There is an estimated 12 million illegal immigrants living in the United States. They are working jobs that need to be done, that someone has to do and that many of us would never take. They are still in the darkness waiting for a change in the system which could regulate their status and come out to the light. These people deserve fair treatment. We can not remain indifferent about this situation.
We live in a country formed by immigrants from all over the world. Illegal immigration is one the principal world problems that humanity faces today. Humiliations, and ill treatment suffered by immigrants are constantly reported. Thousands of people …show more content…
die every year trying to cross landborders and seas in very dangerous ways, risking their lives just to find a better future.
Thinking about this sensitive and complex topic, it is good to share some of the articles of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which was approved and proclaimed by the General Assembly of the United Nations the 10 of December of 1948.
Article 25
1. Everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate for the health and well-being of himself and of his family, including food, clothing, and housing and medical care and necessary social services, and the right to security in the event of unemployment, sickness, disability, widowhood, old age or other lack of livelihood in circumstances beyond his control.
Article 26
1. Everyone has the right to education. Education shall be directed to the full development of the human personality and to the strengthening of respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms. It shall promote understanding, tolerance and friendship among all nations, racial or religious groups, and shall further the activities of the United Nations for the maintenance of peace.
Article 13
1. Everyone has the right to leave any country, including his own, and to return to his country.
Article 28
Everyone is entitled to a social and international order in which the rights and freedoms set forth in this Declaration can be fully realized.
We would all like to have that freedom and those rights declared in there: to meet our basic needs, to have access to superior education and to have the opportunity to be able to choose where to live and develop ourselves. However, we all know that that’s not the reality in most small countries around the world.
New statistics from the Office of Immigration Statistics in the US Department of Homeland Security estimate that there were 2.5 million more illegal immigrants living in the United States in January 2006 than there were in January 2000, with an increase of half a million since January 2005.
The report comes amidst animated debate on comprehensive immigration reform, to which the US House and Senate have taken sharply different approaches. A report released in March this year by the Pew Hispanic Center estimated that the total number of illegal immigrants in the US has risen to some 12 million, with nearly 850,000 new illegal immigrants coming to the US each year since 2000.
There is a bad stereotype about immigrants, maybe because most came from poor nations, but this stereotype nowadays doesn’t match the reality, because many of them are educated, qualified and competent people with much dignity that deserve a better luck.
Deportation is not the solution. That would just send them back to misery. It would even affect this country’s economy, and they will try to come back over and over again. It is good to know that they don’t leave their country because they want to, or just because they want to break the law, but for necessity, desperation and lack of
opportunities.
If someone wants to come to this country to work, to study, and is not going to become a public charge, but to contribute to the economy of this nation with effort and dedication, there is no reason why not to give the opportunity. The immigration system should change, because the process, in order for you to come here in a legal way, is extremely difficult and that’s why people do it in illegal ways.
Right now the Congress is getting ready to start a debate which should conclude with a definite derogation of a new immigration law. There have been many proposals, some of them as severe as to build a gigantic wall across the border with México and penalize everyone who has any kind of contact with an illegal immigrant, including doctors, priests, landlords, employers, etc. Other proposals are less drastic giving temporary working permits and eventually giving residency to the workers.
Hopefully Congress will reach a conclusion that’s fair to everyone, and at the same time they could think about the contribution the 12 million immigrants make to this country and not only base their arguments on economic and security factors. I hope this amendment is based on freedom, justice and human rights, which are the values that form this nation.
Sources:
• ONU (United Nation)
• Univision.com
• Google.com
• University of Pittsburgh, School of Law: Jurist Legal News and research