Dueling Citizenships

Most working-age illegal immigrants from Mexico don’t necessarily want US citizenship. Sure, they'll take it if we offer it.  They like the United States, but they love their homeland. What they want is a visa, the right to travel back and forth with their heads held high, to work and to own property here and to not have to slink around in the shadows.

To grant these people citizenship would be a gross devaluation of our birthright and an outright stupidity. I've had illegal immigrants tell me so. The vast majority we grant citizenship to would not renounce the nation of their birth, but would hold on to their cedulas, matriculas and original passports.

We would be granting US citizenship to people who feel no special love or allegiance to our nation. The vast majority would thank us very much, but they would remain voting Mexican citizens and property owners who happen to have the extra bennie of a US citizenship in their back pocket.

Visas Now -- Decide the Citizenship Question Later when We have More Information

We do need to humanely address what we do with the illegal immigrants we've invited in. Yes, we did invite them in. Uncle Sam not only purposely left the doors and windows wide open, he adorned them with blazing neon Welcome signs. He also gave not a care about ID theft or workplace enforcement beyond a few token raids apparently designed principally to turn America’s hearts against rounding up illegals.

And We The People employed them to roof our houses, install carpets, do our landscaping and other work we Americans just won't do anymore.  So we must shoulder our share of the blame.

I am for giving citizenship to people who were brought here as children and who have known no other country, but a blanket amnesty only empowers leftwing agitation groups and then encourages more people to flock here illegally, increasing the leftwing ranks even more.

We could immediately regularize the millions here by issuing multiple entry and exit visas that also gave them permission to work.  This also would give us a clearer picture and allow us to expedite the cases of those who truly want citizenship and who are most deserving, and it would immediately improve the material position of all.

Public Agenda: A Place to Call Home

Time to Cut a Deal on Immigration

* For an interesting and different spin, read Reuben Navarette's article My Mexican-American Identity Crisis