Drew Carey on David Beckham and what his move to America says about immigration.

I think it’s a little unfair to call those who oppose illegal immigration “anti-immigration.” It’s true that some who oppose illegal immigration are isolationists and/or xenophobes, but it’s not true that all who oppose illegal immigration are those things.  Suggesting otherwise does little to bring unity to this contentious debate.

But I don’t disagree with Carey’s point here either.  I’ve long said that one of the best ways to reduce illegal immigration is to make it easier to legally immigrate.  I agree that “all peaceful people” should be welcome in America.  What I don’t agree with is the idea that our borders should be 100% open, and that we should ignore current laws.

We need to maintain some level of security at the border in order to control things such as plant, animal and human diseases.  Not to mention non-peaceful immigrants.  We also need to rid our country of those illegal immigrants who came here in contradiction of our laws in the first place as I’d argue that these people are not “peaceful” but instead have a rather profound lack of respect for our laws and sovereignty.

Going forward, I don’t have a problem with letting in all immigrants who pass a basic health and security screening and making all of them citizens.  What I have a problem with is giving citizenship to people who came here illegally.  Not to mention the status quo where illegal immigrant criminals, bureaucrats and politicians alike ignore the law for the sake of expediency.