America Owes Nothing to Illegal Immigrants

In response to “What America Owes Its ‘Illegals’” written by Barbara Ehrenreich in her blog entry I strongly disagree with her statement that we should not fine illegal immigrants for coming into our country illegally. She thinks we should give them a bonus since they are the ones cleaning our offices and doing our lawn work. In times like these where American unemployment rates are extremely high I believe that Americans should not have to fight illegal immigrants for these jobs. I agree the jobs that these aliens are receiving are “dirty work” jobs, but paychecks are paychecks and for someone who has to support their family they would take any job they could and if they lost a job opportunity to someone who is here illegally earning money and sending it to foreign countries I’m confident that they would be quite upset. Being a U.S. citizen is an honor that I am proud to have; my ancestors had to deal with getting into this country legally so they could provide better lives for my family. So if I was losing out to a job that I should be considered for, because someone who is here illegally will work for cheaper wages I would be irate and think that they should be fined for taking the money I could have earned but now I have to collect unemployment which is costing the government and tax payers unnecessary money. A $5000 dollar fine would be to compensate the money the government lost handing out unemployment for an unnecessary reason. She states in her blog entry that she believes that “if someone breaks into her house and steals she would be hell-bent on restitution. But if they break in for the purpose of cleaning it then, in my way of thinking anyway, the debt goes in the other direction.” So she obviously isn’t seeing that these illegal immigrants are breaking into our country and stealing jobs. The ways she is seeing it is that illegal immigrants are doing jobs that wouldn't get done if they were not here. Many Americans work as nannies, construction workers, landscapers, and dish washers which are the jobs she states wouldn’t get done. I’m confident that if America didn't have illegal immigrants all of these jobs would still be filled and completed by the Americans who cannot find work. I am all for immigrants coming to this country to better their lives, but there are steps that are necessary to take to become a legal citizen. After all America is a melting pot of culture.