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Our failure to act has caused our illegal immigration woes

BY JACK HUNTER

"How many years have we Americans turned our face like this and let the flood come in? Have we seen that?" Diana Salazar, president of the Latino Association of Charleston, asked those who attended a press conference last week addressing the illegal immigration bill currently making its way through the Statehouse. "Now, we're being hypocritical."

Salazar makes a good point. Through sheer neglect, our federal government has turned our southern border into a welcome mat for illegal aliens who have understandably taken advantage of the economic opportunities in the United States.

Imagine inviting a guest into your home and then chastising him for accepting the invitation. This strange scenario is basically what the United States has presented to illegal immigrants by offering a hush-hush, open-door policy to millions of people who should have never been here in the first place.

"But they broke the law!" illegal immigration opponents are quick to point out. True. But the same can be said of those who consistently drive 10 miles over the speed limit. Why drive 55 or 65 mph when you can get home faster by breaking the law with no repercussions? The law is only as effective as its enforcement.

In the case of illegal immigration, why worry about proper documentation when you can make money quicker by breaking the law with no repercussions? Does asking foreigners to show respect for laws our president doesn't even take seriously make much sense?

Opponents of illegal immigration may be looking for someone to blame, but the fact of the matter is we have no one to blame but ourselves. Salazar's comments demonstrate that quite clearly. By supporting national leaders — whether Democrats like Bill Clinton, Ted Kennedy, and Barack Obama or Republicans like George W. Bush, Lindsey Graham, and John McCain — we have given our elected officials a free pass, even as they refuse to perform their constitutional duty to protect our borders. As with our insane foreign policy, there is no excuse for supporting leaders who are either dead wrong or who completely ignore our most crucial national issues — and often promise to make them worse.

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