Immigration Comments

Here's the text of my letter on immigration to The President and the Key Republican Leaders:
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The Honorable George W. Bush,
The Honorable William H. Frist, The Honorable Kay-Bailey Hutchinson, The Honorable John Cornyn
The Honorable J. Dennis Hastert, The Honorable John Boehner, The Honorable Michael T. McCaul

Sirs and Ma’am,

I am writing to express my thoughts on immigration. I am profoundly disappointed in the general performance of the Legislative and Executive branches and specifically with the Republican Majority in Congress. You are failing in your obligation to the voters of this great country. I have reached the breaking point and have lost my patience with the dithering on this topic. I am writing alone, but my thoughts echo those of my fellow citizens both in my community and across this country.

Here are my main areas of concern:

• If we will not enforce our borders, how can we claim to be serious on the war on terror?
• People who illegally enter this country have broken the laws and should be treated accordingly.
• Employers who employ illegal immigrants are breaking the law and should be treated accordingly.

We are told there is a war on terror, that this war on terror endangers our lives on a daily basis and that to help combat this war, we must submit to numerous restrictions on air travel, have our communications subject to monitoring and other restrictions that, were there no war on terror, would clearly be an infringement of our constitutional rights. I can accept these as temporary measures as I do believe there is a serious threat and we are subject to attack. However, if each of us must submit to shoe removal and extensive personal baggage search; why then is it not at least as important to safeguard our borders? If X-Ray inspection of every bag is required, the vast majority belonging to persons obeying the law, why is it not at least required to inspect each person crossing our borders, a substantial majority who are not obeying our laws? To fail to know who is entering this country illegally is to make a mockery of the other restrictive efforts in the name of anti-terrorism.

The United States is a Sovereign Nation. As such, it enjoys the consent of its citizens to make and enforce laws in every imaginable area. I argue that if we do not, will not or cannot enforce the borders, we can no longer call ourselves sovereign and claim the right to enforce these other laws. A nation that cannot control its borders is no longer a Nation but merely a crossroads between territories and cities.

We are a Nation of immigrants and I am third generation Norwegian/German heritage. Immigrant influx is essential for economic growth, for the stimulation of new ideas, technologies and markets and to help this country maintain its vibrancy. I would like to see us increase our overall rate of legal immigration. Legal immigrants bring with them an appreciation for the opportunities, optimism and a work ethic I seldom see in my fellow citizens. Legal Immigration is a good thing and should be expanded -with educated, talented people from all countries, not just the poor and uneducated.

The proposal before Congress rewards those who break the law and discourages those who strive to adhere to the law. Period. Regardless of how you slice it, any path to citizenship for those who are currently here illegally is an amnesty program and you shame yourselves by asking the American people to believe otherwise. Even if they pay fines and back taxes, allowing them to stay in the U.S., under any program, rewards illegal behavior.

I read of the damage done to those who have borne children while in this country; how those children are now citizens and the harm it will cause to deport them. Why are the children citizens? Why should they be granted the rights and benefits of citizenship when their parents broke the law to bear them here? Again, we are rewarding illegal behavior. I do not have a problem with deporting anyone and everyone who has broken the law to come here. Enforcing the law is always correct. If it will cause economic harm, then accelerate the admission process for those who are patiently waiting their turn and abiding by our laws to gain entrance legally.

If an employer provides a job to an illegal immigrant, they have broken the law. Decrease the demand – by enforcing the law - and you will decrease the supply. If we will not enforce the law, we invite employers to break it. By failing to enforce the law, you create anti-competitive forces between those who abide by the law (and bear higher costs) and those who do not and enjoy, cheap, off the books labor.

I expect you to take the tougher, correct, path and pass and approve legislation that closes our borders to illegal immigrants, deports illegal immigrants in this country today and punishes employers who hire illegal entrants .

Sincerely,

xxx