Thread: “I Pledge Allegiance to the Flag” R. Party of Texas

http://www.texasgop.org/site/PageSer...migration_oped

“I Pledge Allegiance to the Flag”


By Tina J. Benkiser, Chairman of the Republican Party of Texas

I pledge allegiance to the Flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands, one nation under God indivisible with liberty and justice for all. Why pledge loyalty to a Flag? Because it symbolizes liberty - the divine right of liberty granted to man. Unique in history, our nation was founded as a shining city on a hill pointing the way to liberty for all mankind. Our Republic was an example for all nations, not a mere sanctuary for the disenfranchised. In addressing the challenging issue of immigration, we should remember that the primary purpose of immigration policy has always been to advance the interests and security of the United States. In solving the current illegal immigration crisis, we would do well to follow the standard that Dwight Eisenhower set for dealing with major problems, “Is it good for America?”

Our national seal contains the words E Pluribus Unum, out of many one. Although ours is a nation of immigrants, integration into one American culture has been the key to success. In the first two centuries, immigrants came to America to become Americans and live the American dream. While respecting their heritage, they learned English, embraced traditional American values, and became American patriots. Unfortunately, the Americanization movement of previous centuries has given way to multiculturalism, hyphenated Americans, and those whose loyalty is to a foreign flag.

This was most clearly demonstrated in recent immigration protests. Well-orchestrated by left-wing liberal groups, thousands of illegal aliens marched in the streets waving foreign flags, defacing our Flag, and demanding that we recognize them as law-abiding citizens. Speaking of our Flag, Henry Ward Beecher once stated that in it men see “no ramping lion and no fierce eagle, … they see symbols of light…Our Flag carries American ideas…[it] means liberty…not lawlessness, not license; but organized institutional liberty, - liberty through law, and laws for liberty. It is not a painted rag. It is a whole national history. It is the Constitution. It is the government. It is the free people that stand in the government of the Constitution.”

As citizens of a sovereign and free nation, we govern ourselves. Though respecting each others’ rights, we pass laws so that we can live together in an ordered society, free from anarchy. If we fail to respect and obey the law, our society and our sovereignty are doomed. As Ronald Reagan said, “We must reject the idea that every time a law is broken, society is guilty rather than the lawbreaker. It is time to restore the American precept that each individual is accountable for his actions.”

Americans overwhelmingly believe that the government has lost control of our borders, and they want something done about it now. As Texans, we experience the pain caused by illegal immigration in every way, and we are united in our desire to secure our borders, enforce our laws, and protect our nation.

How do we do that? A good immigration policy should be based on a stable ceiling whose goal is to meet the needs of America and stabilize its population. An immigration policy protecting our borders and enforcing our laws would actually help our economic stability. Illegal immigration distorts the free market, preys on the poor, penalizes employers who obey the law, and subsidizes those who exploit illegal labor. It creates an underground economy, creates a permanent underclass and widens the gap between rich and poor, making the American dream just that - a dream rather than a possible reality.

Our right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness survives only when America is protected from forces without and within. After 9/11, we should recognize the importance of closing our porous borders. Yet in 2004, more than 650 suspected terrorists were arrested trying to cross our southern border. With two-thirds of those who attempt to enter the U.S. illegally succeeding, imagine how many potential terrorists made it across and what they are doing today. We should also recognize the need to implement the “exit” portion of the current US-VISIT program to ensure that those who come legally do not overstay their welcome. A reported 40% of illegal aliens entered America with a visa but refuse to leave when it expires. Yet, ICE, formerly known as INS, focuses on customs enforcement rather than interior enforcement. So, illegal aliens regardless of how they enter know that once they get into America, they are unlikely to be deported.

Before rushing into a new amnesty or temporary worker program, let’s learn from the past. Based on history and extensive research on these so-called solutions, they are likely to fail. Citing serious shortcomings in the handling of the current temporary-worker programs all of which are smaller than anything being contemplated now, a 2004 report by the U.S.-Mexico Binational Council indicated that a guest-worker program would be “a recipe for failure.” Early temporary worker programs were known as bracero programs, the last of which was terminated due to the exploitation of foreign workers. Interestingly, that termination resulted in wage increases that led to productivity improvements and a fall in real prices of affected goods. A more recent utter failure was the Immigration Reform & Control Act of 1986. This compromise Act gave amnesty to illegal aliens in exchange for imposing penalties on employers of illegal aliens, with the promise of strict enforcement. With little to no actual enforcement, illegal immigration soared to the estimated 11-20 million here today. Amnesty didn’t work in 1986, and it won’t work today. It’s just another word for surrender. What kind of attitude is “you can’t stop it so you may as well legalize it?” Americans deserve better than that.

The United States cannot be an example of liberty when our current contradictory immigration policies create incentives for other countries to encourage illegal immigration. Not enforcing the law is neither reasonable nor compassionate. Our immigration policy can be good for America while motivating other nations to examine their own political systems and rid them of corruption, establish a credible rule of law, stabilize their own economies, and institute real liberty for their people. As Americans, we must remember who we are as nation and what we stand for. Standing boldly for those values is the only way to honor those who have shed blood for the liberty with which we have been entrusted and to advance the cause of liberty around the world.





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My personal feeling is that the Repubs in Texas are so worried about their chances for getting elected that they're willing to lie to Texans on what is the biggest hot button in the country. Con Job They know that it's the only way they're going to maintain their majority .....BUT WHAT HAVE ANY OF THEM DONE BEFORE TO STOP ILLEGALS FROM RAPING TEXAS?

PERRY LOVES ILLEGALS and wouldn't lift a finger before, from what I understand. From the little that I know, he's sidestepped doing anything to stop the hemorraging of Texas' pocketbook pertaining to ILLEGALS sucking up the FREE SERVICES. Education? Crime & infrastructure. He's bush little boy and touts the party line =AMNESTY.

It's not what is said, ACTIONS speak louder than words. Wonder what their individual voting history is?

I'll defend Perry a little bit. TX revamped their welfare system. You can only receive benefits for 2 years max and you must attend job training to be eligible. You must actively seek work... Something illegals should have difficulty doing. Also, benefits to do not increase if you increase the size of your family.

Also, Texas passed a law last year that allowed Texas Hospitals to refuse non-emergency car to the undocumented. John Peter Smith a county hospital for the first time in a years was not operating at a deficit. All because of that law. Nothing else changed.

So under Perry's watch, he reformed welfare and medical treatment laws directly effecting illegal immigrants. There may be other things too. This is just what I recognized.

This state is in financial dispare. The illegals are killing us down here but our lawmakers have to be sneaky to get anything past the La Razas.

Dixie

Dixie, I will take you at your word. It isn't something I have noticed.

They are still whoppin' out those Lone Star and WIC cards right in front God and everyone.

They are still having babies at an alarming rate - and there is no way they could be paying for their births.

In our area, a fairly large Mexican Mercado has opened. They are making a killing off the LS card.

We are supposedly getting some new breaks on property taxes - I haven't really checked into it.

I had read that a court had ordered some change in the tax structure and then and local paper, Perry was touting this like it was his idea.

I can't help it, I think of him as Rick 'Bushlite' Perry.

They are supposed adding $1 a pack to cigarettes to replace this and to support illegals. While I understand all the ramifications of cigarette smoking, I don't think that is right. I guess a lot of illegals will be paying that, though.

When we get a 'tax cut' in TExas, we get a tax raise or fee increases elsewhere. We are never ahead of the game.

I lived in El Paso and I don't see how Texas can sustain the welfare costs of illegals much longer. I then moved to California, then back East. When people find out I lived in California they ask me about the high cost of living....they are very surprised when I tell them our property taxes were twice as high in Texas as California. We keep in contact with friends in El Paso and they say it has gone up much more since we moved.