Thoughts on Immigration
The rumors of my demise are somewhat overstated. I'm still here. Work has been a real bugger lately with travel. And when I'm not on the road I'm trying to catch up on what happened while I was gone. But there is lots going on in the news lately that I want to comment on. But in keeping with my unwritten rule of one topic per post, I'll pick just one topic to comment on: Immigration. I realize I'm probably a week late in this, but bare with me.
The demonstrations that have been going on throughout the country just make me laugh. People who are in this country illegally are protesting against laws that would make it a felony to be here illegally. As one columnist said, "It's like a band of thieves getting together to protest anti-burglary laws." There's a big uproar over the proposal to build a fence across one third of the southern border. People are comparing the fence to the Berlin wall. The two are nothing alike. People conveniently forget the Berlin wall was built to keep people locked in. Ours will be designed to keep people out.
But anyone who suggests we need to lock down the border and keep people out is instantly being labeled a cold hearted racist. This isn't true. No conservative I know wants to see people starve and suffer. I'm all in favor of allowing more people into this country. But I insist they do so legally. Go through the process of becoming an American. Learn the language and history. Learn how our government works. Pay the necessary fees. Pay your taxes like the rest of us. If you're poor you won't have to pay any taxes anyway. Become a contributing member of society rather than just a leech of society. If you want to increase the number of people we legally allow into this country every year, I'm willing to listen to that argument.
The other thing that bothers me is these illegal alien protests have taken on an anti-American sentiment to them. People wave Mexican flags and signs protesting our country and our President. Like I've said before, America is becoming a Tossed Salad and that is bad for our country. We can't allow America to become a group of separate factions living on a common soil. If we allow that we will soon be no better off than the countries of the Middle East that are divided into tribes. Americans have to put their foot down and say if you want to live in America become American. Otherwise get out. If you think Mexico is better than America, go back to Mexico. If you think Europe has it all figured out, fine, go. If you think America discriminates and you'll never be given an opportunity to succeed, don't let the door hit you on the way out. The beauty of being free is you're free to leave. But if you're going to come here to take advantage of our economy then you have a duty to help sustain and support it by obeying our labor laws and paying your taxes.
Finally, I find myself wondering why this issue isn't a no brainer slam dunk for our politicians. We're talking about a minority group of people who don't even have the right to vote. So why do our politicians feel the need to be accountable to them? The answer is their children. What's at stake here is the political future of our country twenty years from now. While these illegal aliens will never have the right to vote, their children will. Any child born in the United States has the right to American citizenship. Do you think these kids when they grow up are going to vote for a party that wants to ship their parents back to Mexico? Or deny them a job? Do you think they will vote for a party that wants to give their parents amnesty? and a drivers license? and welfare? and social security? and educate their kids? and pay for their college tuition? That, my friends, is what's at stake here.
The demonstrations that have been going on throughout the country just make me laugh. People who are in this country illegally are protesting against laws that would make it a felony to be here illegally. As one columnist said, "It's like a band of thieves getting together to protest anti-burglary laws." There's a big uproar over the proposal to build a fence across one third of the southern border. People are comparing the fence to the Berlin wall. The two are nothing alike. People conveniently forget the Berlin wall was built to keep people locked in. Ours will be designed to keep people out.
But anyone who suggests we need to lock down the border and keep people out is instantly being labeled a cold hearted racist. This isn't true. No conservative I know wants to see people starve and suffer. I'm all in favor of allowing more people into this country. But I insist they do so legally. Go through the process of becoming an American. Learn the language and history. Learn how our government works. Pay the necessary fees. Pay your taxes like the rest of us. If you're poor you won't have to pay any taxes anyway. Become a contributing member of society rather than just a leech of society. If you want to increase the number of people we legally allow into this country every year, I'm willing to listen to that argument.
The other thing that bothers me is these illegal alien protests have taken on an anti-American sentiment to them. People wave Mexican flags and signs protesting our country and our President. Like I've said before, America is becoming a Tossed Salad and that is bad for our country. We can't allow America to become a group of separate factions living on a common soil. If we allow that we will soon be no better off than the countries of the Middle East that are divided into tribes. Americans have to put their foot down and say if you want to live in America become American. Otherwise get out. If you think Mexico is better than America, go back to Mexico. If you think Europe has it all figured out, fine, go. If you think America discriminates and you'll never be given an opportunity to succeed, don't let the door hit you on the way out. The beauty of being free is you're free to leave. But if you're going to come here to take advantage of our economy then you have a duty to help sustain and support it by obeying our labor laws and paying your taxes.
Finally, I find myself wondering why this issue isn't a no brainer slam dunk for our politicians. We're talking about a minority group of people who don't even have the right to vote. So why do our politicians feel the need to be accountable to them? The answer is their children. What's at stake here is the political future of our country twenty years from now. While these illegal aliens will never have the right to vote, their children will. Any child born in the United States has the right to American citizenship. Do you think these kids when they grow up are going to vote for a party that wants to ship their parents back to Mexico? Or deny them a job? Do you think they will vote for a party that wants to give their parents amnesty? and a drivers license? and welfare? and social security? and educate their kids? and pay for their college tuition? That, my friends, is what's at stake here.
posted by Mike at 3:57 PM
<< Home