Living in Texas I know the fear that the illegal immigrants suffer. I see family everyday who are not able to travel across the border to visit their parents, I have cousins who are restricted from gaining scholarships or benefits from education. Furthermore, my family live as Americans working below minimum wage to put food on the table and to clothe themselves. I'm glad Obama made this speech, it is a step that will help families like my family to live safely here in the United States and it is a step that will run the dangerous criminals out of the United States.
However, republicans need to relax and realize that Obama's executive action is best for the country. Texas future governor Greg Abbot is filing a law suit against president Obama's action. Abbot, like many republicans disagree and wish to keep the broken immigration system. With Obama's term running out in two years I'm encouraging some of my family to not join the process that Obama is granting. With the Republicans on Obama's back, they could push the next president to reconsider the executive decision and possibly change it for the worst. Hopefully congress will follow Obama's executive orders but with the issues between Republicans as conservatives and Democrats, issues may not be solved in the future.
In class, we have discussed Obama's immigration reform and it is easy to be convinced this is a great proposal. In Daniel's article, Obama's Executive Action, he tells us 5 million undocumented illegal immigrants would be safe from deportation. Now according to Texas Monthly, Texas consisted of 1.68 million out of the 10.8 million illegal immigrants in the United States. Of course numbers have changed, as these statistics were recorded in 2009. Texas has seen it's population grow tremendously since, so the demographics have have also changed over time.
ReplyDeleteObama's plan seems great and Daniel is right, there are families who are barely being able to put food on the table because their working below $7.25 an hour. There are many men who are working in construction working 12 hour days in 80 degree weather, and hardly finding work in the winter But also, I know families who actually make more than a U.S. citizen. For example, I know a man who can make up to $5,000 in a week. The least being $200 on a day for painting a door. He works in construction, but he's the one in charge of the team I know a woman who makes about $500 a week, just cleaning houses, a 4 hours per day job.
Now as I've talked about in all my articles, topics like these have to be really looked at from both sides and we still cannot find the right answer. There are two ways of deciding on the right answer, the one with the cold facts, and the one that involves what we think is fair. In my opinion, I think it is the countries responsibility to grant any kind of immigrant, security. And not just security, but self-esteem can affect these people, just knowing they don't have the same freedom as their kids, or a person who works minimum wage; they are put down because of the fact they are illegal. It's not right for any family to live in fear knowing they could be deported any day and maybe have to leave their child behind. Where will the child go? The cold fact is, what Daniel stated is predictable since Obama will soon leave office, and the whole plan can be overturned. Also, there is no real number of how many illegal immigrants would really benefit from this. For one, most deportations occur mainly when a person has committed a crime. So those who have no problem staying away from the law, and are doing just fine, they wouldn't even need to apply. Well, in his immigration reform, there are several steps a person must pass in order to be eligible. A background check must be done. That may already cut the number a significant amount. Also, Obama's plan most likely does not benefit those who are unmarried or those who do not have children who were born here. People are arriving everyday, and the kids, or the adults who haven't arrived here before 2009, aren't eligible. It just seems that even if this benefits some, it's not fair to all. Another big issue with his reform is the status of constitutionality. Daniel failed to show these facts.
As I said before, Daniel does has a point and I'm on his side, but this executive action is not that easy. He didn't look at the the facts, the truth, and the consequences.