I’m first generation American from parents who immigrated here in the 1950s from England. They came here for a better life, and it was much easier for them as they were white and spoke English. They immigrated legally and became naturalized citizens about 8-10 years after they arrived, just after I was born. I will be forever grateful they made that choice as I think my opportunities in the US have been greater than they would have been for me in England.
I’ve lived within an hour’s drive of Los Angeles for most of my life. Especially in California, but frankly throughout the United States, our economy only operates at its most productive level with a significant amount of immigrant labor. Many immigrant laborers snuck into the country rather than go through the legal process, and this has gone on for decades. Most of these immigrants just want to work and make a better life for their families back in their home countries. They are motivated, work long hours, and mostly perform jobs that no Americans will do. And I know this from experience, having worked alongside individuals here illegally when I was younger. However, there is a small minority of other immigrants here illegally who are awful people, and who have and will continue to commit violent crimes. They should be immediately captured and deported. And the majority of Americans agree that we don’t want violent criminals from other country here in our nation.
We need to approach the illegal immigration issue with the idea that there are multiple but simple steps to resolve most of the problem areas. To quote an old expression, this is not rocket science. In fact it’s not that complicated to fix most of the situation.
First, we need to secure our borders. Maybe other countries can have open borders, but it isn’t working for us. There are ways to do this electronically rather than building huge walls, but regardless, we need to know who’s coming into our country. Anyone entering our country illegally needs to be sent back. If Canada or Mexico doesn’t enforce closing their borders or coastline, then that is a problem they need to fix. We should send anyone entering the country from either of these two countries directly back to them.
Second, after securing our borders, we need to screen everyone wanting to cross into the US before they are allowed in. Those who are likely to commit criminal activities should be denied entrance. (As a point of reference, individuals with just a DUI in the US are often denied entry to Canada.) I understand that we need to do something with the influx of individuals who are already in the US illegally, and we should allow them to go through that screening process while they are here in the US for those with no criminal history.
Third, we need realistically-sized Immigration and Guest Worker programs. There are plenty of jobs for immigrants and guest workers. We need to allow entry to enough immigrants and guest workers each year to fill those jobs. Yes, there are some immigrants who come here to work professional jobs, but most come here to perform hourly labor-type functions. Historically, the number of guest workers allowed into the US has not generally been enough to meet the demands from our economy. We need to set the level high enough to meet the demand, and adjust the numbers based upon seasonal needs. This three effort needs to be performed in conjunction with each other. And it really needs to be developed now. I’ve heard about enforcement, but where is the discussion of resolving our need for a reasonable number of immigrant workers.
Fourth,,…. Well there isn’t really any fourth step. The solution to most of the issue is that simple.
Frankly, I don’t think this is an issue that the electeds or lobbyists want to resolve as they’ve had decades to develop and evolve a workable solution and haven’t. Lobbyists make a ton of money off this issue and if it’s solved, they are all out of jobs. Entire lobbying firms are based upon this sole issue! (And being a Lobbyist is often the post-office career path for former elected officials!) Electeds or those running against them strongly campaign on this issue. In fact, I got two donation requests right after the ICE activities in Los Angeles started in June 2025.
One elected representative from my area called the actions by Trump over the last month, “political theater.” He’s right, but it has been political theater from both parties for decades. If you don’t think Biden was also creating political theater by essentially opening our borders with no controls then you’re delusional. And Sanctuary Cities created by local and state politicians are just as ridiculous if these cities or states think protecting illegals who are former rapists, murderers, and drug dealers helps our society. But I have yet to hear of a sanctuary city that has formally taken a position against those here illegally who commit heinous crimes. Polls show that the vast majority of Americans what these violent criminals immediately locked up and turned over to ICE.
You’ll notice I didn’t use the term “undocumented immigrant.” No matter what lobbyists or anyone else wants to call them, these individuals both entered the US and stay here illegally. As previously mentioned, I have a criminal background from pleading to a white collar crime. I will forever be branded a criminal with the reduced freedom and conditions that come with that. And those who commit the act of illegally entering and staying in the US have also committed a criminal act, regardless of what anyone calls it. I understand the US contributed to the situation through lax border security, allowing these illegal aliens to be hired by numerous US individuals and business that use them to reduce costs or increase profits, and that they perform backbreaking work that no one else would. Again, we need to fix the problem rather than all this politicking and lobbying for political correctness. I believe an argument can actually be made that sugarcoating the term delays a resolution that would benefit immigrants and guest workers over the long run. Right now there are essentially no rights or protections if someone here illegally is the victim or a crime, or is abused by their employers.
We need to solve this issue that has been around for longer than the entire 65 years I have been alive with a solution that isn’t one extreme or another. The Middle of the Road solution, is better than driving off the edge of road like we have been! Of course there are experts who will immediately tell us that a MOTheR solution won’t work. And of course this resolution would solve every single situation, but it would resolve most of them. But I get tired of not listening to a common sense approach which allows us to work towards systems and solutions that are better than we have now, even if they are not perfect.
MOTheRManGay 