Pandering for Power
When Reuters reports that a big winner in the recent passage of the United States Senate immigration bill is Mexico's President Vicente Fox, there must be something going painfully awry.
The House has yet to pass the immigration bill, but they may find it hard to resist urges from such countries as the Dominican Republic. America certainly should consider its policy implications on other countries, but not at the expense of its own welfare. The problem is apparently that the politicians in Washington D.C. are pandering to the illegal masses in order to secure votes – and with those votes, power.
Some of the items in the bill, such as declaring English the national language, are warranted. However, creating an amnesty program for illegal immigrants who have been in the country for more than two years is not going to work. First, how do you enforce it? How do you know whether someone has been in the country for more than two years? You don't know. If we did, we wouldn't have an enforcement problem with illegal immigrants anyway. Second, we are tacitly recognizing that by simply creating a majority (or a vocal minority) of people who want the rules to be changed you can do whatever you want. Simply because the there is a large number of illegal immigrants does not make their actions right.
Even the Senate bill qualifying illegal immigrants for Social Security seems to forget the basic problem with illegal immigration … it is illegal. In case anyone has forgotten, illegal remains defined as "prohibited by law." Laws exist for a reason. In this case, I would contend that we have immigration laws and border security in order to ensure national security and in order to ensure that America stays American.
As a quick aside, I'd like to address Senator Harry Reid's claim that "This amendment [to make English the national language] is racist. I think it's directed basically to people who speak Spanish." I have trouble formulating coherent words at the keyboard on this one. The "race card" is played so often, it has become quite redundant. Certainly, it may be justified upon occasion. This is not one of those occasions. To make the national language English would help immigrants more than anything else. It would help them to integrate into society and truly have advancement opportunities. Chinatown, Little Italy, and other non-English communities are a prime example of what tends to happen. The original immigrants' children serve as translators because the kids understand that to truly take advantage of all that America has it is best to speak a language that everyone else understands. This amendment is not racist; it is a necessary step to integrate all cultures into a truly "diverse" "melting pot" where all can benefit from social mobility so unique to a freely democratic society.
To get back on topic, whether we even need illegal immigrant labor in order to keep prices affordable is a matter of some dispute (despite my previous "Fence Hopping" post.) This bill just demonstrates the disconnect between the populace and its elected representatives. Even as 10 percent of the entire Mexican population lives in the United States, border security remains a negligible issue (some measures were taken in the bill, but not enough to protect some 2,000 miles of border), amnesty continues to be a viable option, and politicians throw out proposals in order to demonstrate their willingness to be re-elected.
I certainly think that we should propose legislation. I agree we should talk about the issues. We should not back down on the rule of law that makes this nation great. We should not condone illegal activity in the name of business. We should not propose legislation in order to stay elected. We should not pander to a growing number of illegal citizens and the subsequent voting block in order to remain in power. The democratic process is a wonderful thing. However, when one becomes too concerned with the process to actually do something about an unpleasant issue, then democracy begins to die from within. As Abraham Lincoln said, "as a nation of free men, we must live through all time or die by suicide."
The House has yet to pass the immigration bill, but they may find it hard to resist urges from such countries as the Dominican Republic. America certainly should consider its policy implications on other countries, but not at the expense of its own welfare. The problem is apparently that the politicians in Washington D.C. are pandering to the illegal masses in order to secure votes – and with those votes, power.
Some of the items in the bill, such as declaring English the national language, are warranted. However, creating an amnesty program for illegal immigrants who have been in the country for more than two years is not going to work. First, how do you enforce it? How do you know whether someone has been in the country for more than two years? You don't know. If we did, we wouldn't have an enforcement problem with illegal immigrants anyway. Second, we are tacitly recognizing that by simply creating a majority (or a vocal minority) of people who want the rules to be changed you can do whatever you want. Simply because the there is a large number of illegal immigrants does not make their actions right.
Even the Senate bill qualifying illegal immigrants for Social Security seems to forget the basic problem with illegal immigration … it is illegal. In case anyone has forgotten, illegal remains defined as "prohibited by law." Laws exist for a reason. In this case, I would contend that we have immigration laws and border security in order to ensure national security and in order to ensure that America stays American.
As a quick aside, I'd like to address Senator Harry Reid's claim that "This amendment [to make English the national language] is racist. I think it's directed basically to people who speak Spanish." I have trouble formulating coherent words at the keyboard on this one. The "race card" is played so often, it has become quite redundant. Certainly, it may be justified upon occasion. This is not one of those occasions. To make the national language English would help immigrants more than anything else. It would help them to integrate into society and truly have advancement opportunities. Chinatown, Little Italy, and other non-English communities are a prime example of what tends to happen. The original immigrants' children serve as translators because the kids understand that to truly take advantage of all that America has it is best to speak a language that everyone else understands. This amendment is not racist; it is a necessary step to integrate all cultures into a truly "diverse" "melting pot" where all can benefit from social mobility so unique to a freely democratic society.
To get back on topic, whether we even need illegal immigrant labor in order to keep prices affordable is a matter of some dispute (despite my previous "Fence Hopping" post.) This bill just demonstrates the disconnect between the populace and its elected representatives. Even as 10 percent of the entire Mexican population lives in the United States, border security remains a negligible issue (some measures were taken in the bill, but not enough to protect some 2,000 miles of border), amnesty continues to be a viable option, and politicians throw out proposals in order to demonstrate their willingness to be re-elected.
I certainly think that we should propose legislation. I agree we should talk about the issues. We should not back down on the rule of law that makes this nation great. We should not condone illegal activity in the name of business. We should not propose legislation in order to stay elected. We should not pander to a growing number of illegal citizens and the subsequent voting block in order to remain in power. The democratic process is a wonderful thing. However, when one becomes too concerned with the process to actually do something about an unpleasant issue, then democracy begins to die from within. As Abraham Lincoln said, "as a nation of free men, we must live through all time or die by suicide."
posted by Matt Pitchford at 17:29
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