We don't have a merit based immigration system. It is based on kinship. You don't have to have a desired skill or money if you have an American citizen or LPR relative sponsoring you or if you get married to an AMCIT. Chain migration or family reunification is the biggest driver of immigration into this country. We bring in 1.2 million a year so it is not that difficult compared to almost any other place on the planet. Do you have any idea what it takes to become a citizen in other countries? I do.Much of the time you must travel back and forth with your home country, and can only submit paperwork there, not while you are in the US. Often you are prohibited from work in the US, while the process is ongoing.
About 30% of the people who get their green cards do so by changing their status while in the US. Generally, you must and should apply in your home country to get your immigrant visa. It would make no sense for people to come here and apply. There are close to three million people abroad who are waiting their turn to come into this country based on the various immigration categories and caps. They have completed all of the paperwork.
To start with, they can go to work immediately. Their children, infants through teenagers, could enter US schooling, often resulting in complete integration by the time they are adults. They can buy goods with their money as well. And those that earn money in the US can send some of it back to their home country to support the rest of their family.
They are doing so illegally, which is why we need to enforce our laws and deport them. It is against the law to hire people who are here illegally. And it is against the law for people to work here who are not here illegally.
Golly. So if they do things the legal way, they will spend 15-20 years of their life having their chain pulled by bureaucrats. But if they cross illegally, they can immediately benefit, have children who will automatically become US citizens, work hard and make lots of money, and generally lead a good, productive life.
The 15-20 years is not the norm by a long shot. It all depends on what immigration category you fit into. We should not reward people who enter illegally. They need to be deported. It is unfair to the people who are doing it the right way. Moreover, we don't want people who violate our laws in many different ways to be rewarded with citizenship.
From my point of view, the biggest problem is not the sheer number of aliens, but the unwillingness of the US government to, first of all, kick out the violent, criminal aliens that are a major pain in the ass.
They all need to kicked out. And the numbers are a problem. We have over 400,000 anchor babies born each year who become automatically American citizens eligible for benefits such as Medicaid and food stamps.
Second to that, is to create a much more sane process by which those illegals currently in the US can achieve citizenship, while remaining in the US. This does not have to be easy or cheap, but it must be reasonable enough for reasonable people to choose to do it instead of remaining illegal.
No amnesty and no citizenship. Any legislation that legalizes the status of those who broke our laws by entering our country illegally and allows them to stay is amnesty. We must not only prevent the Democrats and some moderate Republicans from hijacking the meaning of the word amnesty, but the public must be made aware about the true impact of an amnesty. The Heritage Foundation concluded that the cost of amnesty alone would be $2.6 trillion. And the number of additional LEGAL immigrants who would join those who were the recipients of amnesty through chain migration, i.e., family reunification, would approach 70 million over a 20-year period, assuming there are only 12 million illegal aliens. We cannot assimilate such numbers. An amnesty would destroy the United States of America with the stroke of a pen.
Right now, before congress is the DREAM Act. It is the recognition that many illegal children are fully integrated into the US, and are de facto citizens already. Sending them “back” to a country they know nothing about is as brutal as sending any child to a strange foreign country.
The Dream Act is just another form of amnesty. It should not pass.
You say “kick out” with such ease. How do you propose to “kick out” some 15 million people?
In New York City alone, there are between 1-2 million illegals.
That is between 1/8th and 1/4th of the population of the city. Transported 1,700 miles to Laredo, Texas, the closest border town.