I’m a German-Swedish-Scottish-Native-American American

What are you?

Unless you’re 100% Native American, you have no business pissing and moaning about immigration.

“But they’re illegal!”

Be honest. It’s not that they’re illegal. It’s that there are so many of them.

And that, dear friends, is racism.

The fact is, this country has survived and been made stronger by waves and waves of immigrants. It’s what we do.

A few people from the Land of Elsewhere decide to come here. They realize how great it is, tell their friends and family, and all of sudden whole neighborhoods of Elsewhere-ians crop up.

A handful of Archie Bunkers claim they’re taking over OUR country, they ought to speak OUR language, blah blah.

Then our culture changes. It grows. And diversity is always a good thing for our economy.

“But they’re taking away jobs from Americans!”

Bullshit.

The jobs they’re doing, nobody else wants. Another hallmark of immigration.

Two facts: There always will be low-paying crap jobs here in the U.S. And it always falls on the most current wave of immigrants to fill those roles.

They work at these low-level jobs for a time, build families, improve their lives and move on. Then the next wave of immigrants comes through to fill those roles. Irish, Italian, German, Polish – all of these groups were feared, hated and then integrated. It’ll happen with our Mexican friends, too.

The system works. And they work. Their assess off.

“Our healthcare and education systems can’t support them!”

True. Right now. But we’ll figure it out.

This challenge didn’t happen overnight and it’s not going to be fixed any time soon.

And if you expect the current administration to do anything helpful, just remember how well it handled Katrina – a hurricane they could see coming for five days.

“We need to secure our borders!”

Of course.

But a giant, endless, ugly wall along the southern border wouldn’t have stopped the 9/11 terrorists. And trust me, it won’t stop the next rabid band of nut-jobs determined to attack us.

Most of the folks coming here want to work for a better life. How can you argue with that? Do you really want to put up a wall to prevent them from doing the same thing your ancestors did?

“So what are we supposed to do?”

It won’t be easy.

An amnesty program would be a good start: Anyone here illegally gets to stay with no legal fallout if they register within a certain timeframe. They register, putting them on a path toward U.S. citizenship, they pay taxes, and the system adjusts. It would take a major financial investment involving public education and outreach programs to help these folks get settled.

I know, I know.

It’s not perfect – a certain percentage just won’t go legit. In fact, the program likely will force a bunch of them even deeper underground.

“That’s when we get ‘em!”

Um, no.

That’s when you go after the legitimate businesses that profit by using migrant labor to do undesirable, often dangerous jobs for far less than minimum wage without providing benefits like health insurance.

Remember, this is all about work. Which means it’s about money. Ultimately, it’s your money.

“Huh?”

Next time you feel like having an apple or a salad or a baked potato, think about how all that amazing stuff came to be piled up in the produce section of your grocery store. While you’re paying for it (with money you earned from working), remember the people who made it possible for you to fill your plastic bags.

Chances are, a Mexican immigrant had a hand in it.

A tired, underpaid, un-insured hand.

They’re working hard, just like you. Together, we’re putting food on our tables.

Still angry with all those immigrants?