In many mainstream media comment threads, Republican partisans try to change the topic from illegal immigration to the Democratic Party, blaming the latter entirely for the former, along with rank and file Democrats, all of whom are described as lib-er-uls (apparently the worst thing you can call someone).
This is beyond stupid. Don't you realize that about half of registered Democrats are on your side of the immigration issue--and that much of the Republican leadership is against you?
We'll all get farther in our efforts to stop illegal immigration--and to NOT give amnesty to those already here--if we make it a bipartisan groundswell. Only grassroots efforts will get us what we want, since both parties are terrified of losing Latino votes.
If you just take this issue as an opportunity to talk about how Obama is a foreign Muslim terrorist so-shul-ist yada yada, you push away all the Democrats who, like me, are on the same page as you about illegal immigration.
And you're nuts if you think the Republican leadership is with you, no matter what they say. Talk is cheap. I judge what the Republican Party is willing to do to stop illegal immigration by what it actually did do from 2000 to 2006, the six year period when it controlled all three branches of government.
And what they did do in that period is....talk. Some sporadic fence building, a few symbolic prosecutions of businesses--and the biggest wave of illegal immigration into this country in United States history.
That's what the Republicans did for us.
I'm not saying the Democratic leadership is any better. You'd better believe they're trolling for Latino votes for all it's worth.
However, Obama does seem to be making vigorous efforts to grab illegal immigrants who are felons, and they have increased border efforts, though not remotely enough.
Nearly all of us Democrats disagree with you about health care reform and Wall Street reform. I can't paper that over, hold hands and sing kumbaya with y'all.
But we can work together on this issue. And those of us who live in the territory of La Reconquista are especially likely to agree with you, because we've seen it firsthand, and we know from personal experience that virtually every word in every pro-amnesty article is outrageous propaganda.
Now here's the hardest part: the need to adopt a universal biometric ID system, which both liberals and right wingers oppose almost hysterically.
I don't propose giving up any of my privacy lightly. But nothing less will really deal with this crisis, and you surely must agree that it is a crisis.
Because regardless of what we do at the border, that won't help with the illegals already here, however many there are--10 million? 20 million? 30 million? No one knows, but we do know there are A LOT, and they're concentrated here in the Southwest, such that many outside the war zone don't fully realize how dire it is here.
Moreover, large number of illegals come here on visas and then let the visa expire. Border patrols won't nab these either.
And this is the only way to shut up the anencephalic Al Sharpton school of political screamers constantly accusing everyone opposing illegal immigration of racism.
A biometric universal ID can be used to efficiently screen every single person whenever they interact with any government agency, from schools to hospitals to polling places to the Dept. of Motor Vehicles, plus private employers.
You don't even need a card (that can be lost or faked). For example, Fujitsu makes a palm scanner that instantly reads the pattern of veins inside your palm. Can't fake that!
Every cop car can have a scanner, linked to the database with wifi.
It will catch anyone of any race or nationality, any way they turn.
This is the only way we can discover and control who's in this country, and catch all those who are here illegally. And palm vein patterns don't depend on skin color.
Regardless of your party, please join me in advocating this. It can build a virtual wall throughout our country, not just at the border.
And remember--there's not a prayer of it happening unless it's a grassroots bipartisan effort. Neither party in Washington is going to stick their necks out on this one.
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2 comments:
You SO speak the truth!
I've spent quite a bit of time in Mexico visiting my brother-in-law and his Mexican wife. Through them I met many Mexicans who live and work in San Diego. Though none of them is in the US legally, they live as if they were, and pass through the border at Tijuana easily. They have ALL told me the same things: Americans are stupid because their laws are so easy to get around. The English language is ugly. In fact, they enjoy doing crude impersonations of "speaking" English - which none of them can actually speak including the ones working in the US for over 10 years.
What amazed me is while being in social situations with them they were so rude and took every opportunity to denigrate the US and celebrate Mexico! Not one person wanted to learn English or become a US citizen. They were proud that they were here only for the money and in general they hated the US and the gringos and Anglos and whatever other name they could think of calling me, us. They reminded my husband and I that they only wanted enough money so they could return to Mexico and live comfortably. These are not farm workers, but small business owners and employees of local companies.
I found those years to be more of an education about Mexicans - those who live illegally in the US - than I ever could imagine and a complete contrast to my sister's wonderful Mexican husband who came here when 23 years old, worked hard to learn English, and become a citizen. He says he is "not like most Mexicans". In fact, he speaks clearly about the greed of his former countrymen and their narrow focus on themselves without thought to anyone or anything else. Should he ever write a Comment to the NYTimes I'm sure he would be called a "racist". . . which would make him laugh. . ..
So, when I see Mexicans carrying signs demanding "rights" I remember the many illegals I met and know they are laughing at us, caring nothing for this country, for learning English and assimilating, and only wanting what they can get. A generalization? Well, if I'm wrong you wouldn't have to press '1' for English, would you?
Our mailman is a legal immigrant from Mexico--nice guy, conscientious, speaks very good English. Wish there were more like him and your brother in law.
I once worked as a teacher in a small California farmtown that's full of illegals. I was the only English teach who spoke Spanish and knew a lot about Mexico, but they wouldn't take my classes because I made my students work. They knew they could take other teachers and get passed no matter what they did...I hate to quote Republican speechwriters, but these kids were exploiting the "soft bigotry of low expectations" to the hilt.
Of course they had no future above farm labor unless they became gangbangers, because they didn't learn anything in school. They weren't even very literate in Spanish, much less English.
And the bilingual classes were un chiste--a joke.
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