Path to Citizenship

For John, BLUF:  Do Illegal Immigrants want to be US Citizens?  Nothing to see here; just move along.

Down in Washington our Congresscritters and the Administration are talking about solving our illegal immigration problem (again).  According to the Pew Trust, back in 2011, of the 11.1 million illegal immigrants in the United States, 6.1 million (or 55%) were from Mexico.  There is a lot of talk about a "path to citizenship".  That may qualify as "loose talk".

But nearly two-thirds of the 5.4 million legal immigrants from Mexico who are eligible to become citizens of the U.S. have not yet taken that step. Their rate of naturalization – 36% – is only half that of legal immigrants from all other countries combined (68%), according to an analysis of Census Bureau data.

So what is going on here?  Before we offer a "path to citizenship" should we not be asking why a large majority of Mexicans in the United States are not interested in US Citizenship?  What does that tell us?

Pew says the reasons given include:

• Not interested—26%
• Lack of English Proficiency—26%
• Financial and Admin Barriers 18%
• Not Eligible or Awaiting Green Card—13%
• Currently Applying—4%

The English requirement does not seem unreasonable, so that a US Citizen feels free to travel anywhere, even places where Spanish is not the majority minority language.  Are our local communities doing enough to offer English schooling?

The cost of $680 doesn't seem unreasonable, but for those in the lowest quintile of income earners it could be a problem.  Should the rest of us pay for the cost of paperwork for illegal immigrants?  I say yes, we should, except for some small portion.  If Citizenship is worth something, the recipient should pay something, a nominal fee.  I would set it at $100.

There is the requirement to take an oath of citizenship swearing allegiance to the United States.  This does not seem unreasonable.  In fact, I would change the law—the constitution if needs be—to require renunciation of all other allegiances.  That is to say, I would wipe out "dual citizenship".

Then there is the question about the 26% who aren't interested in becoming US Citizens.  Are they just economic tourists who have overstayed their visa, but will go home some time?  Will they stay here and enjoy the benefits of living in the US, including a Social Security death benefit?  Are their interests actually inimical to those of the United States?  We need to know more before we proceed.

And, of course, there is always the "it isn't illegal to be illegal in Massachusetts" approach.

Regards  —  Cliff