I agree with much of this. MY question still remains about HOW to deal with those families who have been here for 25 years or more with children and grandchildren who are all Americans....and no longer speak the language of the parents’ country of origin. AND, what if the country of origin is extremely dangerous for the elderly original parents? In this case, I like what Speaker Gingrich has proposed....and yes, it should be done on a case by case basis. The way he has described this, it is NOT amnesty. They do not receive citizenship and cannot vote. I DO think they should pay a fine for breaking the law.
And regarding the breaking of the law....(I’m trying to be honest here)...many Americans have encouraged Hispanics in particular to come here and to stay here. They liked their willingness to do hard work, often types of work that others did not want to do. Businesses encouraged it....and often government officials did not enforce the laws. It is understandable that, over the years, many of these people were indirectly encouraged to come here. Many people, legal and illegal were ignoring the law.
Your points are well taken.
There is a concept in law, applied to criminal cases mostly as I recall from years ago- “fruit of the poisoned tree”.
If you were a fugitive, illegal alien,etc. and you put down new roots under false ID, SSN etc., and it one day catches up to you, you have only yourself to blame.
Where the rubber meets the road can be a messy place. The children had no choice, the parents did.
You and I could have succumbed to enticement to perform illegal acts offered by others, banked the illegal money and later assumed an upright position in society. In the 70’s when I grew up it was drugs; in the prohibition days the Kennedys did it running alcohol. True, the employers enticed illegals and many looked the other way if it benefitted them. They don’t escape culpability in my estimate. There were always worker visas and a right way to do it if you were so inclined...
Somewhere, there has to be a pretty hard line drawn. If my dad was an illegal and I am a minor, but American under the current flawed interpretation sanction him, review his case for political asylum, etc. but do not grant him a pass.
He has to report, obtain a guest worker visa, keep a clean record etc. He is not eligible for government benefits. To treat him otherwise is a disservice to those many who stood in line to do it right. If I as a dependent suffer, its his fault. Sometimes in life the sins of the father are visited on the children...
Exodus 34:7
King James Version (KJV)
7Keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, and that will by no means clear the guilty; visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, and upon the children’s children, unto the third and to the fourth generation.