Citizenship Isn't For Sale
Posted by: Christian P. Milord | 07/10/2008 7:31 AM

As Senators McCain and Obama criss-cross the country and attempt to win over Latinos, they have kept their distance from a nagging problem that cuts across all party lines as an all American issue. This is of course the persistent challenge of illegal immigration, which is a matter of cultural, economic, health, and national security. The candidates should discuss this crucial issue because most voting Hispanics oppose illegal immigration.

During prior centuries, people moved and wandered about more freely because geopolitical borders were either absent, or national boundaries were fluid. However, in the 20th century, most nations developed greater sovereignty and well defined borders for a number of reasons.

The USA is a land of immigrants, and legal immigration has helped to make this nation a great democratic republic. Although Americans have usually welcomed legal immigration, our society can't absorb great numbers of illegal immigrants. Indeed, the current immigration system is both unfair and untenable. Just imagine hordes of undocumented Americans sneaking into other countries to work and demand rights. It's hard to visualize because no other nation would put up with it.

It is the duty of Congress to write laws, and the duty of the Executive to enforce laws that protect Americans and reflect the will of law abiding citizens. Unfortunately, in 2007 Congress ignored the failures of the 1986 Simpson-Mazzoli Bill (IRCA), and some members tried to repeat history. The 1986 amnesty only encouraged illegal immigrants to further defy the rule of law.

Last year, Congress underestimated the intelligence of the American people and attempted to pass a type of "qualified" amnesty. Illegal migrants could someday gain the same rights as legal residents by adhering to a number of requirements such as paying a fine, learning English, etc. However, the new bill stalled because Americans realized that it would reward lawbreakers and punish legal immigrants. Citizenship is not for sale.

Illegal immigration advocates often claim that undocumented workers merely want to work, and we should bring them "out of the shadows" by offering a pathway to legalization. So what if most of them work hard! American citizens and legal immigrants work hard, and they usually offer this country better skills and a healthy respect for the rule of law. Moreover, most Americans I know do their own manual labor around the house.

Indeed, illegal immigrants don't work in the shadows. They take advantage of our infrastructure and our social services in broad daylight, which creates a huge strain on American taxpayers. Since these illegals ignored the law by sneaking into our country, isn't it easier to thumb their noses at other laws once they start living here?

Illegal immigration activists often attempt to muddy the waters and appeal to our emotions when they blur the distinction between legal and illegal immigration. They fail to comprehend the vast difference between the two. Legal immigrants must go through a lengthy legal process, and meet a number of requirements to enter America through the front door. They patiently wait their turn through a long process riddled with red tape.

On the other hand, illegal immigrants flout the rule of law, resist assimilation, and demand rights they haven't earned. Moreover, they haven't been screened for criminal status, or health problems. They bring in plenty of baggage that can eat away at the fabric of our great nation. If these migrants are so ambitious, why don't they use their energy to transform their home countries into beacons of democracy and free enterprise?

Turning a blind eye to our porous borders only gives a pass to states that export illegal immigration. These nations have less incentive to democratize, because they depend on foreign dollars as revenue to prop up their state controlled economies. However, there are some solutions to the crisis of illegal immigration.

First, tighten up all of our borders and enforce current laws with a larger Border Patrol, more fences, and effective surveillance. The Feds (DHS) must first build credibility on this issue before tackling other immigration policies. There must be enough funds in a pork-laden budget to carry out enforcement.

Also, there shouldn't be federal, or state support for sanctuary cities. If the Feds can't carry out all these functions, then cities, counties and states can coordinate and fill in the gaps. Mayor Lou Barletta of Hazleton, PA, is one positive example of a city taking a stand against illegal immigration. Hopefully, this is a growing trend.

Next, streamline the process for legal immigrants who respect the law, so that legal immigrants can take their rightful place over illegal immigrants. Legal immigrants usually provide added value to a society with their education, skills, and respect for responsible liberty.

Third, crack down with large sanctions against government employers and business employers that knowingly hire illegal workers. Moreover, ensure that all ID documents become tamper proof. At the same time, expedite the deportation of criminal illegal immigrants. What this country needs is fewer criminals, and more folks that respect the law.

Fourth, first preference for employment should go to American citizens and legal residents. If the labor market demands more workers, then any one of eight current guest worker plans could be utilized under legal guidelines. All of these actions would pressure illegal immigrants to return to their countries of origin.

For those folks abroad who yearn to pursue the American Dream, they ought to know that citizenship can't be purchased. It isn't a commercial transaction; rather, it is a long term internal process that is imbued with meaning and tradition. Legal immigrants and native born Americans realize that citizenship is a lifelong, voluntary effort to create a better nation.

In her incisive book, "Day of Empire," Yale law professor Amy. L. Chua traces the development of several superpowers of the past, and includes the USA in her discussion. She noted that great civilizations have risen and fallen for basically the same reason. Great powers such as Persia, Rome, Britain, Spain, etc., rose because they successfully assimilated immigrants and native folks into their empires through a combination of common ideals, empowerment, pluralism, and trade.

Over time, these civilizations declined not just because they were spread out, but they fell due to the fact that they became too pluralistic and tolerant. Many subjects chafed under the "tolerance" of a particular empire, and new invaders fiercely resisted assimilation.

Accumulating grievances weren't addressed properly, and gradually these great empires crumbled from internal and external pressures. However, the USA is a bit different than these other powers. Once established, we didn't expand beyond America and conquer Canada and Latin America the way past empires would have done.

Chua's analysis is a wake-up call for America. We must keep our common American ideals front and center, and teach these civic virtues from a young age. We must get a handle on illegal immigration and solve the problem before it generates balkanization. Solving it could ease the burdens on hardworking taxpayers, as well as beef up our national security. A certain individual once asserted that immigration is the highest form of flattery. Let's hope that this person meant legal immigration, not illegal immigration.
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