William R. Richardson: “Historically our country has made few distinctions between legal immigrants and American citizens. Instead we have…”

“Historically our country has made few distinctions between legal immigrants and American citizens. Instead we have always drawn a clear line between legal immigrants and undocumented workers. Our current debate, however, combines legal and illegal immigration and focuses mainly on the economic outcomes while neglecting our social, cultural and moral goals. Too many people wrongly believe today that today's immigrants drain our economy and use far more welfare than native born Americans. Plain and simple, this is not true. Legal immigrants not only pay taxes and can be drafted in time of war, which are the main legal obligations of citizens, but they also start businesses, purchase goods and services, and create jobs, which is essential for the well-being of our economy. We must address this issue in the rule and we should support the Chrysler-Berman amendment. If we are going to have immigration reform, legal immigration and reform, we should first of all promote the strength of families and their values through family reunification. We should also protect American workers from unfair competition while providing employers with appropriate access to international labor markets to promote our competitiveness. Third, we should promote naturalization to encourage full participation in the national community.”