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Editorial by Angie Many
My soap box topic this month is illegal immigration. While we
welcome those who come into the country legally, those who come in illegally are
causing massive problems, including:
1. Unsanitary and dangerous
conditions along our border with Mexico. Local U.S. residents live in fear of
the illegals -- often dozens at a time -- who cross their lands. Dirty diapers,
used hypodermic needles, human waste, and other items copiously litter the
crossing areas. A Park Ranger who crossed paths with illegals was shot and
killed last year;
2. The certainty that
terrorists intent on our destruction are slinking in across our borders;
3. A host of other problems,
identified succinctly by Tom DeWeese, president of the American Policy Center:
“Those from Mexico continue to consider themselves Mexicans as, indeed, they
are. Contrary to the argument that they contribute to our economy, they send
billions of dollars BACK to Mexico, helping that nation’s economy. At the same
time, they undermine the U.S. standard of living by swamping our schools,
hospitals and social services. They fill our jails for the crimes they commit. A
national disaster is brewing.”
One estimate is that medical care for illegal aliens
costs U.S. hospitals -- which are not allowed to turn them away -- and taxpayers
up to $8 billion per year. A January 2004 Washington Times article adds
to that: “About 80,000 illegal criminal aliens, including convicted murderers,
rapists, drug dealers and child molesters who served prison time and were
released, are loose on the streets of America, hiding from federal immigration
authorities.” Immigration services data for 2002 shows that more than 375,000
known illegal aliens have been ordered deported but have disappeared pending
immigration hearings. Washington-area sniper Lee Boyd Malvo was one such alien,
continued the article. The Washington Times adds that Mexico refuses to
extradite Mexican citizens who commit violent crimes in the U.S. if they face
the death penalty or life imprisonment, including more than a dozen cases in
which illegal aliens were accused of injuring or killing a U.S. law-enforcement
officer.
4. Illegal aliens (an
estimated 8 to 14 million, about three to four times what it was a decade ago,
attributed mainly to the 1986 amnesty that encouraged more illegal immigration)
have not had health screenings and could be carrying infections which pose
health risks to U.S. residents. Their children born in the U.S. become U.S.
citizens, often putting further drains on taxpayers; and
5. Illegal aliens are
counted in census operations, skewing political redistricting. According to
columnist Diana West, one recent study argues that the nearly 7 million illegal
aliens counted in the 2000 Census cost the GOP at least nine House seats during
the 2000 redistricting process.
President Bush has proposed a guest-worker program.
Illegal aliens currently in the country could participate if they show that they
currently have a job and allow a background check. (Those who do not have jobs
or have criminal records would, of course, not come forward.) Guest workers
could also bring their spouses and children into the country. Businesses could
bring in other guest workers if they show that they have made reasonable efforts
but are unable to find American workers. Penalties would apply to businesses
which hire illegal workers. (Those laws are already on the books but too seldom
enforced.) Countries which want to participate in the program would
(theoretically) be required to stem the illegal immigration of their citizens
into the U.S.
Some people are in favor of the guest worker program,
saying that it would bring those workers into the legitimate economy. Instead of
illegal aliens siphoning off our country’s resources, proponents say the
program would face the realities -- illegals are already here and working -- and
would make taxpayers instead of tax-drainers out of them. Some businesses are in
favor of the program because it offers a cheaper labor force, which allows them
to price their products more competitively. Opponents, however, counter that we
would be better off if those jobs went to people now on welfare rolls and
businesses were encouraged to pay them higher wages. Higher wages would
translate to higher prices for American-made goods, but consumers would come out
better because the taxes that currently pay for welfare and the increased social
services, police forces, and prison capacity that illegal immigration requires
could be substantially lowered.
The main reason to oppose the guest worker program,
however, is that any form of legalization will only encourage more illegal
immigration. A better program would be to deport all illegal aliens, strengthen
our borders to minimize illegal crossings, and only then institute a
guest-worker program if needed.
As David Horowitz has observed, “There are few issues
so important to the life of a nation as the integrity of its borders and the
nature of its citizenship. These are issues that define its identity and shape
its future. When a nation is at war, moreover, its ability to regulate and
control its borders is a security matter of paramount importance.”
And our security should be of paramount importance now.
The U.S. must control its borders and deport all illegal residents.
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