The Torch's take:

Immigration laws: Fixing the wrong problem?

By:

Posted: 11/13/08

One of the important issues surrounding the political world today is immigration. President Bush attempted to find a solution, and both Obama and McCain gave the issue of immigration a prominent spot on their platforms; however, policymakers are not accurately tackling the problem.

Instead of making changes to immigration laws and bureaucracy, lawmakers have concentrated on keeping illegal immigrants out.

Bush's take on immigration was televised nationwide on May 15, 2006, in an effort to clarify his stance on the issue. He concentrated on the need to eliminate the problem of illegal immigration through brute force.

Bush wanted to secure American borders by "increas[ing] the number of Border Patrol officers by an additional 6,000" and "launching the most technologically advanced border security initiative in American history." His entire speech centered on the removal of illegal immigrants and efforts to keep them out.

Obama ran and won on a platform that did not stray far from Bush's, though Obama incorporated several of his own ideas as well.

According to barackobama.com, Obama adheres to the same ideas of defending the borders with more men and technology, as well as "cracking down on employers who hire undocumented immigrants."

His site also says that he plans to make changes to the immigration bureaucracy, though he does not say how he plans to make these changes or which aspects of immigration he hopes to change.

Perhaps the bureaucracy of immigration is the true "problem," for lack of a better word. American politicians believe that illegal immigrants are a problem in America, and maybe that's true, but they are only a miniscule part of the problem.

David Wall, the former Wittenberg men's soccer assistant coach, felt the impact of immigration laws personally when he moved from Ireland to Minnesota to play soccer.

"Between lawyer's fees, all of the traveling, and the visas I've bought in the past 15 years, I would guess that I've spent between $15,000 and $20,000," said Wall.

There are several different classifications of visas, but all of them run out eventually.

"I was on three-three year work visas. Each time they ran out, I had to renew them, and each visa cost between $3,500 and $4,000," said Wall.

Without these expensive visas, Wall would be unable to work in the United States and would be considered an illegal alien.

"The problem right now is that many of these immigrants can't afford a lawyer, or they have trouble with the paperwork and fees. Plus, the process takes so long that eventually people just give up," said Wall.

Wall explained that a lawyer is necessary because if just one small thing on your paperwork is filled out incorrectly, then "you're booted to the back of the line," and it can take four to six months to get the process going again.

"Start to finish, a permanent green card can take anywhere from three to seven years to complete. And believe me, you'll spend more than just your time working on it."

Maybe there are so many illegal immigrants in America because the government has made it so difficult and expensive to obtain citizenship or even a permanent green card.

For years, immigrants have come to America in search of "the American dream," but today, little of that dream still exists. With the job market and the economy suffering more than ever, little of the American dream remains for anyone.

If an immigrant has no job or money, then there is no way he will have the funds to pay the fines and charges required to obtain a permanent green card or citizenship.

Therefore, the fact remains that it is much cheaper to stay in the country, work a low wage job and fly under the radar than to actually become legal.

Perhaps lawmakers will take this into consideration in trying to solve the "problem" of illegal immigration.