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FELLOW
TRAVELER |
It’s
All About The Documents
by Ray Haynes [Assemblyman]
5/9/06 |
Everything
we do in life is about the documents. We are born, we live,
and we die with documents attached to us. So whenever you here
someone claim
that something is not wrong, it is just “undocumented,” keep
that in mind.
For instance,
in California, if you practice law without the appropriate
documentation twice, you are guilty of a felony. Would it be
a defense to that felony charge that you are not a felon, but
rather just an undocumented lawyer?
How about
the unauthorized practice of medicine? If someone dies, and
you don’t have the right medical documents, you are guilty
of murder. It is not just the “undocumented” provision
of medical services.
Unlicensed
contractors? Just undocumented carpenters, bricklayers, engineers,
plumbers, and electricians.
Contributor
Ray Haynes
Mr.
Haynes is an Assembly member representing Riverside
and Temecula. He serves on the Appropriations and
Budget Committees. [go to Assembly Member Haynes website
at California Assembly][go to Haynes index] |
We even have documents that establish our ownership of our
property. Car thieves are car thieves, not undocumented motor
vehicle operators. Trespassers are trespassers, not undocumented
easement holders. If you take property from a store without a
receipt, you are a thief, not an undocumented possessor of property
Businesses
require the right licenses from government. Indeed, if someone
starts
up a bank and does not get a license from the
state and federal government will find that they will go to jail
for being an “undocumented” money lender or “undocumented” savings
institution. It is not a defense to their crime to say that they
don’t “have the right documents.”
One of my favorites came from one of my legislative colleagues
this last week, when informed that the Democrats wanted to take
last Monday off to participate in the immigration protests. He
said he had found former legislators who were qualified to do
the job of the California Legislature, were willing to do the
work of the current Legislature at half the cost to the taxpayer,
and would show up to do the job. Their only problem? They were
undocumented, they had not received the right documents from
the Secretary of State to vote in the Legislature.
The absurdity
of the claims of those who wish to justify the lawlessness
of
those who break our immigration laws by calling
those illegal aliens “undocumented immigrants” is
evident. Everything we do in life is about the documents. We
get a birth certificate that establishes our citizenship, and
a death certificate that establish inheritance rights. Deeds
say who owns real estate, and contracts establish legal obligations.
If we don’t have registration for our car, we can go to
jail as a thief, or, at the very least get a ticket. In fact,
we don’t even have laws unless some legislator gets a document
passed through the Legislature and signed by the Governor. All
of life requires the right “documents.”
The protests
of this last week can be encapsulated this way: thousands of
criminals
wanted the government to ignore their
crime. That reality is not changed by saying that they “are
human and we need to recognize their humanity.” Of course
we recognize their humanity; they just need to follow the law.
We will not justify their lawlessness any more that we would
justify the lawlessness of a trespasser or thief on the grounds
that they “needed” the property they took. Marching
in the street, protesting the enforcement of a law does not justify
breaking that law. A legal system that rewards lawbreakers is
destined to collapse into anarchy. Indeed, those who protested
this last week were asking for anarchy; an open border and unlimited
immigration. That is dangerous for our country (as 9/11 pointed
out), and extremely shortsighted.
Our immigration laws may be complicated, but that does not
justify ignoring them. We should enforce those laws, and, if
the enforcement proves that the laws are unworkable, then you
look at changing the law. But until that happens, the laws should
stand, and they should be enforced -CRO-
Mr.
Haynes is a California Assemblyman representing Riverside
and Temecula and freuent contributor to CaliforniaRepublic.org.
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