July 11, 2003 – Illegal Immigration – Enough is Enough.

When did I turn into a racist?  Because, that it what this rant makes me feel like – a racist.  Why – because whenever someone raises this specter of controlling illegal immigration, they must be a redneck, intolerant racist.  Well, call me a racist, but I have had enough of illegal immigration.  Here in California, the lunatics are taking over the asylum, and illegal immigration is a prime example of what has gone so very wrong.  Believe it or not, there is currently legislation pending that would grant ILLEGAL immigrants the right to get a driver’s license.  In the words of one Charlie Brown, Good Grief.  If you enter this country illegally, why in the name of anything involving logic would we say – OK, here, wink wink, nod nod, have a California driver’s license, it doesn’t matter, you can have the privilege of driving, we won’t depot you – come on down, its OK, we won’t tell anyone.  You got to be kidding.  Better yet, in a state where its fiscal crises has escalated into a full blown meltdown, there is a suggestion that illegal immigrants be granted the same tuition breaks to California’s state universities  and colleges provided to legal residents.  Ummm, excuse me – THEY BROKE THE LAW, AND NOW THEY GET A DISCOUNT ON COLLEGE SUBSIDIZED BY CALIFORNIA TAXPAYERS?  What in the hell are our elected officials thinking?   I was always taught that if you break the rules, you get punished, not rewarded.  Apparently in California, this does not apply to those entering the country illegally.    Someone pinch me before they raise my state income taxes once again.

Illegal immigration has become a festering sore that is eating California, and for that matter, probably Texas and Arizona, from within.  Now, just so you don’t think I am too horrible a person, you need to know that I do not think that the answer to illegal immigration is to withhold education and medical care from illegal immigrants, because once someone is here, well, you have to treat people like people.  Kids need to be educated, and folks need to have access to medical care when they are sick.  I just want to stop the daily flood of illegal immigrants entering the United States.  I am sick of a border so porous that any terrorist, let alone a determined illegal immigrant, can get in if he or she really wants to. While there are horrific stories of those who do not make it across the border successfully, the fact remains that every year more and more illegal immigrants come to this country.  California’s economy is being undermined by the costs of supporting illegal immigration – and the federal government, along with not protecting our borders, has left the states holding the bag.  

Democrat or republican, it does not matter - no one wants to address the issue of “illegal immigration” – because all are afraid of offending possible voters.  Well you know what, I vote, and I am offended by the failure to show any sort of respect for the law.  Better yet, I am offended by all of crap that I have to put up with on a daily basis – and no one seems to give a rat’s ass about my vote.  No, they just want my tax dollars and my silence.  

I understand that in many ways illegal immigration brings down the costs of many goods and services we consume. The argument is that we are just returning to the illegal immigrants the benefits that they provide to us in less expensive restaurants, food, labor, and other service-dependent goods.  I will acknowledge that we pay less for our goods and services when illegal immigrants take jobs that others are unwilling to take, for wages that are less than fair.  Illegal immigrants constitute a cheap labor pool that is exploited by you and me, and everyone who wants to get things cheaper.  I just do not think that when push comes to shove, that is a good reason to ignore the fact that people who come over here illegally have broken the law.  Immigration laws are on the books for a reason, and just because we save some coin, does not mean we should turn a blind eye to what is legal and what is illegal.  Moreover, I personally believe that the “benefit” of this cheap, but illegal labor pool is more than offset by additional costs associated with medical, education, and welfare/ infrastructure expenses arising from illegal immigration.   Illegal immigrants do pay sales tax, but that is probably the only tax most illegal immigrants pay.  Truth be told, most illegal immigrants are hired off the books, well, because, it is illegal to hire them, so they are paid in cash, and therefore do not have to worry about such things as state or federal taxes.  While I could be wrong, I would hazard to guess that there is not enough sales tax generated in California to support the cost associated with illegal immigration. 

While I am ranting, I would also ask why pregnant illegal immigrants giving birth in the United States are rewarded by granting automatic citizenship to their child.  The assumption that if you are born in the United States, regardless of the circumstances, results in automatic citizenship needs to be revisited.  The jackpot of granting citizenship to children of illegal immigrants needs to be stopped.  To me, the child of an illegal immigrant should not be granted citizen status just because his or her mother was able to cross the border in time to give birth.  More times than not, we not only grant the child citizenship, but you and I probably end up paying the costs of the birth, because illegal immigrants are not known for having the best health care plans or insurance.  Damn, I am sounding more like a racist every sentence.  I swear, some of my best friends come from immigrant families. 

Maybe it me getting older, maybe it is the growing fiscal crises of our federal and state governments, or maybe it is being tired of everyone speaking a language other than English when I go to the store, but I am sick of being asked to bear the costs of those who broke the rules to get here.  My solution is simple – find a way to protect our borders, and stop the flood of illegal immigration. Case closed.  Pick a date, seal the borders, and provide everyone who was in the United States prior to that date with and legal resident status.  That is it, one shot, done, signed, sealed, secured.  For good measure, we should limit automatic citizenship rights to children of legal residents, not anyone who just happens to be born in the United States.  Call me racist, call me a pragmatist, call me fed up, but something has to be done about illegal immigration.  Like it or not, that is my opinion, and I am entitled to it. . .