2008 Presidential Race: Turning the Light on Illegal Immigration
By J. James Estrada (03/28/07)
"I turn off a light and say, 'Take that, Iran ,' and "Take that, Venezuela.' We should not be sending our money to people who are not going to support our values."
I read this quote from one of the presidential contenders and it caused me to do a double take. As I continued to read the column describing the candidate's speech, it mentioned specific goals on the candidate's agenda, including: universal health care, preschool for every child, making college more affordable, and energy independence. No mention of illegal immigration. Another double take.
When will the illegal immigration dilemma "light" be turned on among our national leaders?
Investors Business Daily recently reported these remarkable statistics: one-seventh of Mexican workers are working illegally in the United States ; and, of the one million new Mexican workers entering the work force every year, nearly half of them will work in a country other than the country of their origin.
Newly elected Mexican President Felipe Calderon, started his administration off well by declaring a crackdown on the violent drug cartels which terrorize his country and threaten ours.
Calderon, unlike his predecessor, Vincente Fox, seems to recognize that border security inaction will, in due course, not be beneficial to his constituents south of the border. In other words, continued unchecked illegal immigration will eventually be more damaging to Mexico than the U.S. How? If his workers continue to flee to points north in astounding numbers, the Mexican economy will sink further and further into an irreparable quagmire of third world morass. It will also cement itself as a leech country, unable to sustain itself beyond anything other than a poverty-ridden welfare state.
Proud Mexicans would not and should not accept this fate for their homeland. Having been associated with many legal immigrants from many different countries, I know that pride in ancestry is universal. Doing things the right way, in any endeavor, only enhances a sense of pride and accomplishment. I applaud Calderon for his initial directives and his far-reaching approach to very difficult national problems.
During President Bush's recent visit to Mexico, Calderon said that the U.S. could make his job in shutting down the cartels easier by working to control demand fro drugs here. While I agree that this point is salient, it should not be a deterrent in fighting the cartel element which seems willing to do anything to protect its multi-billion dollar "industry."
As the violence associated with both drug and human smuggling from Mexico reaches the streets of the United States, it is more than passed the time for responsible leaders in this country to act. Illegal immigration continues to tax our medical and social systems, our educational systems, our transportation systems and our legal systems.
In a democratic Republic such as ours, it sometimes takes time for the representatives of this great land to catch up with the concerns of those they represent. When it comes to illegal immigration, the 2008 presidential race will be a primary case in point.
Oh, and the presidential contender mentioned above? Mrs. Bill Clinton.
J. James Estrada
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