On the Record

Tonight, well-known television commentator, Lou Dobbs, went on the Record on the Fox Network Show, “On The Record With Greta VanSusteren,” to make a very effective statement with regard to the Dream Act and illegal immigration in America. I have included a link in this article to allow readers to hear that commentary if they have not yet done so. Mr. Dobbs makes some very strong points which so many of us have hammer for quite some time. He suggests a solution the entire matter in terms of a path.

Our country offers legal citizenship to over one million people per year. More than half of those people are of Hispanic heritage. As a public, we are certainly not opposed to the Hispanic population and do welcome them to our country with open arms when the follow the steps involved in the legal process for citizenship in America.

We have and have had an extreme problem with the porosity of the southern border of the United States with Mexico. After the events of 9/11, that issue became a real serious threat to national security. It is also the primary source of the flow of illegal drugs into this country in terms of cocaine and meth-related drugs. It is rapidly become a frontier of crime which is fringe on the United States with its violence and occasional crossing over. It is simply a matter of time before border towns of the USA will see the crime on their streets increase to even greater levels.

We have Senate and House members suggesting that we must initiate reform to address the status of the roughly 15 million illegal immigrants already in this country before we even talk about changing our border security strategy. Now we hear appeals from these people up to and including the President citing that we must do something for the children of these immigrants by passing legislation allowing them to seek higher education without the normal penalties encountered by the average American student seeking a higher education. They also want to throw open service in our military to individuals who have yet to take an allegiance to this country. In turn, these individuals may apply to have the other members of their family receive citizenship without stating whether or not they go through a process to achieve it. The appeal is based on the fact that these young children of illegal immigrants had no choice and thus should not be punished. The approach plays to the emotions and heart of every American and that is exactly the reason that it has been employed.

Illegal immigration is just that…ILLEGAL. We are a country which has from the beginning forward subscribed to the Rule of Law. That rule extends to the laws which are on our books regarding illegal entry into this country. When, those we have elected to office, find that the manner in which those laws are being enforced is ineffective, it is their responsibility, first and foremost, to modify the country’s behavior in a manner that does raise the effectiveness of our efforts of enforcement. That effort begins with securing our southern borders not educating illegal students. We need to get our priorities correctly aligned.

Without border security, anything that we do in terms of programs only expands the invitation to cross our borders and get here illegally as soon as possible so they too can cash in on the program. Any reasonable individual with half a brain can figure that part out without a lot of effort. We have two separate and distinct problems. One is the security of our southern border for a number of reasons that run the gambit all the way up to our National Security. The second is what to do about the roughly 15 million illegal immigrants already here in our country. No doubt the first one is challenging but it cannot and must not be impossible for our national security depends on it in the future. Don’t tell me about a legal citizen coming into JFK Airport from Europe and being grilled to the nth degree about their activities and then turn a blind eye to our southern border. When you do that, you are simply proving to me that our immigration efforts at ports of entry are nothing but symbolic in nature.

Selling the Dream Act as a solution to the 15 million illegal immigrants in this country is absolutely insane. It does lip service to the problem at best. At best, it delays making a decision about what to do with these people. At best, it turns America’s collective heads in another direction with the suggestion that the problem has been addressed and mollified. It is a con, a scam, a total gaming of the system by elected politicians who are only doing one thing and that is playing to the Hispanic vote.

In recent years, we have seen the struggle of African-Americans or black people as they made efforts with one voice to attempt to secure their place in American society. In many ways, that has not been accomplished but it is not necessarily the fault of America. America only offers opportunity not a guarantee. But, given that basis, we have seen a large portion of the black population of this country take the opportunity at hand and better themselves. In return, they have earned a better life for themselves and their children. In the process, they have also learned that it requires considerable effort on the part of any individual if they are going to get to a better place in America. Handouts will not do it and most of those who have made it to the next level see that. In that respect, they have become individuals who demand as much from their fellow black people as anyone does. I offer this to say, that the black people of America no longer think with one mind or speak with one voice because so many of them “get it” now. Thus our elected officials in may circle recognize this shift and immediately move to another population to gain their blanket vote. This, more than anything else, is what is behind our inability to act down on our southern borders. It rendered the last President ineffective and is basically have the same effect with the current one.

Let’s get real about this problem and the priority of it. It has languished for the last two years with a President and a Congress who had a majority position to do something about it and did not. There is a reason for that and it is not that they were too busy or there were too many other higher priorities. We hear talk about the genius required on the part of Obama to move national healthcare through into law yet it never required genius to do it…on the contrary, it appears by the position of the majority of Americans that it only required sheer stupidity. Given that premise, where does that leave us on the priority and solution for illegal immigration? Possibly the man credited with the genius to push through healthcare reform needs to step forward and rationalize his ideas for curing illegal immigration with the American public. I for one seriously doubt you will be hearing that speech anytime soon. Sadly, I for one also predict that America will continue to wait for security of our southern border while we watch our own federal government prosecute the states like Arizona who are willing to attempt the fight. Mr. Dobbs should be commended for his position and his courage and fortitude in delivering it in support of America.

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