Illegal immigration from Mexico and Latin America- it's really not a problem, so relax.

Bill! Mexicans are taking over America and turning it in to Mexico. I don’t like it, -it scares me.

Really? Poor Mexican and Latin American immigrants scare you? Really? Then you’re a wuss. That is right. Anyone afraid of illegal immigrants from Mexico and Latin America is a total wuss. They just want to come here and make a good life for their families, just like my great grandmother Mary Clancy who got off the boat form Ireland, did. Same thing, just a different century. I’m sure there were some 1870’s wuss’ afraid of her too, like she was going to take away those choice potato picking jobs in Indiana.

But they might change the culture.

Yes, they will. They already have and guess what? We are still alive! All immigrants change the culture of their adopted country somewhat. It isn’t a bad thing. Some Europeans may think it’s not a good thing because, for the most part, their countries have been pretty much homogenous. Now with more liberal immigration policy they have more immgrants, and they haven’t gotten used to it yet. They have a pretty set culture and new immigrants don’t just blend in to their new adopted countries’ established culture. It seems like a lot European people expected them to- they expected them to become just like the country they now live in – Such Algerians in France to drink wine and like Jerry Lewis, or Turkish immigrants to start drink beer in Bavaria and like David Hasslehoff. Well guess what? It just doesn’t happen. They blend a bit, root for the German and French football teams instead o the Algerian and Turkish teams. They’ll watch the local shows, speak the local language, play Nintendo Mario games like everybody else, and so on. But they still eat their native food, celebrate their holidays, and worship they way they want. It’s fine. Now Germany has cool Turkish food, and a new flavor to their culture. French now has some North African influence, make these countries more complex and interesting

We, on the other hand, are used to it new culture coming in.  America has an ever changing culture where new immigrants, be they German, Polish, Italian, Chinese, Canadian, Puerto Rican, Irish, Vietnamese, Scottish, English (Did I get everybody? No. I won’t be able to. Too many to list), all add to America’s culture, enriching it, evolving it. So this is just the latest wave.

Little Italy is awesome! So is Chinatown. I love Halloween – Thank you Irish! Cinco De Mayo is great time to eat Mexican food, celebrate Mexico and drink tequila. Day of the Dead is awesome! Chinese gave of fireworks, and Princess Chicken. The Canadians gave us Shatner and Michael J Fox. The English gave us Tolkien. Italians gave us Francis Ford Coppala. Humas is great. I’m glad Einstein immigrated to the US rather than stay in Hitler’s Third Reich.

A foreign friend of mine said “You Americans when you go out to lunch ask what countries’ food do you want to it eat – Mexican, Thais, Chinese, Italian, Sushi? Back home we just go eat lunch.” How sad is that? They are stuck with only one culture to experience day to day. We can experience myriad.

We get to experience several new years- Chinese, Celtic (Halloween), and Jewish.

So really, what is the big deal? Infusions of new cultures make the US richer, and a more interesting and unique place. It literally makes us the most powerful country in the world, and is a unique strength of ours. Talented people would rather live with us than in Communist country, or a fundamentalist religious country, or a country that only wants one race. Our tolerance for immigrants will be our saving grace in the next century. Fear of immigrants will just hurt us. Time to throw fear out the door if want to stay one of the most important countries in the world.

If we just let them all in at once we won’t be able to absorb them.

Probably not.

Wait, You mean keep them out?

No.

Then what?

Keep it the way it is and not worry. Some get in. Some get shipped out. Some get citizenship. Some don’t. Some go back. Keep it the way it is because currently, it isn’t a problem. Pleas etell me where the problems is.

Hispanic gangs!

Uh, there are always gangs. They just change ethic groups over the years. Ever see Gangs of New York? Irish gangs. All ethnic groups have gangs.

They take our jobs.

No, some Singaporese artist took my job. Not too many Latin American immigrants can do backgrounds for Monkey Island special edition. The future is competing with the rest of the world for jobs. For the most part Latin American immigrants aren’t competing for my job (that may change soon). I need to be better than artists in China, India, Southeast Asia, and many other parts of the world. THAT is who is taking our jobs. It’s called globalization, not immigration. Be prepared for that. Worry about the really talented hard working guy who will do your job for half your salary and who has NO desire to come here. He’ll be taking your job, not the guy hanging out in front of home depot.

It’s against the law!!!

So is smoking pot (for now), parking in handicap spots, underage drinking, and driving without a license in your wallet or purse- crimes 90% of us have committed. They are all laws that have various degrees of importance. We don’t have cops guarding every handicap parking space, do we? Because it’s not that important of a law- we don’t need to spend the money on it because it not that important. Illegal immigration is a law that needs to be enforced, but it’s not as important as laws that prevent and punish crimes like child abuse, domestic violence or rape. I’d rather we spend more money to prevent those crimes than build a 2000 mile fence that won’t work to keep coyotes out (the real ones and the human ones). Law enforcement is about priorities, - where to spend out limited law enforcement dollars, and illegal immigration has not yet proven to me be such a problem that it needs to moved up the priority list from where it is now.

Okay, smarty pants. What should we do?

Status quo. Keep it the way it is. Don’t let them all in, don’t waste a ton of ineffectual law enforcement dollars keeping them all out. And stop demonizing immigrants. I think a lot of this is just pure xenophobia and fear of an altered culture.