What is wrong with the immigration system?

Answer 1

It discriminates against non-whites.

Answer 2

Lots of things. It's a hodgepodge of different rules created for different reasons at different times. They don't work well together, and they don't really make sense as a whole. Enforcement is divided among many different local, state and federal agencies, who don't communicate much, don't have the same agendas, and cooperate only occasionally. The system is also pretty blatantly discriminatory. An immigrant from Sweden, for example, will have an easy time, while one from Guatemala will not. Crossing the Canadian border is fairly easy, while crossing the Mexican border is much harder.

The system has a lot of unitended consequences. American farmers, for example, are totally dependent on migrant workers, most of whom are illegal immigrants from Mexico and Central America. The recent immigration reform provided mechanisms for people to come to the US legally for this purpose, but was defeated. So now that were cracking down on the border, crops are rotting in the fields, the price of food is going up, and farmers are going broke. There are other industries that are similarly affected. There are also dramatic personal consequences. Children who are born in the US are citizens, but there have been a number of occasions when their parents were arrested and deported, with no provision made for the care of the children and no consideration given to the value of keeping families together. There are many similar stories. It's a mess.

Answer 3

I'm sorry, but the people who say that our immigration system is just fine don't know what they are talking about.

Recall: every single 9/11 hijacker was in the country legally. Every single person arrested for plotting or attempting a terrorist act on the US soil was also here legally. Recall: hundreds of thousands, if not millions of green card holders don't live in the US and never bother to apply for the US citizenship. Recall: the idea of an immigrant as being hardworking as long as he is legal is a myth; lots and lots of LEGAL immigrants neither work nor learn to speak English.

So here is what I propose:

1. Repeal political asylum provisions. They may have made sense during the Cold War, but nowadays, they are more trouble than they are worth. Not all political dissidents are soft-spoken bespectacled bookworms a la Sergei Dovlatov; Taliban fighters have gotten political asylum in the US too in the 1980's. Besides, this is one of the most inequitable laws on the books in the US: an Iranian journalist who denounces Muslim extremism will get an asylum; a Saudi journalist who denounces Muslim extremism will not. This is a law that, at best, invites people who are conditioned always to hate the State; at worst, it invites violent revolutionaries and subversives. Enough's enough: this is a dangerous game that's no longer worth playing.

2. Let's decide who we want and who we don't want. The Canadian system of awarding discreet points for everything from English/French fluency to job skills to hobbies, and then giving residency to those who score the most points, appeals very much to me.

3. Put an expiration date on green cards. I would give the Justice Department some discretion to renew a green card, but by and large, people who have no intention of becoming US citizens should leave.

4. Reform the USCIS. Better yet, dissolve it and start from scratch. Hire people with an IQ of at least 80 and some reading proficiency in English. Most USCIS workers today do not meet those criteria.

5. Limit naturalization to people who demonstrate a strong committment towards being a part of this society. Copy the Swiss: make the renunciation of one's other citizenships a prerequisite.

Answer 4

The whole thing
Throw it away and start over.
There are too many people coming into our country that can't even speak our native language.

Now the immigrants mostly Hispanic want us to change our national anthem To Spanish.

That's crazy!

If your can't speak it get out.

and it should be harder to get in.

There are too many people that are American born citizens that aren't being taken care of.

I think if you come to this country you should pay a higher tax than most and never be eligible for a tax refund as well as never being eligible for welfare or unemployment.

If you want to come here you need to carry your own load.

If you ever get caught cheating the system or commiting a crime you should get shipped out and if caught reentering the states death penalty.

We aren't the most powerful country in the world for nothing quit having these people coming just to rip it down.

Answer 5

I think it's great, but sometimes the immigration is very unreasonable. For example I am in the process of getting a green card, but since my visa is dependent on my Dad, I cant work or anything. I can get a work permit, but it takes a heck lot of time. I mean, get real...here I am 19 and I cant work...how the heck am I supposed to pay for college? I have another brother in college...and the INS should recognize certain circumstances and ease up a bit. It's not like we are illegals or something. Some rules need to be changed bottom line.

Answer 6

Honestly? on paper it is fine. It is the arrogancy of the people of the nation thinking, "we are better than them" that causes problems. Whenever you have limited resources (jobs, housing, food) the stronger pick on the weaker. It happens in a rat colony and it happen in America everyday. We just do it in a more vocal, less tactile way.

Answer 7

Nothing at all. We simply need to vigorously enforce the laws currently on the books. If we did, there wouldn't be much of a problem as there would be few jobs for undocumented workers.

Answer 8

The entire system.

Answer 9

They dont deport the illegals fast enough.

Answer 10

Nothing is worng with our immigration laws. Our congress is just to bloody scared of losing a few latino votes to enforce the one we have!!!!!!!!!!

If they would do that, there would be no problem.

Answer 11

Nothing, we simply need to enforce it.