I’m an Australian living in the US now (totally legally, have a job, pay taxes, etc etc) and I think that anyone that thinks America works without illegal immigration are just not working with a fully loaded brain. You literally would not be able to eat half the foods you eat for the price you eat them just as one example.
Now I hear the sob stories on NPR about people that came here legally then overstayed their visa, had kids, and now whinge that they need to stay for their kids. Personally I think those people are for the most part complete assholes. All they did was put the country and their kids in a really precarious situation. Not one interview has had a person coming here for persecution reasons - it’s 100% economic and I have no time for them.
For those that are persecuted then absolutely America and Australia are rich countries that like to tell China, India, Pakistan etc all about human rights so they should follow their own advice and take as many as they can afford to take in.
However I have heard no real discussion from the morons against amnesty about what the country will do if all of these illegals are sent back home. Will you pay double the price to have your house cleaned, shoes shines and fleet of cars detailed? Idiots. I work in the agriculture industry and I’ll tell you that 99c avacado won’t be 99c anymore. Your $4 sandwich will be $8 etc just like Australia where we have super strict labour laws and high minimum wage (about $17/hr for adults I believe).
There’s a middle ground. I think like anything illegal its actually 100% better to make it legal and manage it rather than keep it illegal and try to ignore that it happens - dealing with all the knock on effects and symptoms piece meal. For instance the minimum wage in this country absolutely needs to rise and that can’t happen as long as a lot of those workers are undocumented. There’s always 100 other undocumented workers willing to work for $4/hr of cash with no safety laws. If they’re documented and able to make legal complaints it forces companies to work to the standards and protect their employees which also in turn protects you and I from having half assed quality product and food that makes us sick with salmonella, flu, etc. The current mining issues show the lack of care companies have these days for employees and how the power has shifted since the GFC.
So in short as a relative outsider I think amnesty is the right approach and then to come down on new illegals with a tonne of bricks and send them home. So many things the republicans are fighting for or against at the moment are the positions of corruption. Health Care here is a JOKE - there is too much choice and the prices are 3x that of Australia for worse care (look it up). Minimum wage is not enough to live on and the benefits are killing Americans (people NEED annual leave and real sick leave - it’s financially better for a business - look it up).
America is an amazing country and the people for the most part ARE different. There is a true entrepreneurial sprit here that I love and it’s exciting to work in industries here that are boring and entrenched in their ways back home. Businesses are always looking for an edge here. However I honestly believe all countries have something to learn from each other and my biggest take aways for the US would be that you need to recognise that a lot of the stuff you love like cheap clothes, food, etc are on the backs of underpaid illegals that need to stay here to continue that. Also health care setups of countries like Australia are not bad and actually remove a lot of the anxiety of everyone at all levels of income.
I really love America but just like my home country I wish politicians would open their eyes and try and get in touch with reality before trying to slam ideology down our throats. I’d also like it if more people really understood the situations involved rather than parroted fox news and politicians in general.