My weekend mental meanderings
I have felt like a load of bricks has been lifted off my back with the election results. For the first time in many months I felt I could relax and exhale and able to think clearly without the obstruction of politics. These are some of my thoughts I had over the weekend.
The subject of DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrival) immigrants came up on a talk show I was listening to. This subject is one that hits home to me as I know at least one person (a friend) who was brought here from Central America by his parents illegally when he was a newborn. To be clear, HE is NOT an illegal as a child cannot, in my opinion, be held responsible for decisions made for them. This friend only speaks English and knows very little Spanish. This friend has been an exemplary person in society (can't call him an exemplary citizen since he is in fact not a citizen). He is kind and giving and smart. He was taught a trade and has worked that trade for as long as I've known him (about 14 years). He pays taxes and has purchased a home and cares for his elderly mother (and father when he was alive). THIS is the type of immigrants our nation needs but he forever lives under a cloud of possibly being deported from the country of his heart to the country of his birth where he has no family, friends, support and cannot speak or read the language. He is a prime example of a good DACA immigrant.
But the question is what to do with these DACA immigrants. Well, I believe the decision is relatively simple. First, if they have maintained a record free of criminal activity they should be allowed to stay in the United States for a limit of 5 years. Second, during that 5 years they must take steps to and become a legal American citizen with all the rights that title bequests.
Of course part of the problem is the long line of persons already in line to become an American citizen, those who are doing it the right way. Well, the government needs to step up its efforts and streamline the current backlog of immigrants but I believe we can do both simultaneously.
So what are your thoughts on DACA immigration?
Another thought I had...
What about all the other decent people who crossed our border illegally?
Obviously violent and hardened criminals should be permanently expelled immediately. But there are millions of men and women who came over our border illegally yet are otherwise good and decent people just looking for a better life. I believe there is a path to citizenship for them but it is not and should not be easy.
First, they MUST be deported with a minimum of two years that they cannot come back into the United States, legally or illegally.
Second, if they want to return to the United States after two years they can request a green card or work visa and be allowed to stay for one year. At the end of that year they can apply to remain in the United States for an additional five years but they MUST prove in a written and spoken test that they can speak rudimentary English.
Third, if they desire to remain in the United States permanently they must apply for and pass the required American citizenship test(s) within that five years with an additional year of eligibility should the immigrant show good faith in attempts but have failed, giving them that additional year to make good on the test.
Yet another thought...
I am of the opinion that our country must maintain a minimum of two political parties. I don't want a country that is run by just one side all the time. What I would like to see is the parties maintain a core moderate line of principles. The far left and the far right will break down the two traditional parties and cause extreme discourse such as what we have just witnessed in this year's Presidential election.
I believe in progress and I believe to have proper progress we must have the left to create change and the right to temper that change. Too much change all at once is not a good thing. On the other hand too much resistance is also not a good thing. In our current political atmosphere the left (driven by the far left) wants extreme change and they want it NOW. Conversely the right (driven by the far right) wants to extremely retard change. The result is nothing good gets done and animosity grows.
I also believe the far left and the far right should be heard because they are the incubators of ideals and those ideals must be debated. But it is the moderate left combined with the moderate right tempering each other which drives our government (and society) forward into a brighter future.
Stay tuned, I will likely have more thoughts one day :)
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