FORUM: Legal versus illegal, a vast gulf
By Michael P. Spencer - Vista resident | Sunday, July 6, 2008 12:16 AM PDT ∞
85 comment(s)

Hardly a day goes by that those who oppose illegal immigration aren't labeled as "anti-immigrant" by the media and open borders advocates, the distinction between illegal alien and legal immigrant or naturalized citizen is apparently disregarded.

There is a vast difference between legal and illegal when it comes to immigration, but many of us have little idea of how vast, and how those differences dictate the quality of those joining our society.

Having witnessed the legal immigration process, I think everyone deserves to know how important that process is to the overall well being of our society. Consider the following.

Criminals are prohibited from becoming legal immigrants. Legal immigrants must produce clean and official criminal and military service records, birth certificates, marriage and divorce records.

Illegal aliens obviously forgo these requirements, and the evidence is apparent all around us. For example, Sheriff Bill Kolender wrote in an Aug. 14, 2006, report that 25 percent to 40 percent of local gangs are comprised of illegal immigrants. In North County, nearly 80 percent of gang-related crimes involved illegal immigrants, either as suspect or victim.

Legal immigrants must be healthy and harbor no infectious diseases. They must be vaccinated against dangerous and contagious diseases including mumps, measles, rubella, polio, tetanus, diphtheria, influenza and hepatitis. They also undergo a rigorous physical exam before entering the country, including screening for highly infectious tuberculosis.

By default, we grant health passes to illegal aliens.

Yet many illegal aliens harbor fatal diseases like those above that American medicine fought and vanquished long ago, including drug-resistant tuberculosis.

Parents need to understand that since tuberculosis has been virtually eliminated in the U.S., our children receive no routine vaccination against it, and are therefore vulnerable to the burgeoning incidence of it, which has entered the U.S. in the bodies of illegal aliens.

Legal immigrants must prove financial self sufficiency, and that they will not become a burden on our society. They must either demonstrate sufficient income and assets, or be financially sponsored by a U.S. citizen who is legally liable for their expenses should they become unable to pay their own way.

Conversely, illegal aliens extract a huge cost from all of us for their health care, education, social services, incarceration and a multitude of other direct and indirect costs. In San Diego County alone, according to a survey released by county Supervisor Bill Horn, the estimate is $250,000, excluding costs of education.

Last but not least is the issue of allegiance to the United States. A naturalized citizen must swear his/her loyalties to the U.S.A., abandoning all allegiance to a foreign power. Contrast this to the many illegal aliens who not only maintain loyalties to their own country, but shamelessly demonstrate that loyalty by carrying foreign flags in our streets and claiming U.S. soil as their own.

So, the next time you see the distinction between legal and illegal immigrants ignored in the media and elsewhere, consider who you would choose as your next door neighbor.

Vista resident Michael P. Spencer is founder of the Vista Citizens Brigade.
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