Immigration: Enforcement first THEN reform
By Doug Hagin (06/25/07)
This whole immigration bill debate has been a true beating hasn't it. Having Republicans like columnist Linda Chavez, Homeland Security chief Michael Chertoff, Senators Trent Lott and Lindsey Graham, and even President Bush bash Conservatives who opposed the bill was a blast. These folks characterized us as people who either "did not like Mexicans", or "thought that anything short of the death penalty is amnesty", or were just out of touch with reality. Senator Lott even opined that it was the fault of talk radio, which he seems to believe, is running America. It is not very nice to be on the receiving end of cheap shots by your supposed ideological allies is it?
We Conservatives did not let that get us down; instead, we were emboldened by these asinine attacks. We called, and wrote, and emailed or political leaders. And, thankfully, we killed the immigration/amnesty bill! Good for us! Of course, it is alive again and very soon, it will be front and center again. Oddly enough, many of our congressmen and senators do not understand why America is so outraged over them trying to fix our immigration policies.
As for me, I am all for them fixing it, I bet most of us are in favor of that. After all, who does not want this lingering crisis mended? The problem is not with fixing the problems with illegal immigrants and lax borders. The problem is one of trust. See, America largely has learned not too trust our government to address and remedy the border. Why you ask? Well, because our government has failed, repeatedly, to do the one thing it has to do if it really wants to get serious about fixing the border and illegal immigration.
Frankly, it has failed to enforce immigration laws.
This failure, which has often equaled a failure to even try, has taught Americans a lesson. That lesson is not to trust politicians to keep their promises on border security. So, please excuse our reluctance to swoon over new immigration laws. Perhaps if our current laws were being enforced we would be more wiling to go along with new laws. Heck, if the government started enforcing the current laws, and actually proved their willingness to do so we would perk right up. See, we would have a reason to have some trust then.
See, it is like this, we have seen Washington not enforce current laws for decades. What Washington is loathe to see is that trust once lost is not easily regained. They lost us and we lost our faith in them. Now, if they want that trust back, let them earn it. Surely, our government can grasp this can’t it?
If, for some strange reason they cannot get it straight in their minds, allow me to set it up for them. Here then, are some very simple steps for our Senate, House, and yes, especially for you Mr. President to take on the road to regain our trust.
First and foremost, get that fence y’all approved on the border built! No, not a “virtual” fence, I mean a real fence, designed to make it as difficult as possible for those seeking to cross our border illegally to do so. Get that fence up, or at least start aggressively building it and America will take note.
Secondly, and this is a big one here, stop punishing border agents who do their job! If border agents shoot a drug smuggler in his arse, then do not prosecute them. No, give them medals! Allow them to do their jobs. In addition, while you are at it, hire more agents! Imagine this, more agents allowed to do their jobs+ a border fence= fewer illegal aliens and more faith in you by us.
Thirdly, crack down on these city councils and mayors who seem to think they can ignore federal immigration laws. Withhold federal money until they end these inane sanctuary city policies. In short, no American city should be able to order their police officers NOT to ask about the immigration status of suspected illegal aliens. Police must do their jobs, and that job involves arresting those who break laws. This issue needs to be dealt with now. Doing so will make a big impression on us, trust me on this.
Fourthly, take companies who knowingly hire illegal aliens to the proverbial woodshed. They have an obligation to follow the law. If they choose not to, then let the penalty they face force them to reevaluate their hiring policies. This capitalist nation affords these companies a path to prosperity, the least they can do is play by the rules.
Fifthly, Americans would jump for joy if y’all went after those here illegally who have outstanding warrants. These are not folks seeking better lives. They are criminals, drug dealers, gang members, etc. Go find them, and boot them out of this country. Again, an act like this will do wonders to better your image in our eyes!
Lastly, stop insulting our intelligence. We are a tad fed up with the whole “We cannot deport 12 million people” line frankly. Yes, we get that. Moreover, I do not know of anyone who has demanded 12 million illegal aliens be deported. I am pretty sure we are aware that this problem has been ignored for so long that mass deportations are not an option.
Another line we are tired of is the “these people are just doing jobs Americans just will not do”. If I hear that once more, my head will explode! It is not a good idea to insult Americans and their work ethic. So please, knock it off already!
Do these things, starting now, and you will be surprised how eager America is to listen to ideas about how to deal with the 12 million folks here illegally. Again, we recognize this is a huge problem, and we recognize that there are no easy solutions, we really do. Frankly, we understand there is no magic cure all. We do, however, need to know that the solutions y’all come up with will at least be enforced.
There is that word enforced yet again. Why does that keep popping up? Well, because no law will ever succeed unless it is enforced. Therefore, there is your key to regaining our trust. Enforce the laws we have, prove you are capable of that. THEN, and only then, will America trust you to deal with those here illegally. Because all we hear now are the same folks who have yet to enforce immigration laws telling us how they will enforce these new laws. Sorry, America is not buying!
Doug Hagin
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