AchtungBono said:
I'm not sure I understand what you mean by "affordable". I'm not familiar with the immigration process in the US, I can only go by my own family's experience. Does it cost money to become an American citizen? Besides, I believe that a person can only become a citizen after living in the US five years, is that true? If so, then they can enter the country on a "resident alien" visa or some other kind of work program (such as getting a "green card") and then working their way in order to pay the fee for citizenship.
Sorry if I sound dumb, I'd like to understand and I'd be glad if you could enlighten me on the process.
Israel is probably the least representative example of the typical immigration experience, merely because Israel accepts anyone that's Jewish.
Compare that to most other countries, particularly industrialized nations, that generally accept only those with highly specialized occupations (i.e., scientists, doctors, IT professions) or asylum cases. That's why in America, in particular, you generally only see two kinds of immigrants: those who work in highly educated scientific fields or the impoverished. Neither class of immigrant is especially popular here, because American corporations generally use the former to avoid paying higher wages to existing U.S. citizens, and the latter is scorned, because they are often a very visible symbol of poverty, low education, and, sometimes, crime.
Which brings me to my next point: the middle class in America and many other Western nations are, more or less, modern-day "serfs," forcefully bound to the country of their birth and can never successfully immigrate to another country. European Union nations, certainly, have some flexibility, as fellow EU nations are permitted to work freely in other EU nations. But if you're an average American citizen interested in opportunities outside your own nation, you're generally screwed. And that, I believe, is where some people get angry.
With all the cheap labor entering America, lowering our wages, we have no choice but to stay in America. As such, it is our national duty to ensure that our job market has sustainable jobs that pay real wages, because if this country turns into Mexico someday, economically, where wealth is heavily concentrated in a corrupt elite (the second wealthiest man in the world is in Mexico) and nearly everyone else lives in poverty with zero opportunities, we'll have to live with it or become illegal immigrants like everyone else.
That aside, a lot of people might be surprised that I support the general idea of "globalism." I just heavily oppose how its currently practiced. All it currently does is allow companies to outsource, while the rest of us still have to deal with customs duties and, like I said above, stay put in our own countries. I will be more favorable towards immigration only if there is a framework to allow workers as much freedom as we currently grant corporations; that is, I want as much freedom and flexibility to emigrate, live and work in other countries as we currently grant our corporations.