The strongest counter-argument is that voting should be based on being a stakeholder in the community, not just national membership. Legal residents live under the laws, pay taxes, raise families, and contribute long-term, yet have no say in the decisions that shape their daily lives, creating "taxation without representation." Excluding them from voting, especially in local elections, undermines democratic fairness and social cohesion. Since citizenship is often delayed or impossible for years, denying the vote leaves integrated residents in political limbo. Many democracies already allow non-citizen voting locally, recognizing that participation should follow where one lives and builds a life.