Immigration: I'd Like to Understand

I Don’t Understand, But Would Like To

Wind is whipping outside my window.

The American flag hanging on my front porch bangs against the window.

My news feeds are littered with pictures and stories of high school students around Oregon (urban areas) protesting ICE and the deportation of immigrants.

As of 2023, Oregon had 155,000 undocumented immigrants living within its borders.

What does it mean to be undocumented?

An undocumented immigrant is a foreign-born person living in the U.S. without legal authorization, meaning they either entered without permission, overstayed a valid visa, or violated the terms of their admission, though some may be seeking asylum or have pending applications.

We are told ICE is arresting mostly dangerous people who are here illegally.

But opponents of cracking down on the number of illegals living in the state say people who are not dangerous are being rounded up as well.

Supporters of ICE efforts say if you’re here illegally, ICE should send you back; that’s the law.

It’s hard to know whom to believe anymore.

The media loves a good headline, so it focuses on those stories that tell the most horrible tale.

Advocates for the people being questioned have their point of view.

And then there are the folks who say illegal is illegal, if you are mistakenly sent back, too bad you weren’t supposed to be here anyway.

For any of us who ask questions, we are labeled racists or something worse.

I honestly don’t understand why we’re so bad for asking questions when if you or I were to try doing what the undocumented workers are doing in the U.S, in another country, there would be no mercy, no protests, no guilt, we’d be on the next plane ride home.

Some of you will prove my point by filling my comment section with name-calling and labels.

To me and others who think like me, that’s proof of a weak argument.

I’d like to hear thoughtful dialogue, without accusation, just information, minus the emotion, as to why you believe what you believe.

Maybe the rest of us are missing something?

Perhaps ICE is making mistakes, but, from my point of view, illegal is illegal, and that’s the risk you take breaking the law.

Where we agree is, immigration is good for our country.

Not mass immigration like happened under the Biden administration.

I have my thoughts on why he did that, but that’s for another story.

Most of us, at least half of our family, came to this country as legal immigrants.

They followed the rules.

They understood that if you broke the rules, you’d be deported.

If the laws are unfair, and that’s highly probable, work to fix them, change the rules, not just break them.

Please, people on both sides of this issue, no name-calling.

We should be able to have an intelligent and genuine conversation about this issue.

But how we answer will tell what words cannot say.