No honks for DACA

By Jane Chastain

Traveling through downtown Phoenix last week, a city at the heart of the illegal-immigration issue, I passed a small group of protesters carrying signs reading, “Honk if you support DACA.”

For the uninitiated, that is Obama’s unconstitutional amnesty for young people illegally brought into this country by their parents. We are talking up to 30-year-old children here.

There were no “honks” as I passed by in the afternoon traffic, no not one. Perhaps this was a carefully staged media event with supporters waiting in a nearby parking lot, but there was no support for DACA from folks on their way home from work. These were the poor stiffs who are forced to pay the cost of illegal immigration: increased welfare, unemployment, overcrowded schools and the strain on social services.

Yes, most Americans understand that if you reward bad behavior – in this case breaking into the country illegally – you get more of it. Polls show Americans are sympathetic to the plight of these young people. We are a compassionate country. However, these polls are carefully worded in such a way as to tug at the heart strings, with no downside to consider.

Here is the reality: After President Reagan granted a one-time amnesty (in return for tighter border controls) illegal immigration skyrocketed. The same thing happened after Obama’s illegal DACA executive order. Apprehensions at the border increased tenfold.

As for the humanity issue, the perception that illegal immigrants will be allowed to stay in the United States empowers smugglers, the so-called coyotes who prey on those hoping to jump the line, often at the cost of their very lives. How compassionate is that?

The United States has one of the most generous immigration policies of any industrialized nation. We admit over a million legal immigrants per year, grant over one and a half million temporary work permits and another 500,000 contract workers under the horribly abused H-1B and similar programs.

Try as I may I have not found one poll taken of those who legally migrated to the United States on this issue. However, I have found legal immigrants to this country to be among those who are most outraged over our lack of border enforcement. Why? They played by the rules. They stood in line. They deserve and rightly expected their shot at the American Dream, and yet, because of illegal immigration, it is a lot harder than it should be.

Frankly, I would like to see a poll on what Americans think about simply breaking in line. Also, give me a poll that asks this question: “If someone breaks into your home, should they be allowed to stay, and should you be held responsible for supporting these home invaders for the rest of their natural lives?” Isn’t that what we are really talking about here?

Democrats are united in their support for allowing these line-breakers to stay. Their political survival depends on it. Also, they are notorious for shamelessly using children to get what they want.

Yes, our hearts go out to these young people, but if they must go, they won’t go empty-handed. Most, will go home with a first-class education and many with a command of the English language, which is a highly marketable skill in their home countries.

Also, they will have an incentive to apply to re-enter our country legally. Why not make a deal to give these young people priority in the immigration process?

I am not naïve, and you shouldn’t be either. Although Trump has ended DACA, he did not pull it out by the roots. He simply put it on life support by delaying enforcement for another six months.

Make no mistake. Congress will do its dead-level best to save it. Democrats want more welfare dependents, and the Republican leadership is beholden to its big business interests who want to keep their supply of cheap labor.

So, let’s help Trump make a really “big deal.” Give these 800,000 plus people amnesty, but only after funding for the border wall is in place, construction has begun and the RAISE Act is passed and signed into law. Nothing more; nothing less. If Congress can’t get this done in six months, it’s on them. Then begin the process of sending all these people back to their countries of origin.

It’s the very least American taxpayers should expect, and it’s the very least we can do for all of those people who played by the rules to come here.

Media wishing to interview Jane Chastain, please contact [email protected].

Jane Chastain

Jane Chastain is a Colorado-based writer and former broadcaster. Read more of Jane Chastain's articles here.


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