An Immigration Solution

All kinds of solutions for the immigration problems facing the United States are being bantered about, from the "Round 'em up, send 'em back" crowd on one end the "Let 'em all come in" crowd on the other.

Problem with the two extremes is neither is workable. And no solution will work unless we get serious — and I mean really serious — about securing our borders. That needs to be done first before dealing with a guest worker or amnesty program. The problem with the bill offered by Sen. John McCain (R-Media) and Sen. Ted "The Swimmer" Kennedy (D[runk]-Chappaquddick) is it puts the amnesty part first before securing the border.

George Will writes in the Washington Post about why it is important to seal the border before attempting any immigration reform:

But control belongs at the top of the agenda, for four reasons. First, control of borders is an essential attribute of sovereignty. Second, conditions along the border mock the rule of law. Third, large rallies by immigrants, many of them here illegally, protesting more stringent control of immigration reveal that many immigrants have, alas, assimilated: They have acquired the entitlement mentality created by America's welfare state, asserting an entitlement to exemption from the laws of the society they invited themselves into. Fourth, giving Americans a sense that borders are controlled is a prerequisite for calm consideration of what policy that control should serve.

A nation without borders is not really a nation. And we refuse to enforce either the northern or southern borders. And with the inept southern border, the steady stream of illegals pouring across — with the encouragement of the Mexican government — mocks and ridicules the rule of law, which is supposedly important to a civilized, orderly society. And lastly, once we have secure borders, we will believe we can begin to solve the problem.

You might think I overlooked the third point about assimiliation. I didn't. The illegals pouring in from Mexico are assimilating, but the wrong kind of assimilation. Instead of assimilating into the culture the way my grandparents did — learning the language, the history the culture of America — they are choosing to remain separate from that part of America and have instead assimilated into the Welfare State. Freeloaders to the n-th degree. They want the welfare, the subsidized child care, the "free" education, the in-state college tuition rates, the easy to obtain home loans, the "free" health care. More people turning the social safety net into a hammock.

Will continues:

Facts, a conservative (John Adams) said, are stubborn things, and regarding immigration, true conservatives take their bearings from facts such as those in the preceding paragraph. Conservatives should want, as the president proposes, a guest worker program to supply what the U.S. economy demands -- immigrant labor for entry-level jobs. Conservatives should favor a policy of encouraging unlimited immigration by educated people with math, engineering, technology or science skills that America's education system is not sufficiently supplying.

This country has things backwards. Our policies discourage legal immigration by making it next to impossible for people to come here legally when we should want them to come here. America is a nation of immigrants. Instead, we encourage illegal immigration by not enforcing the border and laying out easy-to-get benefits and freebies that should be reserved for citizens.

I have heard people call for stiffer penalties and enforcement for employers who hire illegal aliens. To me that is hypocritical to punish private employers for doing something that the government is doing. Why should we punish a restaurant for hiring an illegal as a dishwasher or a busboy while government hands out "free" healthcare and education to the same illegal?

Of the illegals that are here, they can be separated into two groups: those who want to work and the sponges — those who want to suck down our tax dollars like leeches. Those who want to work, I have no problem with getting them on an expedited track to legal status, provided they assimilate themselves into the culture — primarily by learning English.

The sponges need to be given the choice: either produce and assimilate themselves or back they go. We don't need any more sponges here; we already have enough already born in this country freeloading off the rest of us.

The point here is: something has to be done. If we don't, within 10 years we could have another 10 million illegals here. Last time we tried immigration "reform," we had three million; now we have 12 million.

But I don't know if we have the national or political will to deal with this crisis.

And for those of you who support immigration, will you for crying out loud stop waving your damn Mexican flags in the faces of those of us who oppose illegal immigration? You aren't winning any friends or converts with the in-your-face attitude.

The case of the middle school teacher of Hispanic origins telling his class that one day he'd be the majority and taking over and the kids would have to deal with it. The Che Guevara apparel at the Latino rallies. The signs supporting al-Zarkawi and bin Laden. The anti-American and separatist rhetoric.

If you want to come here and want to stay, please embrace the country instead of giving it the middle finger.