When talking about immigration issues that affect where we live, our collective mind shifts to images of a border fence and some sketchy individuals slipping right past security. Rarely do we think about the impact of legal immigration on our lives.

Of course it’s nice to have diversity, but besides that, it seems as though legal immigration is an issue that barely seems to have an impact on our day-to-day lives.

But with the 2010 census due out soon, it is clear that immigration is an issue that should be at the top of our list. Especially for Californians.

Why?

Because of these times of economic hardship, people are leaving states where it has typically been more expensive to live, for more reasonable states to live in.

This has resulted in a large number of people leaving states like California for places like the Midwest.

And once again, this might not seem like a big deal, but the decreased population of our state could have some serious negative impact on us all.

When the census rolls around in 2010, if California has lost a number of our citizens to other states and has not gained enough from other states and countries, then Californians run the risk of losing representation as a state.

This is because the seats in the house are appropriated due to the relative population of a state. Therefore, if California has an influx in emigration, we run the risk of losing at least one seat in the house. That would lessen the power of our state in imperative decisions. This would effectively diminish the voice of every Californian.

And as Westview students entering into adulthood, we are going to be needing more assistance from our government.

And the more representatives that we have in Congress, the more likely we are going to benefit from Congress. It is a representative’s job to help out his constituents, and if his constituents need, say, more help with funding for the UC system, it is more likely that he will introduce legislation that would help us pay for the colleges that accept us.

And since Americans are not moving to California, we must rely on legal immigration to alleviate our losses.

We should be pressuring for the government to lift certain restrictions put in place over recent years on the number of immigrants who may flow into our country legally.

California is a major state for immigration, due to its position on the coast of our country, as well as the extreme name recognition around the world. If we were to have a greater number of people coming into the country legally, we would then be getting a greater number into California, proportionally, compared to the other states.

So let us forge ahead in our desire for increased immigration. We must do it for California.