Getting Beyond the Drama of Immigration Reform

Nov. 16, 2006— -- The situation involving Elvira Arellano and her son, Saul, is heartbreaking. Little 7-year-old Saul, who is a U.S. citizen, is in the position of lobbying the government to allow his mother, who is not citizen, to stay in Chicago.

No one wants to be responsible for making the necessary decision to deport her and watch this young boy choose between America and his mother. Elvira Arellano knows this; why else would she be sending her son around to do her bidding? But let's not be swayed by the dramatics in this one particular situation and allow a terrible precedent to be set. Instead, the focus of this conversation needs to shift, yet again, to the big picture: What are we going to do about illegal immigration?

If anyone hasn't looked at a map lately -- or is completely geographically illiterate -- he or she might be confused over why the majority of the illegal immigrants are Hispanic. Obviously, many other groups make up the illegal immigrant population, and there many Hispanic people who trudge through the clogged system legally. But you'd be hard pressed to deny that Hispanics are at the heart of the debate.

Does the fact that there are fewer Koreans illegally sneaking into America make them more virtuous than the Hispanics? Of course not. Let's check our trusty map. Incredible! It turns out that Mexico is right next to the United States and Korea is an ocean apart.

In the past 20 years, the number of illegal immigrants crossing the border between Mexico and the United States has increased while the number of people caught has decreased. The length of stay of illegal immigrants has increased and the probability of them returning home has decreased. Whose fault is that? The United States'.

Once they've crossed the border, major companies and corporations illegally hire them, hoping to save money and produce higher productivity and profits. Since these illegal immigrants receive payment under the table, they are not paying back into the system -- the same system that supports the education of the their children and the health and well-being of their families. Whose fault is that? The United States'. As long as we allow the system to remain broken it will continue to hurt the country.

Jill Pike is a host of the show "Young Turks" on Air America Radio.

The debate needs to shift away from blaming the Hispanics from doing what generations of people have done -- chase the dream of freedom and opportunity. For years, I have heard both sides battle back and forth about the problems regarding illegal immigration.

Let's examine the root of the problem and fix it from there. Increase border security, crack down on employers giving these illegal immigrants a reason to stay, and create a temporary visa for those who are here now so they can begin to pay into the system. We cannot ignore our role in this problem.

The United States needs to be the solution, so that there aren't any more stories of desperate families rewarded with jobs one day and torn apart the next.

Jill Pike is one of the host of the show "Young Turks" on Air America Radio.