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The Arizona law has reignited the immigration debate and it has special significance for Virginians now that the law will show up at the General Assembly in the upcoming session. An article in the Catholic Virginian eloquently states the need for reform:

A system that causes families to be ripped apart as undocumented workers are placed in detention centers for civil (not criminal) offenses or deported is broken and in need of reform.

A system in which the number of available visas doesn’t match the demand for labor, especially in the agricultural, construction and service industries, is broken and in need of reform.

A system that compels desperate human beings to risk death to enter our country illegally to perform menial work for less than minimum wage is in need of reform. Let’s face it, they are exploited by employers willing to ignore labor laws in exchange for cheap labor.

A system that results in state and local governments, frustrated by the lack of national legislative action, adopting measures directed toward immigrants is broken and in need of reform.

A system that strips individuals of their human dignity is broken and in need of reform.

This article was submitted by Jimmy Culpeper from Chesapeake. Jimmy sheds light on a very crucial point. Too many people are focused on closing the borders. However, this won’t solve because almost half of illegal immigrants in American entered legally.

We need to fix our broken immigration system, not put a band-aid on the rash. We need to reform our borders AND our visa allocation process so that people can actually have an opportunity to come here legally. We need to reform our detention policies so we’re not breaking apart families. We need to make sure illegal immigrants in America earn their way to citizenship instead of living in the shadows.