change the way the U.S. views immigration - both sides admitted as much to my fellow travelers and myself.  However, Congress needs to address this issue.  When Congress does address the issue, much can be resolved.  Meanwhile, the immigration issue has less to do with the Mexicans and other South Americans entering the U.S. and more to do with the reluctance of average U.S. citizens to address the “problem.”  The problem is the hesitation of both viewpoints to resolve the situation by compromise.