Immigration

Immigration is a sensitive subject for most of us. After all aside from Native Americans we are all immigrants. My great-great grandparents came to North America in the early 1860's originally settling in Canada. They moved to the United Staes in the mid 1860's and bought the home farm in 1869. President Obama issued an Executive Order last week changing enforcement of some immigration laws. He did not change the law he simply ordered that the limited enforcement capabilities of the United States government should be prioritized in a diffent manner. His order stated that illegal immigrants who were under 30 years of age, who came to the United States before the age of 16' who had a high school diploma or GED or had served in the United States military and who did not have a criminal record with more than one misdemeanor conviction could apply for a two year deferment from deportation. The deferment is eligible for review if Mr. Obama is still president in two years. Republicans are up in arms arguing that these illegal immigrants are going to take jobs away from American citizens and that President Obama is not fulfilling his obligation to enforce the laws and constitution. My brief response is that this is little different than actions taken by previous Presidents of both parties to address issues with immigration. I must at this point relay my personal experiences with this issue. I worked for the Illinois Department of Corrections for almost 21 years. I personally made arrangements for over 100 inmates to be picked up by immigration authorities for deportation. These were all convicted felons who will continue to be deported under the new Executive Order. I agree that this should be done. They were in the United States illegally and made the choice to violate the law. The consequences should include deportation. I have, however, sat down and explained the process and had inmates sign paperwork to move the deportation process forward. Some, and I admit, not many indicated and there records supported their allegation they had been brought to the United States as infants or very young children. I would advise them where in Mexico, central or South America they were going. Some had no memory of living anywhere but the United States and did not speak Spanish. President Obama is doing his best in this case to be fair. The individuals involved in this program were brought here by their parents. They had no choice. They have attended our schools, speak our language, have served in our military. Don't they deserve some consideration before we deport them while we try to address more comprehensive immigration reform? Republicans argue that President Obama is pandering for votes. They are most likely correct. Mr. Romney is changing his position in an attempt to appeal to Latino voters. Let's just stop the counter charges by both sides and just vote based on the issues. When I sat across from those men and listen to their plight and knew they would be deported it was tough. It was the right thing to do and still is for those who will not obey our laws. When you put a human face on it I would hope your attitude would change.