America was founded by immigrants and was built upon their effort and labor. The United States as we know it wouldn’t be the same if it wasn’t for those who made the journey here in search of a better life. But those who came so long ago came through places such as Ellis Island and did it legally and fairly, as not to cheat the system of the country that they were so desperate to live in.

When those people got to America, they were vetted and were asked a series of questions about their previous jobs, their health, and other crucial background information, such as why they wanted to live here. They were either given citizenship or they were turned away. If they had diseases or they weren’t able to compete with the workforce in some way, they were sent back because America didn’t want just anyone – it wanted the best.

Those first immigrants were happy to be here and brought determination and positive aspects of their culture with them, but they also assimilated into our culture and our values, because they understood they were no longer just a Italian or just Chinese or anything else because they are more than that, they were now also a proud American.

In recent years, immigration has received a lot more attention both legally and illegally. The caravan headed towards our southern border is a great example, as some 14,000 people are making their way up from Honduras to try and plead for asylum and to gain entry into the United States through a flawed system (according to politifact.com). These people will be given a court date to plead their case and in the meantime are able to stay, but if you were an immigrant trying to seek entry and you could either run off and stay in the United States or face the possibility of being turned down and sent back to where you came from what would you choose?

This may not be crossing the Rio Grande with a Coyote (a hired guide to take you across the border). But it is still illegal immigration and is still a threat to our lives and to our country. Just to prove my point Mollie Tibbets was a college student at Iowa University that was murdered by Cristhian Rivera who was an illegal immigrant if he wouldn’t have been able to get in illegally Mollie Tibbets may still be alive. These undocumented immigrants are taking jobs from actual citizens, they don’t pay taxes, and are pushing down wages. Another aspect to consider is that the people who come into this country the correct way have been vetted and have been deemed safe.

The people who have not, could be anyone from a hardworking man to a drug lord. The fact is, we don’t know who these people are and with approximately 13,200,000+ immigrants being undocumented, that’s a pretty big uncertainty.

If you had a batch of cookies and you were told that there’s a possibility some of them could be poisoned, would you still blindly eat one without making sure it wasn’t poisoned? The same argument applies here, if we can’t check to make sure they’re not a threat then how could we possibly take that chance and put peoples lives in danger by letting them in?

Still, there are people who push to have these already flawed laws torn down and to let all of these people in. In fact, in places such as California, there are Sanctuary Cities in which Illegal Immigrants are welcomed and given jobs and provided public services without fear of prosecution.

Why should we as citizens respect these Illegals enough to provide and pay for all of these services and opportunities that should be reserved explicitly and only for citizens themselves? Legal immigration is a great thing and people from around the world should be able to come live here if it’s done correctly, but if we do nothing about this invasion to our culture, our country, and our way of life; it will be our downfall.