We are a nation of immigrants. We have come from all over the world to be part of this great melting pot. My ancestors came here legally--through the front door, as it were. We, as all other nations, screened those who came across our borders legally. We used to welcome those who could be a contributing, constructive part of the fabric of our society. As our nation strengthened and prospered as a result of that influx, we were in a position to be a light among nations.
We are also a nation of laws. Our nation was the first ever to be established upon a foundation of law. No person was to be above, below or exempt from it--from the President down to the poorest vagrant, the laws were established to be applied equally. Our Constitution was written to prevent the bureaucratic whims of a monarch or a government lackey.
We now find ourselves in a situation where those two ideas are seemingly at odds. Most of us would agree that immigrants are an essential part of both our past and our future. The current crisis on our southern border is not however, about immigration. This crisis is about the rule of law.
Our President has created this crisis. He has deliberately used his phone and his pen to skirt the laws as written and prohibit federal agencies from applying them. Homeland Security, border patrol, law enforcement agencies and the justice department have essentially been told to stand down and allow these "unaccompanied minors" across the border. Something smells rotten in Denmark. I have maintained for quite some time that public servants are as scarce as penguins in the Mojave, but the degree of lawlessness we now see should shock every citizen regardless of their political leanings. There are multiple questions that demand answers:
1) How did over 300,000 illegal immigrants decide en masse to come to America since April? How did the word get out that they wouldn't be deported? Who spread the word and who paid for it?
2) How did that same number get all the way through Mexico, a country that is notoriously brutal and vicious to those who illegally cross their southern border? How is it possible for them to have made it across all those miles without the compliance of the Mexican government? Who asked the Mexican government to go along with this?
3) The President's press secretary has said that these children will be deported, but when pressed, admitted that deportation is in fact, rare. They are being released within the United States and told to show up in front of an immigration judge at some later date. (Out of about 57,000 children only 3% have actually been deported--http://www.theblaze.com/stories/2014/07/09/i-want-it-fixed-and-i-want-it-fixed-immediately-understand-mccain-goes-off-on-restrictive-border-visits/) To whom are they being released? Why aren't we verifying the immigration status of those that are "receiving" these children? What is their incentive to show up in court? Why is their health not being checked when there are multiple reports of tuberculosis, scabies, lice and worse occurring amongst these children? (read the following if you dare: http://www.slate.com/articles/health_and_science/medical_examiner/2014/07/children_crossing_border_illegally_a_possible_public_health_crisis_from.html)
4) Anyone who is allowed to tour the facilities where these children are being housed are being ordered not to make any recordings, take any pictures or talk to any staff members. Staff members (not sure which agency they really work for) have been warned not to talk to the press. Freedom of the press? Freedom of speech? Anyone? When did we become communist China? This "policy" has been couched as an effort to protect the privacy of the children. Every night on the news, they manage to protect identities as needed. What are they hiding? Where is the outrage? We have both the right and responsibility to understand what is going on. No pictures and no recordings? On whose authority? Or what?! Where are the journalists? I would go to jail before I would obey those orders. More importantly, why would I be jailed for disobeying?
5) The President will not visit the border, he will not visit the refugee camps he has created. From what I read, none of us could probably abide the smell. And now that he has created the crisis he desired, he has the temerity to ask Congress for nearly four BILLION dollars to deal with it. But where exactly will the money go? Can we even afford it? Who will administer the funds? Will there be any sincere effort to stop the flow? Will the border be closed? Will he deport the illegal border crossers?
I have great sympathy for those that feel they would need to send their children, alone, to try and make it to America. I do. It is not these poor kid's fault that they find themselves in this position. We need to help them for now, somehow. But in the end, the needs of these people will not be met or solved in this way. Collapsing our economy and destroying the rule of law will not put us in a position as a nation to help anyone--we will simply end up like them. We can help all the countries of the world in other ways, but we cannot sustain the population of the world, particularly not when our own house is in disarray. If these children, yes, even children, are allowed to stay we will never be able to stem the tide. It is sick and criminal to watch this President use these innocent, desperate people to achieve his personal political purposes. That Obama would attempt to leverage the Congress by the baldfaced exploitation of the helpless is beyond unconscionable. The only way American can ever begin to solve the problems in the world that compel mothers to send their children away is by example. The example we have historically provided as a free nation ruled by laws, not men, is the only way to really help people in the end. Guatemala, Mexico, Honduras, et al cannot solve their nation's problems by shifting their burden to us. They will have to solve their own problems by "cleansing the inner vessel". With nowhere to look as an example, how will they know what to do?
We are also a nation of laws. Our nation was the first ever to be established upon a foundation of law. No person was to be above, below or exempt from it--from the President down to the poorest vagrant, the laws were established to be applied equally. Our Constitution was written to prevent the bureaucratic whims of a monarch or a government lackey.
We now find ourselves in a situation where those two ideas are seemingly at odds. Most of us would agree that immigrants are an essential part of both our past and our future. The current crisis on our southern border is not however, about immigration. This crisis is about the rule of law.
Our President has created this crisis. He has deliberately used his phone and his pen to skirt the laws as written and prohibit federal agencies from applying them. Homeland Security, border patrol, law enforcement agencies and the justice department have essentially been told to stand down and allow these "unaccompanied minors" across the border. Something smells rotten in Denmark. I have maintained for quite some time that public servants are as scarce as penguins in the Mojave, but the degree of lawlessness we now see should shock every citizen regardless of their political leanings. There are multiple questions that demand answers:
1) How did over 300,000 illegal immigrants decide en masse to come to America since April? How did the word get out that they wouldn't be deported? Who spread the word and who paid for it?
2) How did that same number get all the way through Mexico, a country that is notoriously brutal and vicious to those who illegally cross their southern border? How is it possible for them to have made it across all those miles without the compliance of the Mexican government? Who asked the Mexican government to go along with this?
3) The President's press secretary has said that these children will be deported, but when pressed, admitted that deportation is in fact, rare. They are being released within the United States and told to show up in front of an immigration judge at some later date. (Out of about 57,000 children only 3% have actually been deported--http://www.theblaze.com/stories/2014/07/09/i-want-it-fixed-and-i-want-it-fixed-immediately-understand-mccain-goes-off-on-restrictive-border-visits/) To whom are they being released? Why aren't we verifying the immigration status of those that are "receiving" these children? What is their incentive to show up in court? Why is their health not being checked when there are multiple reports of tuberculosis, scabies, lice and worse occurring amongst these children? (read the following if you dare: http://www.slate.com/articles/health_and_science/medical_examiner/2014/07/children_crossing_border_illegally_a_possible_public_health_crisis_from.html)
4) Anyone who is allowed to tour the facilities where these children are being housed are being ordered not to make any recordings, take any pictures or talk to any staff members. Staff members (not sure which agency they really work for) have been warned not to talk to the press. Freedom of the press? Freedom of speech? Anyone? When did we become communist China? This "policy" has been couched as an effort to protect the privacy of the children. Every night on the news, they manage to protect identities as needed. What are they hiding? Where is the outrage? We have both the right and responsibility to understand what is going on. No pictures and no recordings? On whose authority? Or what?! Where are the journalists? I would go to jail before I would obey those orders. More importantly, why would I be jailed for disobeying?
5) The President will not visit the border, he will not visit the refugee camps he has created. From what I read, none of us could probably abide the smell. And now that he has created the crisis he desired, he has the temerity to ask Congress for nearly four BILLION dollars to deal with it. But where exactly will the money go? Can we even afford it? Who will administer the funds? Will there be any sincere effort to stop the flow? Will the border be closed? Will he deport the illegal border crossers?
I have great sympathy for those that feel they would need to send their children, alone, to try and make it to America. I do. It is not these poor kid's fault that they find themselves in this position. We need to help them for now, somehow. But in the end, the needs of these people will not be met or solved in this way. Collapsing our economy and destroying the rule of law will not put us in a position as a nation to help anyone--we will simply end up like them. We can help all the countries of the world in other ways, but we cannot sustain the population of the world, particularly not when our own house is in disarray. If these children, yes, even children, are allowed to stay we will never be able to stem the tide. It is sick and criminal to watch this President use these innocent, desperate people to achieve his personal political purposes. That Obama would attempt to leverage the Congress by the baldfaced exploitation of the helpless is beyond unconscionable. The only way American can ever begin to solve the problems in the world that compel mothers to send their children away is by example. The example we have historically provided as a free nation ruled by laws, not men, is the only way to really help people in the end. Guatemala, Mexico, Honduras, et al cannot solve their nation's problems by shifting their burden to us. They will have to solve their own problems by "cleansing the inner vessel". With nowhere to look as an example, how will they know what to do?
living in Az with inlaws close to the boarder I can tell you its a VERY FRUSTRATING problem that often feels helpless for a fix. I don't know what the answer is, but I do know that I am so grateful that I don't feel the desperate need to send my young children thousands of miles away with often dangerous strangers and hope that they can find their way safely to the US and then sneak across the border and find a way to make a new life (albeit illegally) for themselves without my help and guidance.
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