With a raid by ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) on IPCO the question of illegal immigration in the US is going to flair up once again. The demonstrations seen in major US cities supporting illegal immigrants in recent weeks are sure to return. The question is whether or not they are warranted. I believe the answer is no.
While my views are generally liberal, I am not sure I understand the basis for arguing they have a right to be in the US. The fact remains they entered the country illegally or overstayed their visas making their continued presence illegal. Using a politically correct term like “undocumented immigrants” does not change the fact they broke, and continue to break, the law of the land. A sign commonly seen during demonstrations is they are not criminals. I do not understand how they can see it that way. If I steal a car, I am a thief regardless of what good I may do with it afterwards. The end does not justify the means.
Please do not think I am blaming the illegal immigrants alone. These individuals come here and are able to stay due to companies like IPCO who encourage this behavior. In the past, these companies would suffer, at worst, a small fine. Hopefully in the future that will change. While I understand it is not always possible to check every employee to the nth degree, it has been reported that IPCO was warned several times that over 50% of its employee records had discrepancies including incorrect or non-existent social security numbers. This is not an oversight but a deliberate action taken by the company to exploit illegal immigrants.
Immigration law serves as a gatekeeper for the nation's border: it determines who may enter, how long they may stay and when they must leave. In 1986, congress passed an amnesty law for illegal immigrants living in the US at that time. It was viewed as an opportunity to wipe the slate clean and clamp down on future illegal immigration. It failed. By legalizing the status of those already here, the hope of millions of would-be illegal immigrants had been stoked. The number of illegal immigrants has more than tripled since the mid-80s, which shows amnesty programs do not work in this situation.
The claim that the US is being racist is simply unbelievable. Our borders are not being closed and we are not being isolationists. There are existing procedures by which people apply to be allowed to enter the country. Tens (if not hundreds) of thousands of people do it every year. What is being proposed is to enforce immigration policies and not reward those who choose to ignore them. Why should someone who goes around the system be granted citizenship, or any rights for that matter, over someone who follows the proper channels? Both my parents are immigrants but they came here legally. They learned the language (both written and spoken), followed the rules and, when given the choice, decided to become citizens. They chose to come to this country and respect it's laws. They did not expect the country to cater to them. The current pandering to the masses by politicians is counter-productive. Elected officials were put into office to create and enforce laws that make the country stronger, not to create a larger support base so they can improve their chances for re-election.
In the end, it is not that the US doesn’t want people to emigrate here but it does want them to do it legally. It reserves the right, and correctly so, to refuse those it deems undesirable or to add certain requirements for those it admits. The fiery rhetoric being tossed about will possibly hurt the illegal immigrants in the long run. They are drawing attention to the fact that there are so many of them and that it appears the US system is broke. I am not a racist. I am not an isolationist. I am not anti-immigrant. I am a law abiding citizen of this country and expect those around me to be as well.
