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April 11, 2006
Mass protests
Mass protests... but not in France. BBC News online has an article covering mass protests in the US, in favor of rights for immigrants including people who don't have legal permission.
On Friday, the US Senate failed to reach agreement on a compromise deal that would allow an estimated 11.5 million illegal immigrants apply for US citizenship.President George W Bush backs the guest-worker scheme but faces stiff opposition within his Republican party.
As a long-term guest in another country, I was ready to find myself biased off the scale on yet another issue here. Yet my actual position is perhaps close to moderate. I agree superficially with the President, at least insofar as this article reflects his position on the question.
Folks who go that far out of their way to make their lives in the US should have the opportunity to apply for citizenship.
One of the concerns current US citizens may have about this is more people arriving to compete for a limited number of jobs. (Not as big a deal in the US job market as in France or Germany, but nonetheless a real point.) There I'm virtually certain of having off-the-scale opinions. However I believe a reasonable argument can be made to say that those willingly leaving their home country to make a better life elsewhere are unlikely to add to the general level of slack in an economy. On the contrary they're likely to come with a lot of energy, appetite, and willingness to pitch in.
In the US where nearly everyone is descendant from immigrants, it seems fair that we'd lower barriers of entry. Not without serious discussion, of course. But the country should welcome those who honestly want to be there for most of the same reasons the folks already there want to stay.
Posted by Mark at April 11, 2006 09:33 PM
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