A Boston Tea Party …(Let Us All Down)

Definitions:

Amnesty: the act of an authority by which pardon is granted to a large group of individuals.

Pardon: to allow to pass without punishment for a fault or crime.


It has been twenty-four years since Reagan was President and the United States offered amnesty to illegal immigrants. In those twenty-four years one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten, eleven, twelve million additional people, mostly Mexicans, have crossed our borders unlawfully. How is it possible so many were allowed to break our laws? How did we reach this point? The contradiction in the entire immigration debate is the very people who allowed this to happen are now being asked to solve it.

Since 1982 each party has controlled Congress and different Presidents have come and gone without any leadership on controlling our borders. Based on the definitions above it would seem we have been continuing with amnesty for the last twenty-four years. Had the public been in charge of our borders like the minutemen of this past year I doubt we would be having this debate today. It is pure foolishness to think our federal government has the will to solve the illegal immigration problem. It is this same government who for years has been buying bus tickets to places like Chicago for illegals caught entering this country. Our government is full of carrots but never carries any sticks. Why? Because carrots win votes and sticks do not.

A form of carrot is the way illegals are being portrayed both by government officials and the media. Those who sympathize and see potential votes in the twelve million aliens currently here refuse to use the word “illegal” before the word “immigrant”. The President uses misleading statements when he says, “immigrants are the backbone of our country.” He is correct but purposely fails to mention those immigrants were LEGAL and entered this country the correct way. The media classified all those who rallied last weekend as protestors while never mentioning that a majority of the crowds were actually here illegally. There are may different solutions to this problem but distorting and misleading statements only show our leaders can not be trusted to end this problem.

Polls show seventy percent of the American public along with the 9/11 commission is in favor of strong border security and no amnesty for those who have broken the law. With such a majority it is logical that such support crosses Party lines. Polls also show seventy percent of elected officials favor a less strict form of control including the current President. Once again it is the “true” conservative members of the House who are forcing this issue. Most of these members are from the southern United States where illegal immigration is bankrupting their states. The President continues to show very little concern for his conservative base. By now it should be perfectly clear "the boy genius” advisor to the President, Carl Rove, has gone tone deaf. No more evidence is needed than the string of Miers, Dubai, and now border security. One should not think President Bush is the only Republican going soft on immigration. He is joined by McCain, Graham, and others.

The common theme of any elected official is more times than not they will think they know more than the average constituent. Each year they serve makes them less concerned about those who voted for them in the past and more willing to prostitute themselves for potential new votes. Those who support strong borders are being accused of being intolerant and unwilling to provide basic human rights to those who want a better life. We are told how would we like it if our family’s ancestors were treated this way. Again, our leaders twist the issue since our ancestors were allowed into this country in a legal fashion. Strong border security does not mean one is against immigration as a whole. We only want our laws respected and enforced. If we were to give rights to those who enter this country illegally then it would be logical to give prisoners at Guantanamo access to our court system. If one is consistent you cannot allow one and not the other. If a single right is given to a non-citizen then all rights must be given.

I want to say I do not blame anyone for wanting to come to America. For twenty-four years those in charge have looked the other direction while people flooded across our southern borders. These people did what is natural to the human spirit. The President often talks about the natural desire for people to want a better life for themselves. We are trying to give that to the Iraqi people. We are, however, not allowing all the Iraqi people to come to America. It is not America’s problem that life in Mexico is so terrible. It is the responsibility of our elected officials to manage the number of people allowed into this country. Rather than trust those who have failed to do so for the last quarter century, we would be better served to entrust the solution to new leaders. Someone needs to be held responsible for the current situation.

From a cost / benefit analysis it would seem if we don’t remove our current public officials then both they and the illegals benefit while every legal citizen loses. As a philosopher once said, “Those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it.” I know one thing if a terrorist comes through that border and attacks America that border will be closed within a month. Vote Republican or vote Democrat but if you want border safety and legal immigration you must vote for a different one. We cannot continue to elect the same people. They had their chance and it is safe to say twelve million illegal aliens later they let us all down.