http://www.nctimes.com/articles/2006/12 ... _13_06.txt

Iraq logic applies to illegal immigration

By: KIM OAKLEY - Commentary

After years of downplaying the realities of illegal immigration, I felt a little hope when I read a North County Times Dec. 7 editorial titled, "Strong dose of Iraq reality." Reality is good. "The first step on any path to recovery is admitting you have a problem," wrote the NCT Opinion staff.

But wait! Isn't this the same paper that denies illegal immigration is a problem? Maybe the paper is on an upward swing, I told myself. I was wrong. The editorial went on to say: "No longer should we hear war supporters blaming 'the media' for 'falsely' portraying Iraq as a worsening slaughterhouse of sectarian violence." Quite a statement from a paper that often vilifies anti-illegal activists and portrays North County as a quaint region unaffected by mass illegal immigration.

Nothing about illegal immigration makes sense, which makes the whole war in Iraq and America seem senseless. For example, we have a president who virtually ignores homeland security while pushing to fortify and secure Iraq. And we find homeless veterans starving in the streets while noncitizens get free food and housing. Meanwhile, law enforcement agencies catch and release illegal immigrants who smuggle drugs at the same time school officials are telling kids "Just Say No." If this isn't a definition of insanity, I don't know what is. And poor Border Patrol. Saints operating on divine grace. Not to forget hospitals crippled by illegal aliens who never pay a dime for services rendered. No problem.

Illegal aliens live in the shadows and wait for amnesty. Kind of like a car thief driving your vehicle until he gets a pink slip. And what's with county supervisors chopping health care benefits for Americans while illegal aliens get free health care? Before chirps about illegal immigrants "doing jobs Americans won't do" begin, remember cheap labor is secretly bused, trucked and flown into agriculture sites, thus barring Americans from jobs illegal aliens do. Did you catch that? I'm sure unemployed Americans did. Lastly, why send soldiers to fight for freedom in Iraq if the core of American democracy is under attack right here at home? Interestingly, the NCT editorial concluded: "Now that we have a fresh starting point for discussing Iraq's present, we can begin to grapple with its future in much more realistic terms." Let's apply this logic and sentiment to the realities of mass illegal immigration.