I came across an interesting report a few days ago in USA Today. The report stated that nearly 75% of children who were born to illegal immigrants were born in the U.S., making those children U.S. citizens.
I believe a study like this one highlights one of the major reasons that immigration reform is so badly needed in the U.S. As the law stands right now, parents who have entered the country illegally, even where their children are U.S. citizens, have no path to gaining legal status. The result of enforcement of current immigration laws is to separate U.S. citizen children from their birth parents, often at very young ages. I believe that a system that mandates breaking apart a family unit as frequently as our system currently does is a system that requires fixing.
While I believe that measures must be taken that will allow illegal immigrants to legally keep their families intact, I disagree with granting illegals full amnesty. Instead, I think the best plan that I have heard would provide illegal immigrants a path toward gaining legal status in the U.S. through payment of fines, a lengthy application process and a requirement that the illegal immigrants learn English. This plan would give illegals the opportunity to right their wrongs without flatly absolving them of punishment for entering the country illegally in the first place. Most importantly, this change would end the current government practice of separating the family unit. I believe that any reform plans for the current immigration system must make maintenance of the family unit a top priority.
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