We need to secure our border. We also need to bring order to our immigration system. However, in solving both of these problems we must address some more fundamental issues about what it means to be an American. The United States has traditionally relied upon immigration as a great source of pride, as well as being a useful economic tool by providing a necessary labor force. Why are foreign people still coming to America? For the same reason they have always come — they are trying to build a better life for their families.

In New York Harbor, on the Statue of Liberty, we proclaim to the world: “Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free.” But today, many people seem to forget this invitation when they talk about closing our borders, or deporting millions of people. Most people immigrating to the United States want freedom and the opportunity to improve their situation. Immigrants have a fierce sense of pride and want to earn their fair share of the American Dream. They are not looking for a handout. Many people are also fleeing political or ethnic persecution inherent in their original homelands. America offers people all around the world hope because we are the “Shining City on the Hill” as President Reagan once called us. We are the restaurant or club that everyone wants to get into. Why would we want to tarnish that image by throwing people out without due process or a fair hearing?

In Florida, immigration is a more important issue than in some other parts of the United States because we are, literally, on the border. Thus, we also see a disproportionate number of people who attempt to reach our shores illegally. But we have a process for dealing with this. The problem is that our “legal immigration system” is overwhelmed. We do not have enough resources or people to process normal immigrations into the United States. The solution is not to assume that everyone who enters our country is a criminal or treat them as such.

The United States immigration system needs to be comprehensively reformed. People should be able to enter our country legally if they follow the process of obtaining worker permits (green cards) or pursue citizenship. We also need to better fund the U.S. Customs and Border Patrol so that it can do its job of protecting us from real criminals such as drug runners (who, by the way, are usually not immigrants).

Lastly, there has been discussion, lately, that when a person is born here, he or she might not be a citizen if their parents emigrated illegally from a foreign country. But the 14th Amendment to the United States Constitution is very clear: if you are born in the United States, then you are an American citizen. And if the parents are not following the legal process of immigration, perhaps we should show them how and what they need to do—instead of assuming they are criminals or trying to get freebies for their children. When a rich person from a foreign country “visits” America, we always assume they are tourists on vacation. Why is this kind of hospitality not extended to everyone who emigrates to the U.S.?

As a nation of immigrants, it seems silly to me when people talk about clearing all of them out. Other than the original “Native Americans,” we are all descendants of immigrants. Should we all go back to where we came from? The United States is the “great melting pot” of cultures from all around the world because we both invite and welcome immigrants into our nation. And, in the end, we are a better and stronger country because of the diversity that immigrants bring to our society when they leave their homes to seek new their new lives here.