Thursday, May 24, 2007

Illegal Immigration/Amnesty: We are missing the big picture

They "love" America?

Why aren’t politicians and pundits asking the right questions on Immigration? The primary question that many should be asking themselves is, why are there so many illegals who never made an effort to become, at the very least, resident aliens? Why are there so many illegals who have been here for decades, many who were eligible for amnesty when it was available in the 1980’s and never took advantage of it?

We hear so many sob stories from the Dems that we can’t break up families and can't expect children who were born here in the US to be separated from their illegal parents. Well, the question we also should be asking is, who put these kids in this situation? It wasn’t the US.

I have a unique perspective on illegals as I married into a family with many illegals and I happen to know the answers to the above referenced questions. Today’s immigrants want the benefits but don’t want to make the commitment to America. Their loyalty to their motherland is painstakingly obvious in their protests as they wave Mexican flags and burn the Stars and Stripes; a tactic that organizers convinced ralliers to change as it gave a very negative spin on their cause.

They don’t want to spend the money to become legal because their financial situation would not improve but worsen. We hear many illegal sympathizers, many within church groups, claim that illegal pay taxes and have a right to live here, receive access to entitlement programs and etc. Well, the truth be told, illegal don’t pay taxes the way you and I do. They fill out their paperwork with stolen SS# and therefore can claim as many dependents as they want and do not have to provide proof of those dependents when they file taxes in April because they DON’T FILE TAXES. Point being, they claim a large number of dependents, have a smaller amount of tax taken out of their weekly paycheck which gives them more spending power and they never have to justify it.

Congress can pass all of the legislation they want, offer as many different names to the legislation, but the point being, few illegals will “buy into” the amnesty program because they have no incentive to do so. Employers are not held accountable for hiring illegals, banks, credit card companies and other financial institutions see money to be made and because there is no real system of checks and balances for anyone who takes advantage of the illegals, all of the hoopla is just that, hoopla.

The Mexican government is the real culprit in this issue simply because they do not enforce their border with the US. In fact, they encourage Mexicans to illegally enter the US. Why? Because many of the illegals that are here, are here temporarily. They come for three or four years, regularly sending money back to Mexico to their families, to build a future home and etc. All of these things fuel the Mexican economy and keep that country breathing, some estimate close to $40 billion. Read more about it here It goes so far as to, according to a NY Times report in 2006, provide Mexican government employees in highly trafficked illegal entry border towns who counsel those preparing to cross over on such things as where the Border Patrols are, where they can find water along the border paths and what to expect if they are picked up by the Border Patrol.

So, before we get all up in arms over the legislation that Congress presents to counter the illegal immigration problem, consider the fact that, no matter what legislation is passed, vetoed or otherwise, the mentality of the illegal is what needs to change. Until we get tough on illegals, those who employ them, house them and provide them with entitlement services, illegals will continue to live here in an illegal status because they have no incentive to do otherwise.

Therefore, Congress should throw immigration legislation out the window and focus on how illegal immigration makes the US vulnerable to terrorists. Our safety, the safety of legal US citizens and residents, should be paramount in this discussion. No one is telling illegals that they can’t return to their native country with their US born children, yet that seems to be an argument that many are making which, in reality is moot. If supporters don’t want to separate families then don’t, make the parents take their US born children home with them and apply for citizenship or residency in their home county. With a parent that is a legal resident of a given nation, their acceptance into their parents’ native country is practically guaranteed.

Think about it ……