I am a vocal opponent to the Bush Administration plans to turn illegal immigrants into felons. I got to see another administration’s immigration policy in action today.
I’m out of town on business. On the way from the airport the car driver and I got to talking. He’s from Mexico City and has lived in the US for over 20 years. Looks like, at one time, he was an illegal immigrant. He came here as a tourist and never returned. Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 granted amnesty that allowed this guy to stay in the country and get out of the factory and do better work.
This man bought a house in 1993, which makes him not only a tax payer but a property tax payer. He is just as much an American—more so after the amnesty—than anyone else living here. Some fools would argue that he takes away from people born here. I argue that he and his family contribute plenty.
Let’s be honest, nearly all people living in this country are immigrants, and the first European settlers were illegal immigrants. They settled without asking the natives permission, with their descendants driving the natives off their ancestral lands and onto reservations.
Washington needs to show a lot more charity, and the man I met today is example of how far a little goodwill can go.
Photo Credit: Thomas Hawk
Editor’s Note: On July 29, 2017, this post was recovered, using Archive.org Wayback Machine, from a snapshot of joewilcox.com during 2006, when months of content was lost while changing blogging systems and webhosts. Date and timestamps are authentic.