April 28, 2006
Our town hall meeting last week on illegal immigration was an unqualified success. People came from all over to listen to speakers give their expert testimony on the problem of illegal aliens. One salient point emerged from those discussions – the illegal alien problem is getting worse by the day.
Originally, our rally was called ‘Demagnetize Tennessee.' Now the scope has broadened to ‘Demagnetize America.' The term ‘demagnetize' has now entered the national lexicon. Anti-illegal alien stalwarts such as Congressman Tom Tancredo have begun to use the term. It's a term that so encapsulates the problem. This country has become a magnet for illegal immigrants. The only solution is to cut off the magnets of jobs and benefits that have enticed more than 12 million people to enter this country as criminals instead of going through the proper channels.
But what did we learn at our Demagnetize America meeting? We learned that an alarming number of our representatives still just don't get it. We learned that they are standing in the way of legislation, in Tennessee and beyond, that would require voters to prove they are who they are. This common sense approach to protecting our sacred right to vote is being cast as the new “poll tax” by those who would allow any breathing human being to cast a vote, no matter their legal or criminal status. This right we hold dear is being debased by those who have not been able to sell their ideas on the open market of political exchange. Instead, they seek to further corrupt an already overly corrupted right either to extract the desired outcome from the vote or destroy it completely.
We learned that Immigration and Custom Enforcement (ICE) is woefully understaffed and overworked. They are so busy battling the criminal aspect of illegal immigration – like the terrorist gang MS-13 – that they have precious little time and resources to devote to penalizing employers who facilitate the ordinary criminal activity of illegal immigration.
We learned that attempts by concerned lawmakers to confine drivers' testing to English is met with cackles of “discrimination” while no one is complaining that the road signs they would read are in English. No doubt, bi-lingual road signs can't be far behind.
We learned that the border patrol's “catch-and-release” program enables an illegal alien to enter and re-enter this country at least 8 times with little prospect for prosecution. Under current law, the act of entering this country once is considered a misdemeanor. Second and subsequent violations are considered felony violations yet precious few are ever prosecuted as such.
The overcomplicated rhetoric aimed at solving the problem of illegal immigration is slowly giving way to the common sense approach of cutting off the sugar. Multi-billion dollar figures on the cost of deportation are only designed to overwhelm and discourage anyone who wants to solve the problem. Understand this: We did not pay to im port illegal aliens, we shall not pay to de port them. The only thing that must be done is to cut off the reasons they came in the first place – jobs and government benefits. Once the incentives to come are taken away, the people who seek them will go elsewhere. Perhaps they'll be forced to demand civil rights in their own countries rather than hijack ours. The longing for a better life is not uniquely American. However, the right to the American Dream is. As long as people want to obey the laws, come here legally and assimilate, we will continue to welcome them with open arms. All we ask is that you love this country and, for crying out loud, speak English.