by Maria K.

Created on: August 05, 2008

I am an immigrant. Having been a leaf in the winds of the U.S. immigration system for the last fourteen years, I too would like to know why America fears us so.

Several authors who have written articles for this category have addressed possibility of terrorism, the strain that illegal immigrants place on the healthcare system and on the state budgets, and the general threat to the country's resources.

As far as terrorism is concerned, one of the authors had already pointed out that there is such a thing as an U.S.-born anti-American terrorist. In addition, while overall violent crime rates have been falling for the last 12 years and are now at their lowest since 1994, Americans are still quite good at eliminating each other without foreign assistance. This may seem harsh, but let us consider this: 7,194 violent crimes were committed in Charlotte, North Carolina in 2003, of which 66 were murders. Assuming that only one person was impacted in each of these incidents (which is unlikely), in one year - in just one American city - the number of people impacted by a violent crime was twice as many as the number that died during the World Trade Center catastrophe.

The risk of illegal immigrants "stealing" American jobs can also be viewed from more than one angle. Consider the jobs that are taken by immigrants coming across the southern border. If we figured out a way to just take all of those immigrants out of the system and send them home at once, how many Americans do you suppose would be lining up to pick crops and clean toilets at hotels?

As for American resources, I find it rather interesting that there were no protests during the "brain drain" of the socialist block scientists that began in the 1950's and continues to this day. Yes, coming from the former Soviet Union, I am fully aware that those scientists (and artists, and actors, and engineers) left for valid reasons. But where was America's concern for the well-being of other countries, that were being stripped of their cultural and intellectual resources that could have potentially accelerated those countries' progress toward a better way of life?

Not all illegal immigrants are the same. I came to this country legally, yet became illegal for a period of time because I followed the system (and isn't this the all-American cry, "Just follow the system!"). There are certain kinds of visa, that require that one applies for three months in advance before they expire, but take six months to process. So, one is bound

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