by Mark Mylod

Created on: August 15, 2008

The United States has had a history of excluding various ethnic groups since the Alien and Sedition Acts during John Adams term. There are a multitude of the causes for this including xenophobia, foreign policy and economics among others which are basically the same issues that exist today. Our history has a marred and ugly past on immigration and this is not disputed. The United States has a population of 304,660,969 and its size is slightly larger than Brazil and the estimates are that roughly that between 13 million and 25 million are living here illegally. Nobody really knows the exact number, but the drain on our economy is becoming more and more a reality that we can no longer tolerate or absorb as our educational, medical and businesses suffer. Arguments made to the contributions that illegal immigrants contribute to this country are superfluous. We are going to go through some pretty tough economic times as things are looking grim. Rising gas prices, staggering grocery bills, bailing out incompetent mortgage and banking lenders, irresponsible home buyers and faltering loan corporations and maintaining two wars are leaving us high and dry.

It is our children who will suffer the most trying to keep their heads above water as hospitals are closing down unable to sustain the constant bleeding, welfare benefits being sucked dry, and educators struggle to teach the vast majority of illegal students who have no intention of completing high with a drop out rate of 50%. Neither presidential candidate will address this issue as it is not in their best interest when vying for votes. Americans are the most generous nation when it comes to humanitarian causes, but are turning a blind eye when it comes to their own self interest. We are in crisis and our fragile borders must be secured in conjunction with sound immigration policies that must be implemented immediately, otherwise we are doomed to losing our status as a strong and powerful country. Does xenophobia connote racism? It may indeed entail some elements of xenophobia, discrimination, racism, prejudice and sundry of ugly words that has had America's diverse culture handcuffed to its undisputed past misgivings. It will take some time before the United States acknowledges its obscure identity and accepts that all men and were created "free and equal" regardless of their ethnic origin, but economics and common sense trump xenophobia in regard to immigration.

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