Illegal Immigrants must be treated as law-breakers, even as criminals, who must be penalized and not allowed to benefit from their transgressions.This is the first step of Getting our House in Order on Immigration .The doors are now open for immigration reform. The question is how wide will policymakers open the door for immigrants? This is a new starting point in the debate over reforming immigration policy. Let’s hope the forthcoming debates are open and constructive and that they move immigration policy reform in sensible, pragmatic, and beneficial ways to open up legal status and ultimately citizenship to immigrants. If we are to find our way to a solution, we must examine the genuine predicament of the thousands of illegal immigrants in our midst without ignoring the legitimate concerns thousands of Bahamians have about their presence.If we succeeded in removing the hyperbole and stereotypes from the immigration debate, our politics might open itself to a balanced approach to the problem. It is therefore helpful to look at the debate over illegal immigration as fundamentally a disagreement between two very different understandings , It is perhaps no surprise that the anger and deep anxiety aroused by illegal immigration is occurring. This immigration policy should advance the national interest. No policy addressing the immense and complicated issue of illegal immigration can satisfy everyone. Now is time to move towards Immigration Reform a policy that would do much to address the predicament faced by the undocumented while at the same time respecting and addressing the concerns of those Bahamians who have long demanded that illegals be penalized for breaking the law. It would respond to the challenge of illegal immigration in its genuine complexity and ambiguity. And only when we acknowledge that complexity, looking beyond the differences that too often shape the immigration debate, we can see our way to a plausible policy solution.
Posted on: Sun, 02 Nov 2014 18:02:12 +0000
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