Illegal Immigration: What is it Really About?

I do not condone or advocate any type of illegal behavior. Illegal immigration is a very complex and controversial topic. The issue of illegal immigration involves economics, race and class. We live in an economic system based on free enterprise. Free enterprise is defined as business governed by the laws of supply and demand. Not restrained by government interference regulation and subsidies, also called free market ( direct quote).

Economics
Illegal immigration based on free enterprise is a logical result of the human desire to better his or her condition. The employer maximizes profit and lowers expenses while the employee is improving his or her present condition and future earning potential.
People who support globalization feel that goods and services can go across the border, free trade, capital can be moved around the world with the push of a button but labor should not be equally as free. Everyday we buy and use goods that are manufactured in countries where cheap labor helps to lower costs and increase profit i.e. Nike Corporation and Dell's Customer Service Division.

Race
The most famous statue, the statue that embodies the "American Dream," etched on the very foundation of Lady Liberty is her solemn cry...
"Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door"
At one point in our history illegal immigration was not as great of a concern because these immigrants were of Anglo Saxon heritage [white]. If the immigrants of today were from Canada, Germany or France the discussion would not be as it is today. America is accustomed to white privilege. However, the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo signed in 1848 was supposed to ensure people of Mexican decent had access to previously owned territories lost during the invasion of Mexico by white settler. The origin of America's wealth was established by free labor; now in the twenty-first century we have cheap labor i.e. illegal immigration. It is as American as American Pie, maximizing profit by minimizing cost.

Class
We are afraid of people, places, and things of which we have had limited exposure and access to. Class is defined as a group whose members have certain attributes in common, a social or economic stratum whose members share similar characteristics. Most Americans have certain ideals and attributes that are common to all. However, we are now confronted with having to interact with a culture that many feel do not share similar characteristics.
Out of desperation, people risk their lives, their freedom and life with their families in an attempt to better their standard of living. We as Americans profess to be the land of the free, home of the brave, a melting pot for the world. We have an economic system that is superior to all nations of the earth. It is unfathomable to believe that people who were once settled here would not want a piece of "the pie". We as dignified citizens should respect people wanting to better their condition, which is something that we all want to do. We as Americans must balance find a way to balance the law with that the human condition. Matthew 25:45 says ...Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me.