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Borders & Immigration

The convenience that we enjoy were founded by hard-working immigrants that came to America because it was the land of opportunity. We prospered greatly in such a short period of time because we've historically been a collection of the best, brightest, and hardest working individuals that simply wanted to improve the quality of life for ourselves and our families.

Today, the social-welfare system has not only demolished that dream for so many, but it has begun to attract some into the U.S. for the wrong reasons. While some come into the U.S. illegally simply because the laws are so outrageously complex and sometimes even impossible to comply with, others see America as the "land of the free... handouts." We not only see our paychecks decreased with higher taxes, but we now have government disbursing those funds to people that have violated the law. Not only does the system encourage people to come here for the sole purpose of freeloading, but it makes it extremely difficult to enter legally for those that want to carry their own weight and make this country an overall better place to live. The entire immigration system is clearly broken.

We must take the following steps:

• Remove the ability for non-citizens to receive benefits from social programs (ideally, we would ultimately eliminate government control over all social programs because they do more harm than good, but this is covered in a different section), thereby removing the incentive for freeloaders to cross the borders. In this way, only those willing to work to improve their lives, and pay their own way, would have reason to reside here. Those that are here illegally that are "mooching" off the system, in absense of free taxpayer money, would either begin working and contributing, or leave of their own accord.
• Simplify the process of entering and residing in the United States legally.  For those coming here to enter into and contribute to the economy (which ultimately benefits the rest of us), the process should take hours or perhaps days; not years.

We must return to a system that attracts the hard-working self-starters to the U.S.  Immigration to the United States should be no more difficult than it was in the 1800s when people entered through Ellis Island, when they were appreciative of the opportunity to seek work in order to make a better life.

Joe Cobb, Congressional candidate in Arizona's 4th district, is very knowledgable on this subject.  He has an excellent write-up on the causes of our immigration problems.