Why Illegal Immigration is a Threat to the U.S.

In June, 2007 a solid eighty percent of the American people let Congress know they wanted the government to put the brakes on illegal immigration; they turned thumbs down on the President's guest worker amnesty plan; and they wanted tax-paid services to illegals stopped.

Most Americans understand that new laws are not needed to stop illegal immigration. What is necessary is repeal of some laws granting taxpayer-financed services to illegals along with enforcement of existing laws. These two acts would be enough to stop the migration. In simple fact, they are called "illegal" because they are breaking the law.

In truth, the battle over the Senate's guest worker-amnesty plan is really a battle over attempts to open the border as called for in programs such as North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and the Security and Prosperity Partnership (SPP). Both plans call for open borders and economic integration of North America.

The Bush Administration and those promoting illegal immigration were frankly stunned at the force and determination of U.S. citizens to reject the Senate's immigration plan. Proponents played a very heavy hand in attempting to force the scheme on a resisting citizenry. Such powerful forces are not used to losing. Today they continue to seek new ways to work around the opposition and pass the legislation, as a whole or incrementally.

However, the anti-illegal fervor refuses to abate and in fact, dramatic new developments are taking place in local communities across the nation that may well stop the unpopular Federal schemes.

So, in town after town across the nation the battle rages. And that is really the point. Illegal immigration is not just a border issue. It is a national issue affecting every large city and almost every small town. It must be understood that illegal immigration is not just a matter of some unhappy peasants hoping to seek a better life. It is a $300 billion a year industry, combining the interests of multinational corporations with those of drug cartels and Latino street gangs. Caught in between are American communities and the American way of life. Some cities, especially those along the points of entry at the border have become dangerous no-mans lands, where no property is safe, no American citizen is able to leave their home unarmed and some politicians turn a blind eye as they profit under the table. As a result American civilization is beginning to break down. That is why so many Americans refuse to back down on the issue, continuing to demand a crackdown, no matter what name calling they must endure.

Federal laws and a Supreme Court decision mandate that schools cannot deny free education to illegal aliens. Over 300,000 pregnant women enter the nation illegally every year. Taxpayers pay for food, housing medical care and school. The average annual cost per child for education is $7,161, totaling $109 billion to educate illegal aliens annually. The average cost of bilingual education is $1,200 per illegal student. U.S. schools annually educate 1.1 million illegal children. Schools have become over crowded and unruly. Teacher shortages (especially those who speak Spanish) are a growing problem for local school districts.

Moreover, state run colleges and universities are being forced to allow illegal aliens to receive in-state tuition discounts that are supposed to be reserved for residents of that state. In California, a law, (Assembly Bill 540) allows undocumented high school graduates who have been in residence for three years to enroll in community colleges and the California State University and University of California systems without paying nonresident tuition. The same is true in many other states across the country.

In 2003, illegal aliens displaced American workers at a cost in excess of $133 billion, while American college and high school students can't find summer jobs in yard care, landscape, fast food or service jobs - because illegal aliens work those jobs at a third of the wage - often under the table.

Crimes committed by alien criminals, such as rape, murder or drug distribution costs U.S. taxpayers $1.6 billion in prison costs alone. The figure doesn't include the cost of lost property, medical bills of the victims, time lost from work to recover, higher insurance costs, etc. Today, illegal aliens make up twenty nine percent of the U.S. prison population - or 500,000 illegals.

No legal citizen of the United States of America, living under the Constitution and the Bill of Rights should have to live as those who reside near the U.S. / Mexican border. Here there are no property rights, no ability to be safe in their homes, and no peace. One dare not go to the movies, the grocery or visit a relative without carrying a weapon for protection. Throughout the communities the streets are teaming with drug dealers, loiterers and gangs bent on violence.

How a community treats the illegals is key to how many come there. The main magnet is the establishment of a day labor center. The nation-wide illegal network knows where to send them. If a community opens its arms, of course they flock there. If a community stands up to them, they leave.

But that is easier said than done. First, federal laws or lack of enforcement hampers efforts against the illegals, no matter the sentiment of the community. Federal courts strike down local laws, such as just happened in Hazleton, Pennsylvania when a federal judge degreed that laws the community had passed to crack down on illegals were unconstitutional. Federal agencies say it is illegal for local police to ask if anyone is an illegal. The federal government argues that immigration is a federal issue and for local communities to take action interferes with U.S. foreign policy.

On the local level too, there is great pressure on elected officials to do nothing. Strong lobbying arms protect the illegals. The ACLU, of course, threatens lawsuits. But many Americans would be surprised to learn of the Hispanic forces behind much of the pressure applied to their local officials.

Many immigrant groups are joined together through the La Raza movement. These are the groups which organized the massive demonstrations in cities across the nation last year. It is past time for all Americans to know what is at the root of those demonstrations and the extent to which our nation is at risk to the La Raza movement.

While Congress fiddles and the Bush Administration issues meaningless pronouncements on "get tough" programs it never intends to enforce, local communities and state legislatures are beginning to fight back. And they are meeting with success.

State Legislatures, forced to deal with the failure of the federal government to fix the immigration laws, have considered 1,404 immigration bills this year and enacted 170 of them. These laws are aimed at curbing employment of illegals and making it more difficult to obtain state identification documents like driver's licenses.

In May, Oklahoma passed the "Taxpayer and Citizen Protection Act" which denies illegals state identification, and requires all state and local agencies to verify citizenship status of all applicants before authorizing benefits.

On the local level incredible success is being achieved in Northern Virginia. Last year two residents of Herndon, Virginia, with no prior political experience, began an effort called Save Herndon. The issue was the establishment of a day labor center in the community. The center would give illegals a gathering place in the community to help them get jobs, identification and benefits from the community.

The key, as stated earlier, is the day labor centers. If your city has one, then the message has gone out to the illegal infrastructure that your community welcomes them. Get rid of it and send the message that they are no longer welcome. If faced with lawsuits from the ACLU and La Raze, welcome them. Tell them you will gladly have a news conference to discuss their suit in front of the cameras. Do not be afraid.

Today, we have the chance to not only stop the flood of illegal aliens, but in the process, deflate the size and power of the federal government in the process. It's time to organize Help Save America.