On Immigration

The subject of immigration has been in the news a lot over the past few weeks, particularly with business mogul, reality star and 2016 Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump making it the centerpiece of his campaign.  He has derided illegal immigration from the southern border of the United States, to the point of sounding racist (which he is, but that's for another day).

This blog post isn't about Trump, however.  Immigration has been a hot topic for several years, with an estimated 11 million undocumented immigrants calling the U.S. home.  President Obama signed an executive order to deal with this issue, bypassing a far - right Republican Congress who wants to send the immigrants packing.

At my current job, I deal with undocumented immigrants every single day.  Many of them speak little to no English, and it is hard to serve them properly when they don't understand what the hell I'm talking about.

But it's not just immigrants from south of the border.  I have noticed that some Caribbean, and even some European immigrants, don't speak the English language.  This morning, I had to help a Haitian national who couldn't speak the language, and needed someone to translate information for me.  Also, at one point, a European customer who couldn't speak English got irate, and since there was no one there to translate, I couldn't figure out why.

Even a Haitian coworker turned to me one time and asked, "How the f--- are you living in America and you can't speak English?"  I didn't answer, but we all know the answer...Most of these people are not here legally.

I often wonder how undocumented immigrants get by without speaking English.  The social circles of these individuals and their families must be extremely small.

I am not a Republican.   Not by any stretch of the imagination.  But sometimes, being frustrated with the trouble I have serving the undocumented, I could appreciate the party's stance on the issue, as sometimes I think they are living better than I am.  Back in the 1950s, President Dwight D. Eisenhower suggested that immigrants learn English within five years...Or leave.

Now, before you go accusing me of being a racist or xenophobe, let me say that I am all for legal immigration, provided that people who want to live here meet certain prerequisites, like having a job and paying taxes.  Oh, and, they know how to speak the King's English.

All this being said, I honestly don't think that the undocumented have anything to worry about, not at the present time.  Let's say that Donald Trump actually pulls off a miracle and wins the presidency.  He'd have a hard time sending them back...it would be too time (and money) consuming.

Comment...As you see fit.