The immigration battle

In my post regarding 'Entitlement versus Responsibility' I highlighted the need for my community in Providence to move from 'give me resource' to 'i will create resource'. In subsequent conversations with many, they were angered by these and similar comments I have made. To that I say, then I'm doing my job. You see, I grew up in a home where my father was told at the age of 5 that he should consider janitor or cook as his best vocational prospects. I grew up in a home where my mother had a full scholarship to a highly regarded New England university, but could not go because her parents were unable to afford to send her. I grew up in a community that was small, mostly white, and where I generally was the only black face in the room. What does this have to do with immigration? Everything. You will hear various people fight, argue, and seek to enable undocumented (aka illegal) immigrants various rights within our communities. This is the 'entitlement' mentality I have talked about. When you feel entitled to be in this country and receive benefits derived from citizenship or legal immigration (and are not either) then, in my opinion, you are the type of immigrant this country does not need. That sounds harsh and it should. Consider that if I was in another country illegally I would be deported. Other countries have taken a much more antagonistic stance towards illegal immigration than the US which is probably why we have so many illegal immigrants. And that's the problem. If we continue to allow illegal immigration, then we must continue to be burdened by their inability to obtain legal jobs; instead, relying on under-the-table jobs which usually pay less than minimum-wage. Generally speaking, companies with skilled workers do not want illegal immigrants. It's something sticky called the law, I guess. However, small businesses seeking cheap labor will hire these people. But it doesn't help. It creates non-taxable income, low income, and people who's opportunities are severely limited because they are living in a constant state of criminal activity. Instead, we should support legislation that would help these folks move from illegal to legal status. We also need to deport some people. 'What!? Don, what are you saying?' Yes, I said deport. Why? Because if we do not demonstrate that we're serious about not allowing people to live in this country illegaly then we will have to make examples of some in order to change the perception that it's ok to be illegal in the US. The thing is, no one is above the law. I'm not. You're not. Yet proponents of legislation giving privileges to illegal immigrants are saying that illegal immigrants are above the law. They are saying that they can spit in the face of the American Legal System and receive privileges as a reward. To me, that's not only unfair to legal immigrants/citizens, it creates an unecessary antagonism between citizens and immigrants. I like the President's idea of granting work visas to people who are here currently. I think that's a good first step. But, our goal should not be to make illegal immigration easier and better for those living as illegal immigrants. Our goal must be a way to ensure a balance between open borders and safe, secure, and legal immigration.