Letter: Working illegal aliens should become citizens

Thursday, Oct. 2, 2003 | 8:59 a.m.

Recently Las Vegas hosted several immigrants on their way to Washington to voice concerns over current immigration policy in America. Among other worthy goals, they are seeking enactment of legislation designed to allow qualified undocumented working aliens a way to become legal.

This is important to all of us. The fewer undocumented aliens there are in this country, the more ability we have to identify who's actually here. This interest goes to the heart of the security of our nation and its borders.

There are only two ways to achieve the reduction in numbers of undocumented aliens: removing them or legalizing them.

Removing them would ignore the simple truth that we depend on undocumented workers for many needed services. Not even the AFL-CIO regards removing undocumented workers as a viable solution. In fact, the AFL-CIO is a key sponsoring partner in the Immigrant Workers Freedom Ride. Current legislative proposals in Washington would grant legal immigrant status to aliens who can prove that they have been residing in the U.S. for at least five years, and have worked for at least three of those years.

If successful, this legislation would allow the newly documented workers the right to pay taxes, pay into the Social Security trust fund, purchase houses (and the mortgages that go with them), and perhaps most importantly, emerge from the shadows of our nation at a time when we need to be able to know who walks among us.

The efforts of these Freedom Riders can be compared to the Freedom Riders of the 1960s who went to Washington and changed forever how this country views civil rights for its minorities. This current version of Freedom Riders has no less important a goal.

PETER L. ASHMAN

Editor's note: Peter L. Ashman is chairman of the Nevada chapter of the American Immigration Lawyers Association.