Immigration

That e-mail I got a few days ago really made me start thinking about a few things, not least legal vs. illegal immigration. And in thinking about that, it brought back a memory that I didn't really think much of at the time, but the more I think about it now, the more irritated it makes me.

I was on a plane from Frankfurt, Germany back to Atlanta, and I was seated next to a Turkish national. I could tell he was nervous because he kept figgiting with his carry-on and leafing through the magazines in the pouch in front of him.

We hadn't even taxied on to the runway, and he was strapped in tight. I was just looking around the plane when I heard something directed at me. I thought I'd just misunderstood, so I looked at him a gave a little 'Hmm?' with that universal facial expression that says 'Could you repeat that last part?' He said it again, and I'm guessing it was Turkish because it sounded like gibberish to me. I did my best to politely convey to him that I didn't understand, and asked him if he spoke German. He said no, and fished out a Turkish dictionary from his carry-on.

He did his best to have a conversation with his broken English, and noting the valiant effort, I did my best to oblige him.

'You go to visit America?'
'No..no, I live there. I'm going home.'
'You live in America?' he said with a sort of envious excitement and new-found camaraderie. 'I go to live there now, too.'
'Oh really? That's great.'
'I think there are many rich people in America.'
(*Note: At this point, I start to get a little irritated because due to the accent I thought he said 'bitch people')
'Excuse me?
'Rich people. There are many rich people in America.'
'Oh! Rich. Yes, I suppose so...'
'I get job there. Maybe someday I rich too...' he said with a sheepish smirk and a look in his eyes that said 'If only...'

He pulled a file folder out his bag, and handed me a packet of papers. It was his job application and a pile of government forms...likely his visa information and immigration papers. From what I could tell he was going to work at American Adventures in Marietta. How he managed to get that job from Turkey I have no idea.

'Maybe you read, tell me wrong things...' he said.
'Sure.'

I skimmed over the first few lines...'My name is [Turkish guy], and I come from [somewhere in Turkey]. I work very hard, and am very good at speaking, hearing, and written english..."

Figuring he wouldn't have a way to change it anyway and my pointing out mistakes would only make him nervous, I told him everything was fine. Hell, his english was infinitely better than my Turkish, and any employer worth his weight in Ramen noodles wasn't going to send someone back to Turkey for getting verb tenses confused. Plus, the grammatical errors were almost endearing in a way.

I had a hearty scab on my elbow from a nasty fall I'd taken before my trip to Germany. It was more or less healed, but he offered me a band-aid for it anyway.

After the plane landed and before there was a mad-dash for the exit, he handed me a notebook and a pen.

'You give me e-mail...'

I wrote my e-mail address as fast as I could and jumped up to get my bag that had been securely stored in the overhead compartment before take off. I was careful as I opened the latch as the contents may have shifted during the flight.

I didn't really expect to hear from him, and I didn't. The last time I saw him he was waiting for his bag to show up on the conveyer belt. Mine had arrived before his, and as I was eagerly anticipating seeing my family, my girlfriend, and eating food that I could pronounce correctly, I gave a little nod and a wave and bolted for the train.

A lot of times I wonder whatever happened to him. I'd only known him for a few (well, like 12) hours, and I'd already developed quite a bit of respect for him. He was much braver than I probably would've have been in that situation. He'd save up all the money he could, learned a foreign language, and filled out the mountain of paper work and gone through all of the bureaucratic red tape to legally move to that country with the goal of finding a better life. He saw America as a land of great opportunity, and set out to become a part of it. He was the kind of immigrant that made America great.

The more I think about it, the more it irritates me to think that he went through all that effort, and yet every day a fresh new batch of illegal immigrants just stroll across our border with no job, no working knowledge of our language, and no respect for our laws and boundaries. This kind of immigration is harmful to America. Not only economically, but culturally.

No longer is there a sense of America as a 'melting pot'. There is no sense of responsibility to adopt the American culture. Why become an American when you can be a native of your own country while getting all the benefits of America? You can shop at the same stores, eat at the same restaurants, and read the same newspapers. The ATM, grocery checkout, and television are all bilingual. Why learn the language? You're not going to get deported. Why follow immigration laws?

My opinion on immigration often gets me branded as a racist, bigot, nativist, any number of derogatory things. But I fail to see why it's unreasonable to expect people that move to America to...oh I dunno, live like Americans.

I don't have a problem with immigrants, as I said before. They should just do it legally.

I don't have a problem with them being bilingual, but if you're going to live in this country, learn the language and don't put the burden on everyone else to learn yours. If I were to move to Mexico and start demanding that everyone learn English, I'd be laughed out of town. I really don't see the difference.

I certainly don't mind people coming to America to find work. I'm not the kind to be like 'Damn Spic tuck mah jerb!' My opinion is, if someone can do my job better than me, that's my fault, not theirs. Competition is what drives the American economy. However, don't just show up in this country and hang out at Home Depot trying to get day labor. That doesn't help anyone in the long run. There have been reports that between 36% and 42% of illegal immigrants are on welfare. We've got our own downtrodden to worry about. We can't afford to dole out checks to everyone.

Another major concern of illegal immigration is crime. Too many murders, and too much theft, gang violence and drug related crime can be traced back to illegal immigrants. 33% of the prison population in America is non-citizen. We don't need this. We've got plenty of homegrown criminals to worry about without having to incarcerate millions of criminals that have no business being here in the first place.

I guess my main point is there are people out there that play by the rules. They want to come to America legally, learn the language, and be a contributing member to our society. Yet they get crapped on every day by the people who have no regard for the rules. And that's just not right. If you want to live in America, live in America. If you want to live in your country, live in your country. But don't try to change America into your country. There's a reason you're leaving it, remember? And if that reason happens to be to get on welfare or commit a crime, move to France instead. They'd love to have you.

I know I know...I'm a bigot, racist, nativist, elitist, right-winged Nazi, blah blah blah...whatever makes you feel better.