As ordinary citizens, you and I might be excused for thinking that our elected officials would value and respect the law. After all, isn’t making (legislative) and enforcing (executive) the law the bulk of what they get paid to do? So I confess that I’m having a real problem with the growing number of state legislators, governors and federal officeholders who want to reward those who have thumbed their noses at our immigration laws, snuck into our country illegally and now demand “their rights.”
As 9-11, the Washington sniper, murdered Catholic nuns in Oregon and a host of other less-publicized crimes have shown us, those who enter this country illegally often present a profound and terrifying danger to American citizens. It is the legal responsibility of every elected official in America to “preserve, protect and defend” this nation, its citizens and its form of government through the creation and enforcement of laws. Yet failure to protect citizens seems to go unpunished – even rewarded – when it comes to immigration. Why?
There is no question that the vast majority of immigrants come to America looking for a better life than they had back home. Today’s America is built on the backs of successive generations of just such people. Immigration law is the tool previous generations used to select the immigrants who would be allowed to call America their new home. It required commitment and respect for our laws and institutions – not stealth and deceit. Here’s what the present law, effective since 1952, actually requires:
There are three steps: (1) application, (2) examination, and (3) a final hearing. Applicants must submit fingerprints, biographical information and an application to the INS (or its Homeland Security successor). Next the applicant, accompanied by two U.S. citizens as witnesses, appears for examination and submits his petition for naturalization. The witnesses testify to help the immigration officer determine whether the applicant qualifies for citizenship. Applicants must prove they have lived in the state where they seek naturalization for at least the previous three months. They must prove that they have lived by generally accepted moral standards throughout the last five years. Habitual drunkenness or gambling, lying to gain benefits under immigration or naturalization laws, and crimes involving drugs or sex, and murder are disqualifying.
Applicants must also prove their loyalty to American principles of government. During the previous 10 years, they must not have willingly supported the Communist Party or any other organization considered disloyal. During the examination, applicants must read, write and speak English unless a physical disability prevents them from doing so. Certain elderly persons are excused from this requirement. All people applying for U.S. citizenship must show that they have a basic knowledge of the history and the form of government of the United States. Then a final hearing is held by a judge and a decision reached. (Source: World Book Encyclopedia)
Let’s be honest about it: How many of the illegal immigrants who have taken up residence in America and have now reached the numbers where they influence our politics meet these qualifications? One in 10? One in 100? One in 1,000? Immigration law was put in place to protect us – and not only from those who, like the 9-11 murderers, want to do Americans overt harm. The law was designed to protect us from becoming a thousand tiny enclaves of immigrants’ homelands – residents but never citizens – always ready to take what America offers, but blind to what it requires.
Legislators and governors in a number of states have now passed legislation allowing illegal immigrants to attend state-supported schools and universities at the resident tuition rate. They have done this despite their states suffering massive budget shortfalls. Colleges and universities have a fixed number of slots for aspiring students. State education is inevitably subsidized by taxpayers.
When a slot is occupied by an illegal alien, a legal resident is displaced. What message does this send? How is it “compassionate?” Such a policy shows contempt for our laws and our citizens – who are not only denied benefits, but with their taxes must support these immoral laws. It is a slap in the face to every immigrant family who struggled through the immigration process to become an American citizen. And it is incredibly harmful to the fabric of American life.
What is being done in colleges and universities is repeated in spades with welfare, health care, food stamps and other costly government services. Lawful Americans in need are being displaced by illegals – who, having arrived here illegally, now demand that we take care of them, and then invite their friends and relatives to share in the plunder. In fact, illegal immigrants have but one claim on this nation: A deportation hearing and a ticket back home.
Those states whose legislatures and governors have moved to “legalize” illegal immigrants by providing drivers’ licenses, recognizing “consular IDs” and mandating in-state tuition are way out of line. So are banks and other businesses who are benefiting from these IDs.
In a post-9/11 world, these legislators and businesses are inviting terrorists into our midst, consequences be damned. They need to be called on it. Illegal immigration is an offense against the United States. State and local officials who are fostering it are guilty of aiding and abetting criminals. In a post-9/11 world they may well be aiding our enemies.
