I just read an AJC study that says 1 in 8 Georgia residents are immigrants and 53% of the foriegn born population are illegal.
This is a subject I tend to stay away from... for personal reasons.
I live in a mixed race, gated community. I got to a multi ethnic church. Needless to say, I have friends and acquaintences of many races. When I meet a new person, I don't stop to consider if they are illegal, just that they are my neighbors. I get to know them. I visit thier home. I invite them into mine. My friends are of many nationalities and I like it like that. But that is just me.
Then the subject of illegal aliens comes up and I am forced to think about how many of these wonderful, moral people that I know could easily get deported and I would never see them again. It breaks my heart.
My biggest problem with the word illegal is the word illegal. I wonder what can be done to change that?
The word 'illegal' will be removed when they go get the proper documentation to be in this country, as they should have done in the first place - as I would do if I was going to move to another country or even planned to work there for a period of time, I would set out to make sure I was doing it legally. The main point is, many don't WANT to be here legally - they want to be "off the grid," and have all the advantages of America without any of the responsibilities. They want to send the money back home to their foreign country. Everyone is welcome, and like you, I LIKE a multi-cultural area, but I like my neighbors to be here legally...just as I would act in the correct legal and social mores of their home country, if I went THERE.
ReplyDeleteAnd I feel that way too... I really do. I am married to a legal immigrant who recently became a citizen. He was brought here when he was five, and it took years to get citizenship (when he decided to do it).
ReplyDeleteThe thing is... when you are meeting people and making friends, you don't ask for greencard status. So you literally grow to love or at least like people and then find out they are not legal. The heart does not think as logically.