States must take reins on illegal aliensADVERTISEMENT
Sunday, January 13, 2008
By FRANK MALLOY
For the Courier-Post

The 10th Amendment of the Bill of Rights -- "The powers not delegated to the United States by the constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States, respectively, or to the people."

The governor of a state usually has the last say, pending last minute appeals, when a prisoner is sentenced to death. In some states there is no death penalty. Unlike the mammoth engine that is the federal government, states are much smaller and individual versions of government.

In that sense, it is time for all Americans to realize it is through the states that our country can be reclaimed. Since the federal government, namely the Congress, no longer sees fit to protect its citizens, then it falls to the states and their governors to do so. However, even some governors don't get it and their residents should start holding them accountable. Bad decisions

Three examples of what we don't need from the states are decisions like those made recently by New York's Gov. Eliot Spitzer, who wanted to give driver's licenses to illegal immigrants; California's Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, who signed legislation outlawing the use of "mom" and "dad"; and our own Jon Corzine, who is pushing to fund stem-cell research despite voters rejecting it. The people are fed up with politics as usual and want something done.

The federal government, as seen in its handling of illegal immigrants, is hopeless. Witness a Government Accountability Office report showing U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers failed to stop 1 in 10 (20,000) illegal immigrants from entering the United States last year.

Thankfully, some governors and their state representatives do get it. Forty-three states have enacted 182 immigration-related laws last year alone. At issue is that illegal immigration puts a strain on schools, health care and other community services while costing American jobs.

In Missouri, Gov. Matt Blunt has started a crackdown on illegal aliens, declaring he will make every effort and use every available tool to ensure laws against illegal immigration are enforced. He has ordered that state law enforcement verify the immigration status of people suspected of crimes and also ordered audits of state contractors to ensure their employees are legal. Tough law

In Oklahoma, one of the toughest illegal immigration laws in the nation was recently enacted, The Oklahoma Taxpayer and Citizen Protection Act of 2007 helps keep illegal aliens from receiving public assistance by requiring proof of citizenship or a valid visa before being able to get government identification such as a driver's license. It also makes it a felony to transport or harbor illegal immigrants and requires law enforcement and businesses to enforce federal immigration restrictions.

The law's sponsor, state Rep. Randy Terrill, believes illegal aliens will not come to Oklahoma, or anywhere else, if there are no jobs waiting for them. "They will not stay here if there is no government subsidy," he said, while adding that since Oklahoma will no longer be catering to those who chose to ignore our laws by coming here illegally, they will eventually deport themselves.

In Utah, state Sen. Bill Hickman revealed his state is drafting legislation patterned after that of Oklahoma. Hickman complained that two different groups have emerged in America today, those who have to obey the law and those who don't. Bleeding hearts

I'd venture to say most Americans are not against immigrants, no matter their color, race or creed, who are here legally. The bleeding hearts who don't understand that illegal is illegal will be complaining about this type of legislation.

The ever-present socialist entity that is the American Civil Liberties Union will be there with its lawyers. However, if this great country is to ever return to a semblance of what it once was, the process will have to begin with the states.

It is time for the governors and state representatives to do what the federal government cannot or won't do.

The letter writer lives in Bellmawr.


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