Health & Fitness
Security first, the only sane and feasible option
Wednesday, July 10, House Speaker John Boehner led a behind-closed doors meeting of House Republicans to decide whether or not to pass the Senate's amnesty train wreck.
Prior to the meeting, House member Peter Roskam expressed a view which raised a red flag. Usually considered a paragon of common sense as one of only six Illinois Republican House members, it was rather bewildering and troubling to read an article by Joe Cahill in this week's Crain's Chicago Business ,Why business can -- and should -- save immigration reform, that mentioned Peter Roskam as one U.S. House member who seems to agree with the argument that American businesses need more cheap labor.
Immigration reform is long overdue. Problems are often ignored, opportunities delayed or denied, and enforcement lax. Immigration just happens without any real sense of direction. The needs of applicants go wanting, and the country suffers from this neglect. However, there are major issues which must be resolved in the creation of an immigration reform bill. Amnesty without security and control will be disastrous for our country, and lead to a cascading flow of illegal immigration, which will threaten our economy and national security.
Find out what's happening in Highland Parkwith free, real-time updates from Patch.
The call for enhanced border security is a smoke screen over the real issue. The real need is for immigration control. At present, there are only 5000 immigration control agents (ICE) to serve the entire nation of 310 million people. There are 15000 police in Los Angeles alone, for a population 1/10th the number if illegal immigrants alone. Securing only the border protects a narrow band of land, implying anyone who crosses undetected is home free. In effect, that's exactly what occurs.
Even if we increase the border security and beef up immigration control, there's no guarantee that Homeland Security under any administration would actually enforce the law. Bush resisted enforcement passively, but Obama (and Janet Napolitano) openly refuse to enforce the law, grant broad exceptions to immigration law, and prosecute any local authority who attempts to enforce it in their place.
Find out what's happening in Highland Parkwith free, real-time updates from Patch.
Any form of amnesty will result in a flood of illegal immigration, and further calls for amnesty if Homeland Security continues to look the other way. Judging from past performance, we are assured that the only part of immigration reform enforced would be the granting of amnesty unless extraordinary precautions are taken.
Visa control is almost nonexistent. In the age of computers where every phone call, email and Google search is recorded, we can't seem to track who enters and leaves the country. This is not a technical problem. It starts at the top and filters downward.
Immigration control, above and beyond border security, is essential, and the administration must be compelled to enforce it. Without enforcement, it doesn't matter what the law is, nor how carefully it is crafted. The temptation for politicians to pander for votes under the disguise of humanitarianism must be subjugated to the rule of law.
Worth sharing is an insightful article by Senator Tom Coburn, How the House Can Get Immigration Reform Right.
According to Dr. Coburn:
Now that the Senate has passed a flawed $46 billion immigration bill it's time for the House to be the higher chamber and start over. . . . you don't solve a messaging or political problem with bad legislation. You solve it with good policy that honors our values, respects the rule of law, and improves people's lives.Coburn goes on to state that a task of the House is to balance an unapologetic pro-legal-immigration message with an equally emphatic emphasis on the rule of law, which is what immigration control is really all about, and further negates those who say that it can't be made more secure. Colburn knows that the border is not secure based on his oversight work as the ranking member of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee -- the committee over the border.
This powerful and statement was made by Dr. Coburn:
The truth is the administration doesn't know if the border is secure and they don't care, and they won't start caring until Congress and the American people make them care.
What the public wants is to see that we have the political will to secure the border and respect the rule of law. . . Nothing undermines the rule of law more than politicians who pass laws they have no intention of enforcing.
For those who believe what the Obama administration is informing the nation of a border that already has a great deal of security, it is imperative that you watch the complete transcript of filmmaker Dennis Michael Lynch being interviewed over the past weekend with Mike Huckabee on Fox News discussing Part 2 of Lynch's documentary, They Came to America.
Even if you already believe that border security should come first before all else, the Huckabee/Lynch interview will still be an eye-opener. Representative Peter King of New York changed his mind to security first after viewing Lynch's all engrossing and troubling documentary.
Make the administration and your legislators care by letting them know that border security and immigration control must come first, with transparency and verifiability. Once this happens, the American people, always gracious and generous, will be more receptive to dealing with the 11 million or so people who wish to make the United States their adopted home.
Thursday, July 11, 2013 at 09:30 AM | Permalink
