On Arizona and Immigration

Now that Arizona has passed its “controversial” law on illegal immigration, the pro-amnesty crowd is convulsing in a massive collective conniption fit! Unlike the imaginary “violence” of the Tea Parties, these people actually riot!

Liberals are disingenuously claiming that the law somehow promotes racism or profiling. They’re likening the law to Nazi oppression. They discount the fact that the law does not authorize checkpoints, stopping people to check their status etc. It simply authorizes police, in the course of their normal law enforcement, to check the status of people stopped for other reasons, and to detain those found to be illegally present in the country. This is nothing more than allowing Arizona law enforcement officials to enforce the Federal Law!

Current events prompt me to revisit the issue of illegal immigration. It’s been a couple years since I’ve written on the subject – not since the defeat of the McCain/Kennedy/Bush “Comprehensive Immigration Reform.”

The simplistic yet necessary opening statement on this topic is also the most obvious: “What part of ILLEGAL don’t people understand?”

LEGAL immigrants of all nationalities are welcomed and appreciated. The issue of illegal immigration should not be clouded by specious claims of racism or xenophobia. These straw-man arguments serve only to distract from the true issue: There are people who violate our borders without authorization and have no right to be in the United States.

That said, the fact remains that there are an estimated 12 to 14 million people residing in the United States without benefit of legal status. Democrats see them as a potential block of blue voters. Many Republicans who are beholden to business interests rather than constitutional conservative values view them as a source of cheap labor for their corporate campaign contributors. But the vast majority of the American public (and virtually every Conservative Patriot) views them objectively as what they are: illegal trespassers who are a drain on precious resources, who take jobs from citizens and legal residents, etc.

There are so many misconceptions and so much misinformation behind the arguments for amnesty that it is important to address these arguments directly.

“These people are just coming here to better their lives.” OK – then come legally! To use this as an excuse for violating our sovereign borders makes as much sense as excusing a person who has been burglarizing the neighborhood so he could afford a better life for his kids! You don’t “better your life” by criminal activity!

“These are hardworking contributors to our economy.” Really? Yes, many illegals ARE hardworking and industrious laborers working for sub-par wages. But by taking those jobs they not only displace a LEGAL employee, but they artificially depress wages. Is that good for the economy? And how many “hard working” illegals are offset by other illegals living on government largesse? What is the effect on the economy and on the health system when all members of a family of 12 receive health benefits off a single MediCal card… and use the emergency room as their primary physician?

“If all the illegals were deported, there would be no restaurant workers, Laundromat workers, landscapers etc.” No, there would be a lot of “help wanted” signs, ads and postings! Unemployed citizens and legal residents would apply for and be hired for those positions. The economy would be strengthened as the unemployment rate would drop!

“We can’t deport 12 million people.” We wouldn’t have to if we took the following common sense steps!

• SECURE the border and stanch the flow of illegal crossings
• Deport every illegal when encountered . No need to have a round-up… but when an illegal is discovered in the normal course of law enforcement – whether an arrest or a routine traffic stop… ship them back to country of origin – whether Mexico, Latin America, Bosnia, China or France!
• Strengthen sanctions against employers who hire illegals, and step up enforcement.
• Disqualify anyone who is not a citizen or legal permanent resident from receiving ANY Government entitlements.
• Deny Citizenship, ever, for anyone who has violated our borders – regardless of any possible decriminalization or later legal residency.
• End the “anchor baby” problem by a constitutional amendment clarifying citizenship (I wrote on this subject in 2007).

If it is harder to get in, and for those who are already here, the supply of jobs and give-aways are dried up and they get sent home when discovered, and they can’t drop a baby with automatic citizenship; the incentive to come will diminish and the risk versus reward of being here illegally will increase. We will witness a mass exodus as illegals self-deport, and go home on their own.