No one wants to, or will, strip
citizenship from children born in this country, and will especially
not deport those children. But with proper government action, the
parents can be deported. Those parents can choose to leave their
children in the USA with relatives, or they can return with the
parents to their native country.
An indisputable fact is, it's illegal
to enter this country outside of proper means. Estimates of illegal
immigrants range from 14 million to 30 million. No matter the number,
it's a problem. We cannot allow this problem to go unchecked. We
have a divided Congress that refuses to solve the problem. We have
had a series of presidents who refuse to enforce the law.
In 1986, Ronald Reagan, signed the
Immigration Reform and Control Act. The law granted amnesty to nearly
3 million illegal immigrants, yet was largely considered unsuccessful
because the strict sanctions on employers were stripped from the bill
for passage. This set up the problem we have today. Every candidate
running for president, except for Trump, wants to give illegal
immigrants legal status and/or pathway to citizenship. These
solutions only give potential illegal immigrants incentives to invade
our borders.
These people shouldn't be forgiven for
serious crimes, the least of which, is entering the country
illegally. For any immigrant, legal or illegal, they must have a
green card or a TIN—Tax Identification Number—to work. In order to obtain a
TIN, a person must submit a Social Security number. Because the IRS
decided not to check validity of Social Security numbers submitted,
illegals use numbers from the deceased or stolen from citizens.
These crimes must be punished and these people should never have
legal status in this country. Some want to forgive these crimes
because they are seen as acts of desperation. Sometimes robbing a
bank or convenience store is an act of desperation, but they go to
jail.
Some present illegal immigration as a
moral problem. They tell us how those people are poor and come to
this country for a better way of life. This is a Mexican, Colombian,
and Honduras problem, not an American problem. We have 45 million
Americans living below the poverty line. Those people should come
first. Jobs should go to the 93 million Americans out of work, not
those who believe certain American laws shouldn’t apply because
they simply seek a better life.
Opponents of immigration and border
control shout out hyperbolic rhetoric such as, “Do you want
government agents busting down doors of homes to arrest and deport
undocumented Americans?” This is silly nonsense. Deportation would
be slow and methodical. First we check every Social Security number
sent in to obtain a TIN in order to verify it belongs to the
requesting person. Every time someone applies for a job, the employer
must verify the person is a citizen. If the employer is caught
intentionally hiring an illegal immigrant, they will receive jail
time. If during a traffic stop or any detainment, the officer has
suspicions that the person might be here illegally, they check the
person in their database and the e-verify system.
I could go on about the cost of illegal
immigration, but at the end of the day, the only thing that matters
is equal enforcement of the law. We find city and federal officials
who ignore the law because, in their circle of friends, doing
anything to an illegal immigrant is frowned upon.
We have corporations that care nothing
for the immigration law if it benefits them. I worked for a fortune
500 corporation that hired a lot of immigrants, all legal as best as
I could observe. I did learn a lot from those employees about the
system in which they lived. It seems, many came to this country on
work visas to plant trees. Some seem to have come through dubious
means. I had semi-truck drivers tell me how they were told to drive
and park a short distance from the border. When they left the
border, their trailers would be packed with people who had come
across the border. How and when they obtained their green cards, it's
impossible to determine. It's believed the company somehow arranged
the papers needed for them to legally work. I also learned that some
likely came from an identity shop in Charlotte, N.C, where they could
buy fake green cards and new identities.
Most of those I spoke with had no
intention of ever becoming a citizen of the United States. Most, if
not all, sent a large portion of their paycheck to relatives still
living in their native country. In order to save money, they would
have as many as 14 people living in a small rented mobile home. They
would rent several mobile homes, but obtain power and running water
for only one. In that one trailer they would bathe. They broke
numerous health and safety regulations, but rarely did anyone
intervene. This was a small southern town where the corporation held
power over local and state officials.
Although the corporate office and
manufacturing plants were located in South Carolina, the parking lot
was filled with cars displaying North Carolina, license plates. All
the drivers had North Carolina drivers license, despite living in
South Carolina. During that period, to obtain a South Carolina
drivers license, or to register vehicles, there were strict
identification laws. During that time, North Carolina had lax laws in
that area.
The company was in the process of
installing dual language exit and safety signs. On more than one
occasion, I was asked by a native Spanish speaking employee what
those signs said. I became friends with one of the translators. She
came to America after marrying a serviceman in Panama. Because she
sat in on all communications with these employees, she learned that
many never had more than basic education.
At this time, I also learned of racism.
No, not American racist, but Hispanic racists. There seemed to be a
lot of problems between dark and white skin Hispanics. There were
class problems as well. A friend was telling me one day how he was a
school teacher in Honduras. An immigrant at another table asked
where he lived in Honduras. My friend told him and the other guy
scowled and said, “Oh, you are where the rich people live.” My
friend was thought to be rich despite having made the long journey
himself to help sustain his family. I learned that this so-called
rich area of Honduras had frequent power outages.
Most of the people I came in contact
with would be better labeled as migrant workers because they had no
desire to become an American citizen. Most of these workers would
someday return to their homelands. Despite that, I found most spoke
at least a little English because they had studied before coming to
this country. They often spoke better English than some born in this
country who claim Spanish as their first language.
There are a lot of good people coming
to America for the right reasons. The visa system seems to be broken.
There have been some improvements, but I still hear horror stories of
Americans that can't bring their new spouses home. We find people
spending thousands of dollars trying to bring spouses to this
country. We must make every effort to fix the system, but we can't
forgive lawbreakers.
If you are wondering why there is no
mention of a wall, it's because if we do all the other things, there
is little need for more wall than we have now. I see no end in sight
because politicians don't have the will to do anything about these
problems. This is why Donald Trump could become president.
After writing this piece, I discovered this information concerning anchor babies and their parents.
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