Posted by
JayPeriod on Saturday, August 11, 2007 1:26:53 PM
"They are just hard working, law-abiding people." How many times have we heard people describe illegal immigrants that way? They are trying to paint the picture that they are good for the economy, good for the country and good for our communities. If you happen to disagree, you are labeled "anit-immigration."
The first thing I always have to say to that line of thought is that are not law-abiding citizens. The very fact that they are in this country without going through the proper channels, being here illegally, smacks that statement in the face. There are laws for obtaining entrance into our country. They are choosing to ignore and break those laws. In many cases, they are very flagrant about it, too.
Next, many of them are criminals trying to escape the justice of their country or get involved in criminal activity here in our country. The rise of the Hispanic gang, MS-13, is well documented in many cities and could likely become a larger threat to our safety and sovereignty than all the radical Islamic terrorist groups combined. Add to that the 4000 people per year killed by illegals, through either drunk driving or general homicide and they are killing more each year than the terrorist killed on September 11.
As for being good for our country, this is a joke as well. How many of the 12-20 million illegals are clogging emergency rooms and enrolling their children in our public education? They don't put into the coffers nearly as much as citizens do, yet they are getting all the benefits, including Social Security (from stolen Social Security numbers - that "law-biding" thing again). The idea that they are doing jobs Americans won't do is laughable. They are doing jobs Americas won't do for substandard pay. This in turn hurts wage earners far more than a low minimum wage, because there are times when they are making less than that minimum wage, anyway.
They are not good for communities, either. Again, their children are crowding our schools, requiring English Language Learner teachers, without putting much into the community tax coffers to make up for this added cost. Their refusal to do learn and speak English causes problems at local markets, banks and such. The time and cost of doing business is rising because of it. They demand to be accommodated and never try to assimilate.
On the surface, this might seem like I'm just anti-immigration. After all, don't all immigrants have issues such as these? In some respect, yes, they do. The system is set up to handle them, though. For a bit of background on this subject, let me explain my position.
Two years ago, we adopted a child from Ukraine. We went through two years of paperwork, much of which the scrutiny of the INS seemed to treat us as a problem at best, as terrorists at worst. The fingerprinting and background checks became laborious and bothersome. We had to abide by their rules, though. I understood the rules, if everyone had to abide by them. They are there to protect both the immigrant and the US. We even had to sign a statement that we would not put our child on any government hand-out programs, such as Social Security or Medicade, the very programs illegal immigrants are taking full advantage of. The objective was that our child would not become a burden on society.
Bringing a child from a situation where she was 70% likely to get involved in drugs and prostitution to a situation where she has a chance has been worth it. She has never expected others to speak to her in Russian. As a matter of fact, do you think Wal-Mart or the DMV will offer her instructions or assistance in Russian? Yet, many times their phones begin by letting Spanish speakers know what button to push to hear their language, before a word of English is spoken! I do not, therefore, consider myself anti-immigration. My grandparents were immigrants. I do believe, however, in everyone following the law and entering our country on level ground with everyone else.
If we do not get a grip on illegal immigration, our country will not continue to be a positive force in our world. We will become divided and struggle economically. It will weaken us and mock our freedoms. As citizens, we must not allow our country and leaders to continue on the destructive course we are on. We must take our nation back and send illegals back to their countries.