Immigration

I really liked the idea from one of the TEDtalks we watched: while people may commit illegal actions, the actions themselves are illegal--not the people. I think governments and populations tend to think of immigrants as some sort of illegal parasite, which I find heartbreaking. These people migrate to escape tough situations, and it's unfair to judge them without taking into consideration all the hardships they face. In class, we found some statistical figures indicating that immigrants tend to be more economically active than the rest of countries' populations. This makes sense; people tend to immigrate with the intent of working hard to obtain a better life for themselves and their families. This means that, humane issues aside, it's erroneous to think of immigrants as parasites to a country's economy. They are, in fact, just the opposite: positive contributions. Some people argue that immigrants "steal" jobs, but, in my opinion, people who state those arguments are only using immigrants as scapegoats for their inability to get a satisfying job. Were those people sufficiently qualified to get a job, they would be able to do so--the immigrants are not the problem. An exception to my argument is that some immigrants who may be slightly less qualified than citizens end up getting the jobs because they accept lower wages. Well, this problem wouldn't exist if countries didn't marginalize immigrants by refusing to provide appropriate legalization plans. Even if immigrants were not positively contributing to a country's economy, they deserve to be treated as people. Under no circumstances should they be stripped of their dignity and basic human rights. I believe we should be more sensible towards them, and, instead of seeing them as numbers, see them as people. It's contradictory, for example, of US citizens to donate to charities devoted to foreign aid and simultaneously give a hostile treatment to immigrants. In the DR, I believe the population has an (at least slight) anti-Haitian bias ingrained their minds. This is something that definitely should change, regardless of the legal policies in place or what the government decides to do.

Comments

  1. I agree with what juangi is saying, although people might commit illegal actions doesn't mean they are illegal people

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  2. I agree with what juangi is saying, although people might commit illegal actions doesn't mean they are illegal people

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  3. Completely agree with you...as always you go straight to the heart of the matter. Well done!

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