AUTHOR'S NOTE: The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views or position of the Latin Chamber of Commerce.

AS THE CURRENT debate on illegal immigration plays out locally and on the national stage, I cannot help but reflect upon my own family's immigrant journey. In the early years of the last century, my paternal and maternal grandparents, along with my very young parents, immigrated illegally to this country from Mexico. They came to work for the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railroad and settled in the heartland city of Topeka, Kansas. They were dirt poor, illiterate, and did not speak a word of English. Theirs was not an easy life and they endured overt ethnic discrimination for many years. They were brave and honorable people, however, and they worked hard, persevered and in time became loyal American citizens.

In World War II, six of my grandparents sons served honorably in Europe and the Pacific. Two of them were wounded in combat and one was captured at the Battle of the Bulge and was held prisoner in Germany until the end of the war. After the war, they came home and helped to build this great nation. Their story, and those of millions of other Hispanic immigrants, must never be forgotten.

Today, there is great debate over whether immigrants like my grandparents and parents should be allowed to stay in this country. To address the volatile illegal immigration issue, the Bush Administration and the House of Representatives have already proposed legislation, and the U.S. Senate will soon propose its own legislation to overhaul this nation's existing immigration laws. It goes without saying that there are big stakes involved and that millions of lives will be affected no matter what legislation is ultimately passed into law.

The Bush Plan. Briefly, President Bush's immigration plan would match American companies with foreign workers needing jobs. The program would provide temporary legal status through a guest worker program to millions of undocumented workers in the United States. Initially, Bush also talked about legalizing undocumented workers who are already in the country. Not surprisingly, both proposals met with strong opposition from the Republican party, particularly the right wingers. Bush recently went on record saying that "Ours is a nation of law and ours is a nation of immigrants, and I believe that we can have a rational, important immigration policy that's based upon law and reflects our deep desire to be a compassionate and decent nation. Our government must enforce our borders; we've got plans in place to do so. But part of enforcing our borders is to have a guest worker program that encourages people to register their presence so that we know who they are…"

The House Bill. The House passed H.R. 4437, the Border Protection, Antiterrorism and Illegal Immigration Control Act, a bill that contains increased border enforcement, much harsher financial penalties for employers who hire illegal immigrants and severe legal penalties for those who smuggle them across borders. It also makes illegal entry into the United States a felony and requires that undocumented immigrants be apprehended and held in detention facilities until they are deported. In addition, the house bill includes the construction of a 700-mile fence along parts of the U.S.-Mexican border. This bill is considered one of the harshest pieces of anti-immigration legislation passed in the last fifty years and critics say that it will only serve to drive millions of illegal immigrants further underground because it does not acknowledge the economic forces that drive illegal immigration.

The Senate Bill. At the time of writing this article, the Senate was deep into its debate on their immigration bill. Early in the discussions, Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, R-Tenn. threatened to sponsor a bill that would tighten control of our borders without creating a guest worker program. However, Senator John McCain, R-Ariz. pushed the President's guest worker program. On the Democrat side, Senator Harry Reid, D-Nev. said that he would filibuster Senator Frist's bill if it passed. Regrettably, the Senate adjourned for the Easter Holiday without taking action. When they reconvened, it was fascinating to see how the Senate tried to resolve the differences between the President's recommendations, the House Bill, Senator Frist's proposed bill, and the McCain-Kennedy Bill. I strongly recommend that every concerned Hispanic closely follow this issue in the next few weeks because whatever happens will have a significant long-term impact on this nation's Hispanic population.

The Marches and Immigrant Backlash. The record high number of illegal immigrants in this country, and recent large marches by immigrants, locally and across America, have exacerbated a growing backlash among angry Americans who feel that illegal immigrants should be arrested and forcibly deported. Like many Americans, I too did not like seeing the marchers waving Mexican flags, carrying signs in Spanish, and yelling "Viva Mexico." That lack of political sophistication aside, however, I have great empathy for those hard-working immigrants who feel, justifiably, that their lives and the future of their children are being threatened. They have sampled the American Dream and it is unrealistic to think that they will voluntarily leave this wonderful country after having experienced what it offers. Would you? Would anyone? They have roots here—their children were born here and are enrolled in our schools. Those children speak English, obey our laws, aspire to higher education, and one day soon will become taxpayers and American citizens of the highest order. Are these really the kind of people we want to throw out of our country?

The Case for Intelligent Immigration Reform. It is widely accepted, even among pro-immigrant groups, that the new immigration bill will have a strong border security provision whose aim will be to curtail or completely stop the flow of illegal immigration into this country. I too am a strong advocate for securing our borders. If that means building a 700-mile fence and hiring another 10,000 border patrol officers, then so be it. It is long past time to stop the unchecked flow of illegal immigration! What has not yet been settled, however, is what the Congress is going to do about the millions of illegal immigrants who are already here. This latter dilemma, of course, is the source of the great debate now going on in the United States Senate and throughout this nation.

Making the debate more complex is the reality that the tens of thousands of American businesses who benefit from immigrant labor are not eager to stem the tide of illegal immigrants because those immigrants continue to fuel their businesses and our national economy. Those businesses know that it will hurt them if the Congress does not pass a guest-worker program that allows longtime illegal residents to apply for and work toward citizenship.

Undoubtedly, this nation's business leaders are also aware of the fast-approaching retirement of millions of baby boomers that will result in a need for millions of new workers to replace them. That workforce reality was articulated in a recent interview with outgoing Mexican President, Vicente Fox, who said "I am absolutely convinced that by 2010, the United States will have a great demand for workers and laborers to sustain its economy. In a few years, the United States might be begging Mexico for the very workers it's trying to keep out by building a wall along the border."

Is it really in America's best interests to seek to deport the 11 million illegal immigrants currently estimated to be in the United States? And does America, given its values and traditions, really want to break up families or seek to deport the children born in this country to illegal immigrants?

Personally, for all of the reasons just mentioned, I believe that members of Congress had better listen well to what these want-to-be Americans are saying to them. I also recommend that they have more confidence in America's ability to turn all those illegal immigrants into loyal American citizens. Remember, America is the greatest seducer of hearts and minds to ever exist in the long history of our earth.

Members of Congress should also remember that despite their newness to our country, these undocumented immigrants have already helped to spur a great period of national growth and economic progress. And, above all, I recommend that our elected leaders remember that the American Dream and American Heart have always been big enough and caring enough to take in the "tempest tossed" of the world and turn them into loyal Americans. That remarkable transformation—more than anything else that I can think of—is what keeps America great!  

Latin Chamber of Commerce issues immigration position statement (PDF format):