Regarding Illegal Immigration

Several months ago, Secretary of "Homeland Security" Janet Crap...Napolitano made healines for what I think is an inexcusable gaffe. She bellowed that "entering the country illegally is not a crime, per se." That sentiment echoes the open-borders acivists, who I am going to start calling the "pro-illegal activities activists" in light of MSNBC and the AP's recent decision to begin referring to pro-lifers as "anti-abortion rights activists." In fact, I may play with words all throughout this post.

In any case, the mentality of many on the Anti-Right (the Left, which fittingly comes from the Latin, for sinister), especially lobby groups like La Raza (pro-illegal activities activists slang for 'The Race'). They often decry that "nobody is illegal," or carry signs at protests with slogans like "All immigrants are legal immigrants." So-called "elites" on the Anti-Right make the argument that today's illegal immigrants are like modern day Italians, Irish, Germans and other Europeans arriving on the shores of Ellis Island a century ago. They say that much like those immigrants assimilated and became part of society, so will the ones entering the country illegally from south of our borders.

When did "borders" become such a dirty word? One wonders when liberals will decide to want to rename the evil, capitalist chain of book sellers to something less oppressive or offensive, maybe something like "Wade on Across!" This brings me to my point: America's cultural history, its zeitgeist, is full of stories of the poor Italian, who scrubbed shoes at the train station for two years to save the money to come to America. Or, the boy from the slums of Dublin who overcame disability, malnutrition and abject poverty, saved money over the course of years from odd jobs, and boarded a ship bound for America. None of these people had the luxury of wading across the Rio Grande in the thick of the night and dropping off an anchor baby in order to capitalize on America's generous social (in)justice programs. Becoming an American citizen was a source of pride for my ancestors - I know because I have heard it firsthand. These immigrants may have stuck together at first in the ethnic ghettoes of New York, Boston, Chicago and a host of other cities, but they wanted to be here. They wanted to assimilate and become members of their communities. They wanted to succeed and usher in a new era in their family history. I imagine these early pioneers, eyes full of hope as they took any job they could amidst Sinclair's Jungle-like working conditions. They evoke images of the romantic Frontier, the pioneers of the West. Young families setting out in search of opportunity, grabbing their future by the horns and making their own destinies. Our entire society is the apotheosis of their gritty determination, borne from the American spirit itself. One thing I don't recall these immigrants doing is demanding their new host country accommodate them by posting signs in their native languages and offering bilingual services. When you moved to America, you did so to become an American.

These Left-anointed modern day "pioneers" from the south come here for a myriad of reasons. Many come and are as industrious and hard working as anyone. Many become integrated parts of the communities in which they settle. However, I know that 12 million Italians, Irishmen and Germans didn't stowaway on ships during the 19th and 20th centuries illegally. That is, however, approximately the number of people who did come here illegally from the south. I'm not only targetting Mexico. People come here from everywhere illegally, through various entry points. I don't doubt they want to be here...but once they are here, they are more interested in living in enclaves with little to no interaction with the outside world. These enclaves become hotbeds of criminal activity and strife. These people don't want to - and many will never - assimilate to our way of life. They're only here for the handouts.

These reasons are exactly why blanket amnesty must never be considered. 12 million people receiving amnesty is 12 million slaps in the face to the courage and dedication demonstrated by the immigrants of generations past. It is spitting on our entire way of life, and it is setting a dangerous precedent. It is saying the American way of life no longer belongs to Americans. 3 centuries ago, we were a nation of foreigners living in the same land. Today, we are a culture. I just hope enough people are interested in preserving it.