Illegal aliens

I've been holding off on a post about illegal aliens for a while. Part of the reason was that I wanted to get all the information that I could before I made any judgement on it. Part of the reason was that I didn't want to say anything that I would have to take back. But I've been looking at this Amnesty program from all angles, and mulling it over. And the more I think about it, and the more I learn about it, I can only come to one conclusion:

It's complete and utter bullshit.

1) These people broke a damn law to get into the USA. Many of them continue to break laws once they get here. I don't want a criminal to live next door to me. I don't want criminals living in the next state. I don't want criminals anywhere but in jail. Granting amnesty to a group of people who came into this country illegally doesn't change their moral fiber, and it doesn't change their mindsets! If they come here to sell drugs and piss on the American flag, making them "legal" doesn't change that.

2) Granting them citizenship gives them access to many more government services, which we all pay for through taxes. Hospitals in Southwest states have been dealing with the problem of illegal alien healthcare for years. Do you really want to give them access to federal services? Again, they broke laws getting into this country, do you think they could be responsible citizens? Do you think they could shoulder the burden of the USA's social contract?

3) By just granting these people citizenship, we have done NOTHING to assimilate them. Look, I know that immigrants want to hold on to their culture. Fine and dandy, in their home. But if you're coming to this country, to live here, to be a citizen here, you damn well better learn our language, our customs, and our way of life. That goes for anyone who wants to come to the USA and become a citizen. You left Syria and want to live here? Fine, but get these things through your head: Honor killings are no longer a part of your life. Hating someone based on their religion is not part of your life. Gays are accepted in the USA, not stoned to death. If you can't handle that, GET THE FUCK OUT! YOU came here, WE did not come to YOUR country! Hey Mexicans, guess what? This country was founded by ENGLAND, and our god-damned language is ENGLISH! If you can't bother to learn that language after being here a while, GET THE FUCK OUT! YOU wanted to come here and live, YOU make the steps necessary to live among us. DO NOT come into my country and demand that I respect every god-damned ass backwards custom of yours. In fact, if you demand that I respect your custom of killing your daughter for kissing a jew, you can get bent and GET THE FUCK OUT! If we cannot assimilate new citizens, we might as well name it the United States of Mexico and be done with it. Hand over your civil rights as the last flag passes by.

Being a citizen of this great country is something that many people obviously desire. It's something that I thank god on a daily basis for. But it requres work and responsibility. It requires effort. Just granting citizenship to a huge group of criminals won't make them any better, it will make the average citizen cheaper. That doesn't fly with me.

So what can be done? We could enforce our laws, for one. We could seal the borders and only allow legal immigration into this country. We could begin the long process of deporting illegal aliens back to their country of origin. I've heard many of the arguments against all of that, and to be honest, I see a lot of people who just don't want to shoulder the burden of doing the right thing.

Let's take deportation. I've heard many people (on the Left and the Right) say that we can't deport that many people. The number of illegal aliens is estimated at around 10,000,000. As Mark Styne says, "It's not politically possible for a civilized nation forcibly to deport a population three times as big as Ireland's."

Bullshit.

Eighty three percent of Americans want illegal immigration ended. That's not some ideological chunk, that's a huge majority from both sides of the political spectrum. It IS politically feasable, there are just some people who don't want to think about it. It's rare when I disagree with Styne, but he's way off. Over three-fourths of this country wants to put a stop to illegal aliens. That's a political winner if I ever saw one.

Some people whine about the cost of deporting all those people. How much do we spend on services to these aliens? Does that even matter? How many hospitals have to close due to providing un-reimbursed medical care to illegals? How much money will the illegals suck out of our pockets via tax dollars before it becomes cost effective to ship them back? And what about the fact that IT'S THE DAMN LAW?! Ah hell, these two guys can say it better than I can. Misha and Spoons.

And the last problem: Once we grant amnesty to a bunch of criminals who shouldn't even be here, what kind of message does that send to the rest of the world? As Preston of Junkyard Blog puts it:

Until that and the border and visa problems are addressed, I can see no way that Bush's amnesty doesn't end up putting up a big "We're Suckers!" sign that will shine throughout Mexico and the rest of the world.

There is a huge difference between legal immigration and illegal aliens. I am by no means complaining about LEGAL immigration, because LEGAL immigrants are not the problem! I'm not complaining about those who get a work visa and come here to work a job. There was a restaurant in Junction City, Kansas (next to Ft. Riley) that was run entirely by Mexicans on six month work visas. When their visa expired, they would return home and apply for another one. They would invariably get it, return to the USA for another six months, and repeat the cycle. Perfectly legal, and perfectly acceptable. If you want to see examples of legal immigration, take a good look at Misha or Kim du Toit. I can't think of anybody else I'd love to have as fellow Americans. But to simply call a group of illegal aliens "Americans" cheapens citizenship for everybody else who wants it, who understands what it entails, and who deserves it.

So I guess all this boils down to the fact that Bush's Amnesty program is a steaming crock of bullshit, disigned to pander and get votes from a select group of minorities, while avoiding the tough decisions that needed to be made. And judging from what I've seen on the web, the only people who don't understand that fact are the politicians.

Time to wake up, you pols. We put you there, and we can kick your ass out. By force, if necessary.

I'll have my opinion on what needs to be done about this whole mess much later. But I'm tired, the scotch is calling my name, and I have a girlfriend to pamper. I'll see you all tomorrow.