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 Illegal
Immigration: A Belated Debate
Plug the holes in the dike first…
[J. F. Kelly, Jr.] 3/29/06
Congress
has belatedly taken up the matter of immigration policy, not
because it really wanted to, but because the people its members
purportedly represent have finally demanded action on a problem
that has been out of control for some time. But in the debate
thus far, it is abundantly evident that some in Congress and
the president as well either don’t get it or refuse to
see it.
A large majority
of the public, if polls are to be believed, is primarily concerned
with the continued flood of illegal immigrants. This is now
estimated at half a million souls annually, adding more than
the entire population of Wyoming each year to the current number
of persons already in the country illegally which is about
12 million, or more than the population of Ohio, our seventh
most populous state.
Contributor
J.F. Kelly, Jr.
J.F.
Kelly, Jr. is a retired Navy Captain and bank executive
who writes on current events and military subjects.
He is a resident of Coronado, California. [go to Kelly index] |
One of every
20 workers in America is now here illegally according to the
Pew Hispanic Center. They are doing
the jobs that Americans
refuse to do, say the advocates for illegal immigrants. To be
precise, they are doing the jobs that some Americans won’t
do because of shamefully low wages and exploitive working conditions.
But they are also doing many of the jobs in the booming construction
industry that many Americans would gladly do at fair wages including
framing, masonry, tile-laying and drywall installation.
Illegal immigration has turned many of our border communities
on both sides of the border into virtual war zones. It has spawned
a flourishing trade in the smuggling of human beings, many of
whom are abused, robbed and left to die in the desert. It has
served as a conduit for drug smuggling and money laundering resulting
in violent conflicts between gangs and the authorities. It provides
the means for terrorists to gain easy entry to the United States.
It has resulted in hundreds of deaths and injuries as smugglers,
driving vans overloaded with illegal aliens, seek to evade apprehension
on our roads and highways, placing our citizens at risk. Property
owners have been terrorized and their property trashed by illegal
aliens heading north. Many of them stay to form a growing underclass
of low skilled, undereducated workers competing with the substantial
numbers of those our failing public school systems already produce
to further depress wages in the service sector and to place additional
stresses on already overloaded schools and health facilities.
These are the conditions that a large majority of Americans
are protesting. These conditions exist now largely because of
years of inaction on the part of the federal government to enforce
laws already on the books. For this, President George W. Bush
must bear the chief responsibility. What Congress and the Executive
Branch is finally focusing on, however, is not primarily what
most Americans are urgently concerned about, i.e., stopping the
flow of illegal immigration and securing our borders, but rather
broad immigration reform including guest worker programs and
ways to somehow legalize those already here illegally.
My sense
of things is that Americans are in no mood for protracted debate
and posturing over immigration reform
legislation that
will attempt to deal with every detail but fail to solve the
most immediate problems, namely, restoring respect for our sovereign
borders and providing effective security against terrorists and
smugglers who currently violate them with ease and make a mockery
of our laws. Unless current laws can be enforced and our borders
made secure, new legislation won’t mean a thing.
The laws
already on the books were not enforced or only half-heartedly
enforced for several reasons: (1) addiction
to cheap, compliant
labor by American businesses and affluent households, (2) lack
of sufficient enforcement resources to patrol and protect the
border, (3) unwillingness to punish those who repeatedly hire
illegal aliens, (4) passing the buck by local and state law enforcement,
schools and other agencies who insist that it is not their job
to enforce immigration laws or even to report violations, (5)
failing to mandate a tamper-proof, “smart” identification
card , (6) fear on the part of individuals of being branded as
racist or anti-immigrant , (7) fear on the part of the federal
government of offending Mexico and (8) fear on the part of most
politicians of losing Hispanic votes.
In numerous conversations with fellow citizens, I have yet to
identify more than a few who place greater priority on broad
immigration policy reform than on stopping illegal immigration
now. They want the holes in the dike plugged first and they will
hold their elected representatives accountable, regardless of
party, in November if they fail to do so. Meanwhile, there will
be noisy demonstrations by illegal immigration advocates alleging
racism, designed to intimidate. There will be admonitions from
the liberal and business media urging caution, reminding all,
piously, that we are a nation of (legal) immigrants, but politicians
will do well to remember, in coming weeks, who it is that will
be doing most of the voting in November.ONE
copyright
2006 J. F. Kelly, Jr.
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