Blue Team: Immigration makes America stronger

By Linda Bamba, Blue Team 

My family did not have the benefits some might today with the proposed immigration reform.

So hopefully in a few short years this can go into effect and actually help undocumented people out there. Unfortunately, my family had to go the hard way and make a path of their own.                                                                                                                                                              

I have a personal attachment to this story because it shapes my childhood and the background that I come from. My entire family is from Ivory Coast in West Africa.

They all came to the U.S with a working visa and green card but went through a lengthy and costly process that did not even guarantee safety within the country. Working just as hard as an American citizen, my parents spent almost 5-6 years to become legal.

Even though they had a child in this country they still had to fight for citizenship. With the immigration reform people that have been in this country for years are able to have an efficient way of becoming legal in this country.

The Reagan era was the last time this topic has been brought to light in Congress. Recently the Senate passed immigration reform with a 68 to 32 ratio with only 14 of them being Republicans.

This story sadly switched from the 11 million undocumented immigrants living in the United States into a battle between the Senate and the House.

Now that the Senate has passed immigration reform, the House of Representatives should do the same so that the U.S can continue to make a path for the undocumented.

 

I have many friends whose families that would have to constantly look over their shoulders because they were scared of deportation. Whether they have been here for 20 years and speak perfect English would not matter because they are “aliens.”

As a country built upon the belief of freedom, we have become the melting pot. A place where as a citizen in a direct-democracy we have rights given to us by the constitution that ensures equality and justice.

Why would we make the process so long for others? Or set the prices on each document so expensive some families can only send one or two members? With the economic state that our country is facing now, the immigration reform can only benefit us in the long run. Think about it, the more people that pay taxes the more money that goes into business that makes jobs.

Documenting aliens will give them rights to buy homes, making them not only land owners but car owners and business owners only making the economy stronger.