American Chronicle
Sunday, May 10, 2009

Why Illegal Immigration Is Wrong

Terry L. Mitchell
May 06, 2009

People often make excuses for illegal immigrants and act as if there is nothing wrong with people being in this country illegally because they are only trying to create a better life for themselves and their families. While we can sympathize with their plight, we must also realize that life is not fair.

By the luck of the draw, they were born in countries that are far less fortunate than the U.S. However, there is not enough room in this country for everyone. That´s why we have immigration laws that limit and restrict the flow of people into America. It is wrong to violate those laws, no matter how cruel their enforcement might seem.

Yes, it´s sad that not everyone has the opportunities that we do, but being born in a poor country is really no different than being born into a poor family. A child cannot arbitrarily leave his or her family and force his or her way into another, more affluent family. But that´s exactly what illegal immigrants try to do. They say it´s not fair that they don´t have the same advantages that Americans enjoy, so they force themselves on us and try to make us accept them as if they belonged here.

Some will justify their being here illegally by arguing that it isn´t right that they barely missed a cutoff that allowed others from their country, possible even some of their friends and family members, to stay here while leaving them on the outside looking in. I don´t mean to seem callous, but too bad, so sad. Sorry about their luck. The line has to be drawn somewhere. If we let them in, then those next in line would make the same argument, and so on, and so on.

Let´s suppose a college were offering scholarships to the 25 most qualified applicants in a given year. What if the 26th most qualified candidate decided that it wasn´t fair to cut off the scholarships in such a way that caused him to barely miss out and, therefore, he was going to attend that college free of charge anyway. He would be breaking the law and would likely be charged with trespassing and subsequently removed from the campus.

In life, people must play the cards that are dealt to them, even if theirs aren´t as desirable as those held by others. I don´t know of any card game that allows one to reach over and grab someone else´s cards just because one doesn´t like the like the cards that he or she was dealt. If someone did that, he or she would likely be kicked out of the game for cheating and such action might even lead to a fist fight – or worse.

Wouldn´t it be nice if one only had to obey the laws that he or she agreed with and could ignore all the others? Actually, no, because that would lead to chaos and anarchy. There are lots of laws – even here in America – which I don´t agree with but obey just the same. I don´t see that I have any other choice. That´s because I know that, in order for a free society to exist, there must be a rule of law. Illegal immigrants and their supporters don´t seem to understand this simple concept.

http://www.americanchronicle.com/articles/view/101610

"Terry L. Mitchell is a software engineer from Hopewell, Virginia. He's been in the software development and engineering line of work for over 25 years."

He also is a freelance writer.