July 26, 2007
Sending A Message: The Parental Perspective On Immigration Reform
By Brenda Walker
Parents, teachers, psychologists, all understand that you don't reward a
behavior you want to stop.
We have all seen well-meaning moms handing Junior a cookie while
earnestly intoning that this will be absolutely, positively, the last
snack
before dinner ever again.
Until the whining begins again tomorrow.
We hold low opinions of such parents. We see proper familial authority
undermined. Plus we sense the larger psychological principle: talk is
cheap, actions matter more.
So it is in the very adult matter of immigration policy. Just as a
child's mind focuses on the essence of the message, a mountain of
political
theater condenses into one basic perception: amnesty means the foreigners
get to stay and keep their ill-gotten gains.
That word, or actually its Spanish equivalent "amnestia", will certainly
be headlined throughout Mexico if a "path to citizen****p" is revived and
pushed through by treasonous politicians at some future time (which is
probably closer than we think).
"Comprehensive reform" may be off the table for now. But it will be
back.
So this is a good time to consider the vital psychological aspects of
immigration policy dispassionately.
Elite opinion makers regard illegal immigrants as children anyway, so
the
parent-child comparison is not misplaced. Indeed, even many immigration
patriots say they understand the urge to leave sewers like Mexico and
illegally enter America.
Of course, it is arguably racist to have such low standards for Mexicans
and similar influxers¡Xto think they cannot recognize the legal authority
of
borders and national laws like real grownups.
Additionally, a person who violates sovereignty to enter this country is
by definition a poor prospect to be a responsible citizen¡Xin the same way
that acts of infidelity indicate a poor marriage candidate.
Senator Charles Grassley voted for the 1986 amnesty. This time around,
he
said he wouldn't make the same mistake again. As he explained: "You know
what I found out? If you reward illegality, you get more of it."
This is not rocket science. This is common sense. But common sense ideas
are little discussed inside the Beltway, or by the MSM.
Even otherwise intelligent people don't understand.
For example, some immigration patriots have been hopeful about Jim Webb,
the former Reagan Navy Secretary who changed parties and was elected to
the
U.S. Senate from Virginia last year. But even he makes this mistake,
telling Lou Dobbs June 7,
¡§What I'm trying to do is bring reason into the process. I have been
saying ever since I decided to run for the Senate last year, we have to
gain control of the borders. We have to get cor****ate accountability,
which
is very much along the lines of what you just ran in your segment there.
And I believe we need to minimize these guest worker programs.
¡§And at the same time, I believe, that there are a certain number of
people here in this country, who have put down roots because of the lax
immigration laws over the past 20 years and deserve a path.¡¨ [emphasis
added].
Senator Webb's misguided kindness sends a terrible message: America's
leaders will capitulate on borders and sovereignty if certain
"humanitarian" criteria are reached.
In contrast, in other areas of law enforcement, criminals are arrested
after years of having escaped justice, with no spate of sob stories about
their suffering.
As Winston Churchill said in a more clear-cut war, ¡§It¡¦s no use saying
¡¥We are doing our best.¡¦ You have got to succeed in doing what is
necessary.¡¨
And what is so terrible about getting a free ticket back to the land of
one's birth?
In 2004, the San Francisco Chronicle followed a Filipino family as they
were lawfully repatriated: Family de****ted from Bay Area after 19 years
explores life in native Philippines. [By Cicero A. Estrella, August 22,
2004] After initial emotional distress, the Cuevases re-established family
ties, explored their ethnic roots and pursued the same professional goals
they had in the United States.
The Philippines wasn't the ends of the earth at all.
Forget what the enemies of borders have done to a perfectly meaningful
word (reform) by reversing its understood definition. What would genuine
"immigration reform" look like? What message would it send?
The sine qua non must be a return to the legal process, where would-be
immigrants apply for entry and wait their turn in their home countries, as
in the previous era. Foreigners still residing in their native lands must
believe that it is in their interest to follow the law to immigrate, not
to
disobey it. Today, obviously, it is more advantageous to break the law and
walk right in to an array of rights and services.
To re-establish the rule of law, Wa****ngton must reward those who follow
the legal process¡Kand punish those who pursue illegal means.
Remember punishment? It an idea that works well to deter criminal
behavior.
Lawbreaking foreigners must go to the end of the line, behind would-be
legal immigrants.
And that line starts in the home country, not in the MALDEF office.
Foreigners who have committed felonies by using stolen IDs and fake
Social Security numbers must be prosecuted for those serious crimes.
In contrast, the exact strategy not to take is the one pursued in the r
ecent Senate amnesty bill, which would have substantially rewarded illegal
behavior.
No court of law would let a thief retain his ill-gotten gains. But the Z
Visa proposed in the Senate bill did that and worse, by permitting foreign
lawbreakers to keep their American jobs for life.
Employment has always been the prize¡Xnot a "path to citizen****p"
(although the ethnic hucksters and Democrats want the foreigners to be
eventual grateful voters). The illegal aliens come for the money and
financial benefits of living in a First World country, period.
Wa****ngton has painted us into a corner with its decades of
nonenforcement. A breach with the permissive past must be definitively
made.
The U.S. is in the position of a permissive parent who is trying to
re-establish authority after having lost it. If a reinstitution of
authority is sought after a period of laxity, then extra-tough punishment
must be enacted to prove seriousness. Real resolve is required here.
The problem of politics without psychology, particularly without realism
about human nature, is that nothing is learned from experience. I am a
Democrat myself, but I have to admit that Democrats, socialists and
multiculturalists are the worst. They appear determined, against all
reason, to create the perfect multiculturally adept global
citizen¡Xsimilar
to what used to be called the New Soviet Man under the Russians.
(That project didn't work out either.)
Even globalist loon Tom Friedman recognizes the primacy of culture to
human sanity.
"Few things are more enraging to people than to have their identity or
ethnic sense of home stripped away. They will die for it, kill for it,
sing
for it write poetry for it and novelize about it. Because without a sense
of home and belonging, life becomes barren and rootless."
-- [Thomas Friedman, The Lexus and the Olive Tree. p. 27].
The debate about law and borders has been largely played out in the
arena
of economic and employment concerns. But what Americans really hate is
seeing their home turned into Mexifornia via the invasion-by-immigration.
Political correctness has deliberately equated race with culture. Those
of us who emphasize the culture line of reasoning are repeatedly smacked
around by accusations of racism. But that's no reason to let up. Even MSM
voices like CNN¡¦s Lou Dobbs, who is scrupulously careful to never say an
unkind word about Mexican culture, get endless brickbats from the
anti-borders left. As Peter Brimelow said years ago, the modern definition
of ¡§racist¡¨ is someone who is winning an argument with a liberal (or,
nowadays, a Bush Republican).
The truth is that we all prefer to be around others who speak our
language, share our values and understand our jokes. Human community is
based upon similarities, not differences. Excessive cultural diversity is
the reason why Americans in Southern California and other affected regions
are fleeing in droves. When corridos replace backyard barbeques, citizens
pack up and leave for communities still recognizable as part of the USA.
Keep this fact in mind: the last time America had a serious fight over
really cheap labor (aka slavery), it caused a four-year war and the deaths
of over 600,000¡Xthe Civil War. So those who profit from open borders can
be
expected to go to any lengths to keep the cheap-labor spigot turned on
full
bore.
We're trying to save the country here, folks. We must be resolute.
Ask any parent.
Brenda Walker lives in Northern California and publishes two websites,
LimitsToGrowth.org and ImmigrationsHumanCost.org.
http://www.vdare.com/walker/070726_reform.htm
*************************************************************************
PLEASE EMAIL THESE LINKS TO EVERYONE YOU KNOW:
"The Illegal-Alien Crime Wave" by Heather MacDonald
www.City-Journal.org/html/14_1_the_illegal_alien.html
www.PredatoryAliens.com
www.ImmigrationsHumanCost.org
www.DayLaborers.org
www.Alipac.us
www.ImmigrationWatchdog.com
www.AmericanPatrol.com
www.SaveOurState.org
www.EscapingJustice.com
www.MothersAgainstIllegalAliens.org
See the COLOSSAL costs of illegal aliens to the American taxpayer:
www.ImmigrationCounters.com
---------------------------------------------
"**** La Raza todo. Fuera de La Raza nada"
("For The Race everything, for those outside The Race nothing")
-- Motto of MEChA, one of the nation's largest publically-funded
organizations with cells on high school and college campuses across the
USA
(Note: Attorney General Alberto Gonzalez says he "used to be" a member)
---------------------------------------------
¡§How Eisenhower solved illegal border crossings from Mexico¡¨
By John Dillin
http://www.csmonitor.com/2006/0706/p09s01-coop.html
Excerpt:
¡§General Eisenhower ... quoted a re****t in The New York Times,
highlighting one paragraph that said: ¡¥The rise in illegal
border-crossing
by Mexican 'wetbacks' to a current rate of more than
1,000,000 cases a year has been accompanied by a curious relaxation
in ethical standards extending all the way from the farmer-exploiters
of this contraband labor to the highest levels of the Federal
Government ..."
¡§Herbert Brownell Jr., Eisenhower's first attorney general, said the
president had a sense of urgency about illegal immigration when he took
office.
¡§America ¡¥was faced with a breakdown in law enforcement on a very
large
scale,¡¦ Mr. Brownell said. ¡¥When I say large scale, I mean hundreds of
thousands were coming in from Mexico [every year] without restraint.¡¦"
--------------------------------------------------
Just two of MANY American cops murdered by illegals:
www.DeputyDavidMarch.com
www.KrisEggle.org
"Unfortunately, the majority of illegal aliens who are here are engaged in
criminal activity. Identity theft, use of fraudulent Social Security
numbers and green cards, tax evasion, driving without licenses represent
some of the crimes that are engaged in by the majority of illegal aliens
on
a daily basis merely to maintain and hide their illegal status. In
addition, violent crime and drug distribution and possession is also
prevalent among illegal aliens. Over 25% of today's federal prison
population are illegal aliens. In some areas of the country, 12% of
felonies, 25% of burglaries and 34% of thefts are committed by illegal
aliens."
-- Testimony of District Attorney John M. Morganelli before the House
Subcommittee on Immigration, Border, Security and Claims [Note: 99% of
warrants for murder in Los Angeles, California -- the USA's 2nd
most-populous city -- are for illegal aliens]
"It does not take a majority to prevail, but rather an irate,
tireless minority keen on setting brushfires of freedom in the minds of
men."
-- Samuel Adams
"¡§All great truths begin as heresies.¡¨
-- Former Democrat Governor of Colorado Richard Lamm, official of
Defend Colorado Now, a movement opposed to illegal immigration
and public services for illegal aliens
WHAT WOULD THE FOUNDING FATHERS DO? ...
If the representatives of the people betray their constituents, there is
then no resource left but in the exertion of that original right of
self-defense which is paramount to all positive forms of government ...
The
citizens must rush tumultuously to arms, without concert,
without system, without resource; except in their courage and despair ...
The natural strength of the people in a large community, in
pro****tion to the artificial strength of the government, is greater than
in
a small, and of course more competent to a struggle with the
attempts of the government to establish a tyranny ... the people, without
exaggeration, may be said to be entirely the masters of their
own fate.
-- Alexander Hamilton
The spirit of resistance to government is so valuable on certain
occasions, that I wish it always to be kept alive.
-- Thomas Jefferson
The will of the people is the only legitimate foundation of any
government, and to protect its free expression should be our first object.
-- Thomas Jefferson
We in America do not have government by the majority. We have government
by the majority who participate.
-- Thomas Jefferson
All tyranny needs to gain a foothold is for people of good conscience to
remain silent.
-- Thomas Jefferson
Every government degenerates when trusted to the rulers of the people
alone. The people themselves are its only safe depositories.
-- Thomas Jefferson
In matters of style, swim with the current; in matters of
principle, stand like a rock.
-- Thomas Jefferson
No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms.
-- Thomas Jefferson
The strongest reason for the people to retain the right to
keep and bear arms is, as a last resort, to protect themselves
against tyranny in government.
-- Thomas Jefferson
As our enemies have found we can reason like men, so now let us show
them we can fight like men also.
-- Thomas Jefferson
Don't talk about what you have done or what you are going to do.
-- Thomas Jefferson
Every citizen should be a soldier. This was the case with the Greeks
and Romans, and must be that of every free state.
-- Thomas Jefferson
Do you want to know who you are? Don't ask. Act! Action will
delineate and define you.
-- Thomas Jefferson
Merchants have no country. The mere spot they stand on does not
constitute so strong an attachment as that from which they draw their
gains.
-- Thomas Jefferson
I hope we shall crush in its birth the aristocracy of our monied
cor****ations which dare already to challenge our government to a trial
by strength, and bid defiance to the laws of our country.
-- Thomas Jefferson
I believe that banking institutions are more dangerous to our liberties
than standing armies.
-- Thomas Jefferson
Experience demands that man is the only animal which devours his own
kind, for I can apply no milder term to the general prey of the
rich on the poor.
-- Thomas Jefferson
Experience hath shewn, that even under the best forms of government
those entrusted with power have, in time, and by slow operations,
perverted it into tyranny.
-- Thomas Jefferson
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