Tens of thousands of immigrants took to the streets all across the nation Monday for a day of action billed as a "campaign for immigrants' dignity," according to a Monday Associated Press article.
In North Carolina and Dallas, many vowed to skip work and boycott all purchases to demonstrate the economic effects of immigrant groups. Thousands rallied in Indianapolis, many holding signs saying "we are not criminals."
In Georgia, state legislation signed by the Governor now requires all adults seeking state-administered benefits to prove they are in the country legally - and in Atlanta, about 50,000 people marched in protest of the decision.
As I'm sure many have realized, there are many problems with immigration here in the United States. Recently suggested reforms and legislation have catapulted this into the national spotlight. Everyone has an opinion, and everyone is ready to take sides.
Jose Salazar, who protested in Pittsburgh, typified one viewpoint when he told the AP that "A lot of people won't work for the minimum here. So if they won't take the job, what's the problem?"
I don't need to go into detail here; we know what he means. In essence, we're here - legal or not - and we're not taking jobs from anyone.
The problem such an attitude creates is this: If one is not willing to draw the proverbial line with illegal immigration itself and enforce existing laws, where is the line to be drawn? Does Georgia have the right idea? Should state-administered aid and benefits apply only to those who are citizens? Perhaps the line should be pushed even further.
Shyam Jha, writing in to the Arizona Daily Star on Monday, embodies the other side of the immigration issue, noting "many of these immigrants don't care for U.S. citizenship. They want to reap its benefits without adopting its values.
"Many are loathe to learn English. American media pander to their linguistic isolationism by putting up billboards in Spanish. The message: Welcome to America. You can give us your dinero."
This is not a beneficial relationship for either party.
Latino immigrants are being exploited, and, as Jha further notes, "Most economists agree that illegal immigration suppresses wages to help businesses get cheap workers, but it also lowers the standard of living of the bottom of the economic pyramid for all Americans."
Jha's conclusion suggests an interesting question: Are Latino immigrants really doing jobs no one else will do, or are we unwilling to pay a living wage so people can pursue the American dream?
Immigration is an issue I have seen both sides to, as a descendent of Hispanic immigrants and as a frustrated English-speaking American growing up in northern Indiana, where there is a growing Latino population.
I'm not going to try to be wise beyond my 24 years, but it doesn't take a genius to see there is a problem - and creating new laws or even naturalizing the estimated 11 million illegal immigrants is not going to solve it.
I am reminded of something Abraham Lincoln said more then 100 years ago: "You cannot help men permanently by doing for them what they could and should do for themselves." And this certainly applies to citizenship.
I'm not saying we have to run all illegal aliens out of the country, but we have laws for dealing with immigration.
If those are being ignored now, who's to say that the same fate won't befall new legislation? The real problem here is that immigration has become a quagmire, and no one is brave enough to work through it.
Whether it be in the form of new laws, naturalization or just doing nothing, most of us would rather find a way around the problem.
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