The following is a letter I sent to each of my three representatives in Congress. A slightly modified version of this letter was also sent to the President.
I am concerned about the current illegal immigration problems our country is dealing with. I want to see my federal government enforce the laws currently on the books before more laws are created.
I am old enough to remember when nearly three million illegal aliens were given amnesty in 1986. This legislation was originally only expected to legalize about one million illegal aliens. Also, there were to be consequences for those who employed immigrants who were in the United States illegally, and increased control of our borders. Sadly, neither of these things happened. Employers who hire illegal aliens, if caught, are given a slap on the wrist – hardly a disincentive for continuing the practice of hiring cheap illegal immigrant labor. Our southern border leaks like a sieve. After twenty years, the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 would appear to me to be a failure. Illegal immigration has only gotten worse.
I am adamantly against any form of blanket amnesty for people who are in the United States illegally. I realize attempting to deport the estimated twelve million is not a feasible option. I also understand that over the past twenty years of continued illegal immigration, there are families with illegal immigrant parents and American citizen children. It would not be moral to deport minor children who are American citizens along with their illegal immigrant parents. We need to end that problem by changing the law as it pertains to citizenship being granted automatically solely based on being born within the borders of the United States, regardless of the status of the parents of that child. Using anchor-babies as a way to remain within the United States needs to stop. In order to gain citizenship, any baby born in the United States must have at least one parent who is a citizen or legal resident alien. This would eliminate the problem of illegal immigrant parents and American citizen children.
I am also tired of hearing that “illegal immigrants do the jobs Americans won’t do”. My family has never hired an illegal alien to mow our lawns. My parents raised their children – they did not hire illegal immigrants to do it. I have heard small business people tell of how they have had to close their businesses and lay off their American citizen employees because they are being undercut by unscrupulous employers who are hiring cheap, illegal immigrant labor. I’m sure there would be American to fill those jobs if those jobs paid a decent wage.
By turning a blind eye to the illegal immigrants coming to the United States, we are importing poverty. The majority of illegal immigrants are coming from poor countries with not much more than the clothes on their backs. They are being paid sub-standard wages. They cannot afford to pay for healthcare, so it is paid for by the American taxpayer. They send their children to American public schools. This put an additional burden on American taxpayers. These children require more support than their English speaking classmates whose parents are American citizens, through things like the need for ESL teachers and free and reduced-price school lunch programs for those living in poverty.
We need to know who is in our country, and we need to control those who enter here. In the days of immigration through Ellis Island, people were screened to ensure they were healthy. Those people who were sick were denied entry into the United States. Today, with uncontrolled illegal immigration, our healthcare system is beginning to see diseases that had formerly been eliminated within our borders. This is a healthcare nightmare waiting to happen, especially with the specter of a bird flu pandemic.
Another aspect of the illegal immigration problem is the risk of terrorists coming into the United States illegally. The director of the FBI recently announced that Hezbollah terrorist had been apprehended after crossing our southern border. I’m sure the coyotes that extort money from Mexicans to sneak them over the border into the United States would have no problem accepting money from terrorists for the same service. The terrorists only have to be right once. We have to be right all the time to keep our citizens safe.
I am also deeply disturbed by the protests by illegal immigrants and their supporters. Since the majority of the illegal immigrants come from Mexico, the hypocrisy is overwhelming. Mexico treats their immigrants much differently than we currently treat our immigrants. If you are in Mexico illegally, you have committed a felony and are immediately deported. We should do the same thing. In Mexico, immigrants are not allowed to demonstrate against the government. We have allowed this, and have not done anything to catch these illegal immigrants as they protest for rights they are not entitled to. Mexico does not allow immigrants to own property, to join the clergy, or to become cabinet members. Yet, the Mexican government wants us to grant amnesty to their citizens who have violated the sovereignty of the United States and completely disregarded our laws. Mexico has not been a partner in attempting to stem the tide of illegal immigration over our southern border. In fact, they have aided and abetted that illegal activity.
One aspect of these protests that are not being reported by the mainstream media are those people seeking Reconquista of the American southwest. These people do not want to assimilate into the American culture. They seek to “take back” parts of our nation they view as being stolen from “La Raza”. I am also disturbed by the leftist, communist elements that are supporting blanket amnesty and a no borders/open borders policy. This is not just about lawbreakers. This is a fight for what the United States of America is. We have always welcomed immigrants into our country, but they have to want to assimilate, and they have to follow the rules to get here. I do not see the desire to assimilate in a lot of the protests that have been held over the last number of weeks. What does giving amnesty to illegal immigrants say to all those people who have or are currently following the rules, and have had to wait years for the privilege of coming to the United States?
I would venture to guess that a majority of those protesting are not citizens of the United States. That being the case, those people are not your constituents. The American people are who you should be listening to. The vast majority of American citizens want to see our borders secured and do not favor amnesty for illegal immigrants. You don’t answer to a mob, you answer to the American people. You cannot equate these protests to the Civil Rights movement of the 1960s as some are trying to do. The Civil Rights movement was to right wrongs being perpetrated on American citizens. The current movement seeks to reward those who do not respect our sovereignty and are not entitled to the protections of the Constitution granted to American citizens.
Although I live in Texas, I thankfully do not live along the border. If I did, I think I would have to move away. Illegal immigrants have no respect for the private property they trespass through and leave their garbage on during their illegal journey into our country. I know for certain I will not ever want to live in a border town. I would be too concerned about my personal safety. I am aware of the incursions over our southern border by armed men wearing military style clothing and driving in armored and heavily armed vehicles. The Mexican government may deny these incursions are done by the Mexican army, but it doesn’t look to me like they are doing anything to prevent these incursions if they aren’t being perpetrated by the Mexican military.
Another aspect of granting amnesty to the majority of illegal immigrants is the fact they would then be able to start bring any family they have left behind in their country of origin. Our nation is not capable of absorbing such a massive influx of addition immigrants. I have read some estimates stating this would make an estimated 60 million additional people eligible to come to the United States. The majority of these people will be poor, and will be living in poverty, becoming a further drain on our social services, healthcare and educational systems.
I will be paying attention to voting records for all my elected representatives. Right now, the immigration and border issues are trumping all other issues. Having said all this, I want to express to you that I will never vote for a candidate who is not for tough border and interior enforcement of all our existing laws in regard to immigration, and I do vote, and I will not vote for anyone who supports or votes to approve blanket amnesty for the estimated 12 million illegal immigrants who are currently in the United States. I would rather see no new immigration laws passed and have the existing laws strictly enforced. Once we stop the flood of illegal immigration, then we can address the problem of what to do about the estimated 12 million and counting illegal immigrants that are here now. If we grant amnesty and don’t secure our borders, we will have an even larger illegal immigration problem, and next time, I don’t think it will take 20 years to get to a crisis point.
I appreciate your attention to this issue, and I look forward to hearing your position on illegal immigration and border security.
Sincerely,
Miss Ladybug
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