Illegal politics

I have to say, although I did read the "Respect fot the Law and Economic Fairness" in its entirety, I don't think I actually retained anything from it. It was interesting to read the "words that work" sections; they tended to be much more informative than the explanations. In reality though, I have no real idea wat else the article was about.

I liked the "Framing of Immigration" article much better. I was actually able to pay attention to the points they were making and retain at least a portion of the information. I think what really stood out to me was how this article wasn't so against immigration and illegal immigrants. Its writters recognized there is a problem with illegal immigration that needs to be dealt with but that a compete lack of compassion is not the solution. Rather, it suggests immigration in moderation. One such passage states, "The answer to this problem isn't an 'open-border.' The United States cannot take on the world's problems on its own. Other affluent countries need to extend a humanitarian arm to peoples fleeing oppressive economic circumstances as well. How many immigrants the United States should be willing to accept will ultimately be up to Congress."

I also found the section on the use of the word 'illegal' interesting and also of the use of the word 'alien.' My favorite passage in the whole piece is this one. " 'Aliens,' in poular culture suggests nonhuman beings invading from outer space- completely foreign, not one of us, intent on taking over our land and our way of life by gradually insinuating themselves among us." Although somewhat melodramatic, I think this is probably a pretty accurate description of how the majority of our nation sees illegal immigrants. In reality, they are people too and should be treated as people. This does not mean to say that they should be allowed to do anything they please without consequence, but they do deserve to at least be discussed with respect. Another point this article made along these same lines was that it asked whether the United States was setting up or helping enforce governments that people might flee from and also how trade impacts illegal immigration. This is finally an article that questions what America is doing to encourage illegal immigration.

The final point that I want to touch on deals with the use of the word illegal to describe immigrants. I just thought this passage was amusing. "Imagine calling businessmen who once cheated on their taxes 'illegal businessmen.' Imagine calling people who have driven over the speed limit 'illegal drivers.' "