http://www.uwmpost.com/article/c58b6a04 ... 7f60cb0001

Immigration law must be upheld

By Ray Martin

Oklahoma Daily (U. Oklahoma)

The immigration debate cannot wait. It should not wait, and it is not going to wait.

Justly imposing laws on others who illegally seek to reap the benefits of this great nation without attaining citizenship is something that should never be thrown on the back burner.

Contrary to popular belief, the law matters.

It is obvious that many disagree, and though they will never come out and say it, this is the only logical conclusion that can be drawn based on the actions and opinions of those that lean a little bit left in the political realm.

Conservatives have no problem with immigrants — that is, the legal ones. It is the illegal aliens, however, who have caused an array of social and economic problems in the United States.

An estimated 12 million illegal immigrants currently live in the U.S., with many of those behind bars.

They continually occupy more and more jail space and, as a result, prisons nationwide are filled to capacity. These facilities are funded by American tax dollars.

Illegal aliens who drive vehicles do so illegally without insurance.

This also has a lasting effect on American tax percentages as well as insurance premiums.

If an accident occurs, the government ends up funding health care for those injured, depending of course on who is at fault in the accident.

Our tax dollars also fund emergency health care, which illegal immigrants can take advantage of if one is badly injured in any circumstance.

Simply put, illegal aliens swamp American citizens' health and education services, and benefit from taxes that they do not pay.

Left-wingers argue that illegal aliens are assets to the U.S. because they occupy jobs that most Americans will not, and prefer not, to occupy.

If mass illegal trafficking of immigrants was prevented, the economic wage problems would eventually correct themselves.

Wages would increase to a rate that is attractive, and more Americans would occupy vocations in which liberals suggest they want no part.

Mass trafficking across the border has led to a surplus in labor, which has in turn decreased wages.

The U.S. offers a systematic process for becoming an American citizen. Illegal aliens bypass this system. Liberals support this with a policy that states if one can somehow find their way into the U.S., they can stay and reap benefits that taxpayers provide for them. This voids the law and, like most liberal thought, is harmful to the interests of the American people.

If in fact my theory is wrong and most do feel that the law matters, they should argue for changing it rather than avoiding and protecting millions who bypass it regularly.

The Bush administration recently took a step in the right direction regarding the control of immigrants into America.

President Bush signed a law in which $1.2 billion will be spent to pay for hundreds of miles of new fences and other border barriers.

This does not mean that Bush or the Republican Party hates immigrants.

Part of Bush's immigration reform plan is to offer more temporary work programs for immigrants who come to America in search of better employment (which most do.)

As American citizens we should all recognize, like the Bush administration, the importance and lasting effects of illegal immigration on those who have attained citizenship legally.

Illegal trafficking is in most cases a losing situation for both Americans and immigrants.

It would be in the best interest of both Americans and foreigners alike for us to not avoid the debate or the law and shine light on an increasingly harmful situation.