Opinion: Status, Not Citizenship

One controversial topic has been quieted for some weeks now.  More focus has been put on marriage equality because of the Supreme Court hearings that happened this past week.  However, illegal immigration has stopped being dormant and has entered the political atmosphere again.  Latino-Americans are now pushing not for citizenship but for legal status.Americans are pushing more for legal status as well.  A recent poll shows that more Americans are in favor of bestowing legal status on illegal immigrants.  However, Americans are not in full favor of giving the illegal immigrants full citizenship status quite yet. The main cause in the reduction of opposition of any status towards illegal immigrants is the growing economy.Finally, there is some progress towards the illegal immigration problem.  The DREAM Act was a great first step; however, it was not popular among American citizens.  They believed that it was too broad to get the job done.  There have been other attempts, such as the Uniting American Families Act (UAFA), which would allow a gay/lesbian American spouse to sponsor their foreign partner for permanent residency.This issue has been brushed to the side for the past few years.  More time has been spent on marriage equality, abortion, and other social issues.  Politicians need to consider this issue and start making some progress towards solving the problem.  Illegal immigration has such a huge impact on the American economy, especially with employment.If legal status is applied to illegal immigrants, politicians can then start to take baby steps to set up the citizenship process.  The whole problem with citizenship in America is that it takes years for someone to receive his or her citizenship.  There are people who have been in America for over 10 years and have made contributions to society, but have not been given any type of legal status.Stop pushing this problem to the side.  It needs to be addressed, and it needs to start now.  Start with basic legal status and then move towards fixing the process of citizenship.  Once the citizenship process is fixed, illegal immigration will not be an issue Americans need to pay attention to anymore.  There is no need for the process to be as drawn out and meticulous as it is right now.  Simplify and solve the problem.