IMMIGRATION COUNTERS
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ImmigrationCounters.com informs the public of the realities of illegal immigration while challenging the myths and misinformation surrounding it. After decades of passively watching this problem grow, most Americans are now aware of the severity and costs of this failure. Our government has demonstrated a complete lack of urgency to control illegal immigration both on the borders and within the interior. Because of their failure to manage this issue, that which has traditionally been the American way of welcoming immigration has now divided the country. This is because of one word, illegal. We have the self titled "progressives" to thank for this failed anti-enforcement approach. Opposing illegal immigration and wanting our laws enforced is not un-American. In fact, let us all with one voice of the United States set the record straight on what is un-American, illegal is un-American.
The issue of illegal immigration doesn't need any more studies or debates, it needs leadership and enforcement. America doesn't need immigration reform, it needs leadership reform. Because our government can't enforce the existing immigration laws, why should we be confident they will manage a much larger comprehensive immigration reform program? Because our government has failed to control illegal immigration, legislators are now addressing the problems at their local levels with bills to manage it incrementally, piece-by-piece, rather than trying to fix the national crisis at once--an impossible task. What most Americans are demanding is to secure the borders, enforce the existing laws inland with no sanctuary status, punish employers who violate employment laws, remove incentives by curbing social services and demand that Latin American leaders discourage illegal entry into our country. We must also address the fact that we're soft on illegal aliens caught in crimes and are not deported. No other country would allow this to continue. 40% of illegals entered legally and in bad faith overstayed their visas. Yet there is still no reliable method to verify if visa overstays have left the country. If we remove the social services and job magnets that attract them into our country, significant self-deportation will occur. Another magnet that must be addressed is the foolish birthright citizenship program that has resulted in millions of babies and parents receiving instant rights and benefits. Public housing and other services are provided for the families through their 'anchor child' while American citizens are being turned away. This antiquated program must end. Government agencies and officials at all levels must address the costs associated with this kind of abuse. Past mistakes have been made in attempts to fix illegal immigration and our communities can no longer afford these kinds of mistakes.
America must have immigration enforcement that reflects the nation's call to respect our laws in balance with the human side of illegal immigration. This must override the narrow interests of the business lobby, expanding government agencies, government officials who envision their expanding dependent class and those who see it as a source of votes. Recent language by Senator Reid, Senator Schumer and their peers reveal they're out-of-touch with the realities of illegal immigration. For example, there's nothing "draconian" (according to Sen. Reid) about our immigration laws being enforced, laws which are the most liberal and inviting in the world. According to Sen. Reid our border security fence project is "a symbol of fear and intolerance." Equally disturbing are comments by Congresswoman Pelosi who expressed her outrage of ICE deporting parents apart from their birthright children yet she refuses to address the root cause of that problem, our government allowing millions of birthright citizens. If our government would stop the practice of birthright citizenships then the family separation scenario would largely end. With emotional platitudes she ignores the cause and expresses disdain towards the hard working ICE agents doing their jobs. These same legislators and their peers are opposed to e-Verify for fear of ID fraud (it is 99% accurate for legal workers and 54% accurate when fraudulent ID numbers are used) while failing to address the fact that ID fraud is already rampant in the illegal alien communities. On one hand they don't want businesses validating something as important as the legal right to be employed yet on the other OSHA does enforce how businesses store paint or provides a certain level of lighting. This is a failure of priorities.
America cannot suddenly disregard our forefathers' immigration principles simply to appease PACs such as the U.S. Chamber Of Commerce and the National Council of La Raza. Embracing and esteeming citizenship and our legal principles are precisely what have made our country successful, stable and unique in the world. These concerns do not represent a selfish interest in protecting our country from the inclusion of healthy and legal immigration; rather, they are about being a nation of laws. These laws and responsibilities apply to everyone without a hint of racism or xenophobia. History cannot be rewound as some activists would like in their "Reconquista," to re-conquer the land (as in the days of the Pueblo People, a land of barrenness before the borders were established). Angry Mexicans should direct their energy towards their own government or towards Spain for the Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire and the Spanish colonization of the Americas. Mexico won its independence from Spain, so now they want to abandon the independence they won in Mexico? Why now the anger and attitude of entitlement towards the United States? This is in part due to the Mexican leadership's propaganda of blaming America for their problems.
The pro-amnesty groups would like to compare today's illegals with immigrants from the past, such as the teary eyed migrants whos joy swelled when they approached Ellis Island and the statue of liberty. Today's illegals are an entirely different group that has lied on their visitors' visas, snuck across the border while leaving mountains of debris, committed tax and ID fraud, birthed their birthright babies, exploited the social services, wired billions out of our country, gained illegal employment and failed to meet naturalization requirements. Illegal aliens will be as corrupt as the system allows them to be. Today there are many immigration laws and requirements in place including modern forms of ID and a complex governmental and employment infrastructure. These systems cannot be bypassed. Every developed country has immigration laws. Without them sovereignty and national identity are weakened, security is lost and a perpetual string of problems occur as a result. The United States naturalization laws were established in 1790. Since 1929, illegal entry into the United States has been a federal crime. America is not a place, it is a nation. Its people are not residents, they are citizens.
Anti-enforcement religious organizations try to see a parallel between historical events of migration in the Bible and today's illegal immigration. What they fail to acknowledge is what the Bible says about respect for the law and respect for those in government authority. Those who truly want to obey God will do just that and will realize God's provision in their home countries rather than trying to obtain it through lawlessness in a foreign country. They also fail to acknowledge the fact that even during biblical times becoming a citizen of many countries was actually quite difficult, becoming a citizen of biblical era Rome for example. The American Conference of Catholic Bishops (who are excluded from paying federal income taxes) have been quite aggressive in their push for amnesty. We would encourage them to push for some amnesty to their own pristine Vatican City in Rome, 200 uneducated migrants from Mexico with unknown criminal backgrounds would be a great start.
Most Americans respect the laws while raising their children to do the same, yet they're aware of millions in the country who violate not only immigration laws but virtually every law that exists. Americans notice the unscrupulous businesses that hire them and the government agencies that cater to them at great expense. Our officials are charged with the responsibility of oversight and have failed to do so on a scale unimaginable. It's obvious our officials have allowed this problem to grow un-checked. For example the Border Patrol will approach suspicious individuals walking or driving within about a 20 mile range inland to verify their legal status. However, once illegals make it into our cities and communities where the issues are even greater, they magically become unapproachable and off-limits for fear of "profiling." This is an inconsistent and ineffective policy. Government agencies and lobbyist also have a convenient history of under-estimating statistics and costs. If an automatic path to citizenship (i.e., Amnesty) is offered, government leaders will quickly realize there are significantly more than just 10-11 million in the country--in fact, there are more than 22 million. This would also be an offense to the millions of honest immigrants who have become citizens through the legal process. The opportunity to live and work in America must remain an invited and controlled privilege, not to be gained by backdoor tactics or by paying a small fine.
Illegal immigrants are not "victims" who need us to rescue them. The CIA reports that the Mexican unemployment rate was recently only 4%, lower than 150 other countries and lower than the unemployment rate of the United States. Mexico is ranked #13 in GDP, higher than 172 countries. Mexico is home to the richest man in the world, has nine billionaires and has more millionaires than Germany. Yes, many are hard working and only wanting a better life as those in all countries do. However, the problem is much broader than what some media images suggest (e.g., the harvesting of crops, immigrants feeding their families, or emotional photos of parents deported from their anchor child--an extremely rare event). A significant number are single males with no families to feed. In fact, illegal immigrants know that having an anchor child greatly reduces their chances of being deported. Yet the same media is not sympathetic to American parents separated from their children when they're caught breaking the law. A significant amount of the money being wired to Mexico and Latin America is not for their poor families, it is to pay off the human smugglers and drug cartels back home. Otherwise their family members' safety will be jeopardized.
Americans have witnessed millions of illegals openly engage in undesirable activities while enjoying special treatment that our own citizens don't receive. Such activities include catch-and-release (a type of sanctuary status that even foreign diplomats don't get), failure to appear in court, immigrant gangs, drug and human smuggling, violent crimes, massive identity fraud, illegal voting, driving under the influence, hit-and-run accidents and various other motor vehicle violations, tax free incomes, free social services (including housing and food stamps), free emergency room care, public school enrollments, a full range of medical services for family members due to chain migration--including elderly parents who draw on the healthcare system and maternity care for their anchor babies. As if this weren't enough, they then wave their foreign flags in the streets of America demanding their rights yet they don't have the courage to demonstrate in their native countries to fix their own countries' problems.
Across the nation, District Attorneys routinely cut plea bargains with illegals caught in crimes who aren't deported or incarcerated, only to repeat their crimes in the future. If they agree to be deported (many times agreeing to self-deportation), they often return to the U.S. in short order and are emboldened against our laws and courts. 80% on deportation orders have not been deported. These kinds of activities are hard on the nation and its communities, yet amazingly people are expected to buy the idea that illegal immigration is somehow "good for America." Americans must ask themselves if these are the people they want to reward with citizenship while others have waited in line to be here legally. Americans are learning that the 14th Amendment was not intended to give special benefits to illegal mothers and their birthright citizen babies, this amendment was intended for the children of African slaves. Americans are becoming outraged that their leadership has allowed this amendment to be used as a magnet for illegal immigration.
Are all illegal immigrants bad people? Of course not. Some work hard and try their best to support themselves independently. However, all illegal immigrants have in bad faith violated federal immigration laws. This, in turn, leads to a long string of other violations, impacts on society and attitudes that affect our communities. The illegals themselves often pay a high price for living in the shadows. For example many crimes against illegal immigrants go unreported for fear of deportation. Some in law enforcement claim that asking for the legal status of persons would hinder their ability to reduce crime, claiming that illegals would be afraid to report crimes for fear of deportation. That position contradicts itself because with immigration enforcement the number of illegal aliens committing crimes would be reduced if their total numbers were reduced. Our government has also confused the illegals by not sending a strong message to the world about our laws. Instead the message has been: "If you get across the border, you're 'home free." Now they're stuck in the middle of this problem, trading problems from their home countries for even bigger problems here.
Most illegals will not assimilate because they never planned to or need to. With so many catering to their wishes and needs there's little incentive to assimilate. Instead of becoming Americans, more than any immigrant group in American history they turn their communities into little Mexicos. Preserving ones culture is worthy, pushing your culture onto others while in their country illegally is offensive. Many live quite well here, while others with thrifty lifestyles wire billions of dollars back to their native countries for powerful savings accounts. An entire housing market has evolved in Latin America to build homes from remittance money, paid for in full by cash. With no mortgages these are nice homes that many Americans will never realize themselves. In many cases Americans who lose their jobs and homes are as a result of illegal hiring, the undercutting of prevailing wages, jobs lost to NAFTA and offshore business. Rarely are the labor savings passed onto the American consumers. When the business organizations lobby our elected officials (a partial list is provided on this page) that they need illegals otherwise they can't fill their jobs, this is a self-serving myth. Citizens and legal immigrants would proudly fill those jobs, but at prevailing wage. Business organizations are simply salivating at undercutting the prevailing wages or expanding their consumer markets. This is their shortsighted "rush to the bottom line" at the expense of lost jobs to citizens and eliminating competitive businesses who obey the laws. This is not the American way of healthy competition that encourages progress. Rather, it is the worst form of activity to be found in business. Business lobbyists also fail to consider how this activity shifts numerous social costs onto the nation.
Americans know that one phone call from their President could charge the United States full-time or National Guard military to secure (even under strict rules of engagement) the remaining open-border sections known for crossings. But our previous President capitulated with the Mexican President's request to not use the military to secure our borders, knowing how effective this would be. Internally, because of their activities in the country, more than 600,000 state and local law enforcement officers come into contact with illegal aliens every day. State and local police make up approximately 96 percent of U.S. law enforcement and are an effective force multiplier for immigration enforcement, yet few are using the ICE 287(g) program so the criminals are not being turned over to ICE. This practice must stop. ICE often claims it doesn't have the resources to pick up even those already detained for them, Americans expect more than excuses. If even our military bases' security is now largely contracted out, ICE can certainly contract out drivers in government vehicles to pick up those who simply need to be transported. Because government managers have failed to manage the existing immigration laws, how will they manage a new and greatly expanded immigration program? Because illegal immigrants have failed to follow the existing laws, why would anyone think they'll suddenly come forward and follow more immigration laws or pay fines? Americans also see the inconsistency between "talking tough" about border security while at the same time providing billions of dollars in government services for those in the country illegally. Most agencies don't even bother to ask for their legal status! By providing free services to illegal immigrants, these agencies use up resources that our citizens need--citizens who deserve to have priority. The costs for providing those 'free' services are being shifted over into higher taxes and insurance costs. As a result, many inner city hospitals are closing or moving, schools and agencies are stretched to the limit, taxes are on the increase. The American people can no longer be forced bear the weight of the failed leadership of its neighboring countries. Those countries and their people must now bear that weight for themselves. Immigrants will not value American life if it's quickly found by entering through a back door path in the shadows. All countries must of their own sweat equity and in the open light of day develop better standards and opportunities for themselves, only then will it be embraced, even unto death.
The business lobby for cheap, illegal labor is shortsighted. The undocumented are becoming more selective about the jobs they'll do and how much they're paid. If they're granted legal status they'll soon demand the same prevailing wages and standards that citizens receive, thereby eliminating the key benefit of the business lobby. Most illegal workers are not doing farm labor. Because the Latin American leaders have failed to create a strong middle class, illegal immigration is now hurting the American working class while self-serving businesses and government agencies look the other way. The shortsighted business community harms their own long term interests and that of America by lowering the employment standards instead of raising them. We're seeing the results of this already. The question is if America is going to remain a nation of laws and principles or will the vanishing dollar overrule all else? Will living in America continue to be embraced, or will our country simply become a job site? When laws and principles are allowed to be broken on a scale this large we now find ourselves with repercussions few could have imagined
Dec. 2, 2010
http://immigrationcounters.com/