In a new attempt at compromise, President Bush proposed a five-point plan to deal with illegal immigration. Aside from adding 6,000 security guards to the US/Mexico border, the plan is relatively lenient.
"The vast majority of immigrants are decent people, but they are beyond the reach and protection of American law," Bush said. His unusually diplomatic comment prefaced the five objectives of the plan, which comes at a time when Congress is considering how to revise immigration laws.
1. Add security to the border and speed up deportation.
2. A temporary worker program to let US companies hire migrants as needed.
3. High tech ID cards for migrants to make sure those aforementioned companies sort out legal workers from the illegal ones.
4. Provide immigrants with a chance for citizenship (not to mention the opportunity to pay taxes...)
5. Encourage immigrants to become part of the culture, learn English.
The last two points are common sense, sort of. If people are living in a country, it's best if they have some stake in it, some reason to assimilate. The increased security seems to be an attempt to appeal to critics of the massive illegal immigration, while the rest of the plan takes into account the fact our economy, currently, is resting on that immigration.
Critics say the whole thing has holes big enough to drive a truck through. For instance, the loophole that allows a new citizen to bring in unlimited family members. Other problems are that the plan does not deal with companies that exploit migrant workers. Not to mention the 1.9 billion dollar pricetag. Still, at least we're not going up in arms against Mexico. And they say, good fences make good neighbors...
So you would rather they have to leave their family behind? Or maybe only part of their family?
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There is nothing more powerful than an idea whose time has come.
Me? I'll join you on the moral high ground and say that breaking up families is an attack on human rights (or did I misunderstand the tone of your question?). I imagine there are unenlightened members of our society, though, who are asking about how much immigration is too much. And whether or not loopholes, like the one in question, may provide another way for unscrupulous companies to take advantage of people who just want to make a living.