Immigration hits bump in the road

As of Feb. 17, President Obama’s plans to move forward with immigration reform were temporarily blocked by U.S. District Court Judge Andrew S. Hanen. Stating that the permitting of Obama’s plan would put a major burden on states and strain budgets, the court argued that not enough notice was given of the reform.

The reform was challenged, and with the help of 26 other states all progress was brought to a halt.

While issues such as money and policies are being taken into account, what is not being taken into account are the millions of people that would be positively affected by the reform. These are men, women, and children just like the rest of us who are attempting to make a new, perhaps better life for themselves. The United States is supposed to be the land of opportunity; how can it at all be considered such a thing when people are squeezed out simply because they were born on the wrong side of an imaginary border?

When the President of the United States, the face of the entire nation, says that it is time to make a change, that should be evidence enough that others need to listen up. The main arguments against immigration reform seem to stem from fear.

Fear over the loss of jobs, fear of money being lost on these new citizens, and fear over the changing of a national identity. The time for fear is over. Change is inevitable, and it’s happening faster than one may think.

President Obama and his supporters are confident that the Texas Court injunctions will be overturned, and that this is nothing more than a bump in the road. This ruling for immigration is only the first of new, positive changes in the country, building bridges to a more tolerant way of living. Change is coming, and acceptance is key to being happy with it.

Julia Jacobs is a Tower staff writer. Email her at juliajacobs10(at)yahoo(dot)com.