Argument #1

Not like the brazen giant of Greek fame,

With conquering limbs astride from land to land;

Here at our sea-washed, sunset gates shall stand

A mighty woman with a torch, whose flame

Is the imprisoned lightning, and her name

Mother of Exiles. From her beacon-hand

Glows world-wide welcome; her mild eyes command

The air-bridged harbor that twin cities frame.

"Keep ancient lands, your storied pomp!" cries she

With silent lips. "Give me your tired, your poor,

Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,

The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.

Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,

I lift my lamp beside the golden door!"

- Emma Lazarus, 1883

This famous poem is inscribed on a bronze plaque on the interior of the pedestal of the Statue of Liberty. It has been said that it is this poem that gave your Lady Liberty her reason to exist and made her the unofficial greeter of immigrants coming to America through Ellis Island.

To answer my colleague's question of whether "invaders" are considered part of the "invaded" group simply because they were there for some period of time - as a matter of fact, that is quite common historically. Invaders of the Roman Empire are now as Italian as anyone else. The British are a collection of Romans, Vikings, and several different generations of French from when those groups invaded, stuck around, and eventually integrated completely into the society. America was "invaded" by Germans (5 million between 1850 and 1930), Irish (4.5 million, same period), Italians (2 million between 1910 and 1920 alone), Eastern Europeans (2 million, 1880 - 1924), Chinese into California during the gold rush, and several other smaller groups have all been woven into American society. Many of these people came into the country illegally though Canada or Mexico or by paying off some ship captain. So being considered part of the group just because you stick around doesn't just happen, it's common. American sovereignty isn't being challenged by immigration; it's being expanded.

I ask this question: where does America stand without the labor of immigrants, many of whom are undocumented? People come to this for a chance at a better life. They get their chance, plus make life better for the rest of the population. Immigrants work hard doing jobs that many citizens consider beneath them. Immigrants spend money, improving the American economy, and send money home to their families, improving the economy of America's trading partners. Maybe they don't have their paperwork, but they contribute to society through their hard work. Without the work of immigrants, costs would be higher, goods would be fewer, and the economy would be weaker.

I do not dispute that the government has the power to regulate immigration. It is my argument that extensive regulation and punishment of those who violate policy is bad for the government and its people. Those already here need a clear, fair path to legal status and citizenship, and those wishing to come need the ability to do so legally so that they have no need to come illegally. A concise policy must include reasonable parameters for both goals. People are not illegal and must be treated with respect regardless of their immigration status. This problem cannot be solved simply by shipping people back to a country they haven't seen in decades or walling off a border. America needs immigrants, the ones who will come and those already here.