Thursday, July 17, 2014

A Crisis at the Border

I recently traveled outside of the country, and upon return, I had to go through customs and immigration.  On the Customs and Immigration form, they ask several questions.  Questions such as, have I been in close proximity to livestock, or whether I’m bringing any fruits or vegetables into the country.  I was also forced to have my picture taken, I assume to be put into a government facial recognition database - even though I haven’t broken any laws.  And of course I had to show my ID and have a valid passport, as well as go through a short interview process about where I was going, where I lived, etc.  

Now, compare that with what is going on at the border.  Thousands of illegals are crossing the border with no questions asked.  They don’t have ID and aren’t getting their pictures taken.  And many of them have serious diseases.  While I couldn’t get back into my home country without a passport, an interview, and pictures, we are allowing (welcoming), nameless, faceless, and in many cases, disease ridden people into our country.  What’s worse, we are putting them on commercial aircraft that you and I are flying, and shipping them all around the country.  What’s wrong with this picture?  

Why are the coming?  

We have what is now being called a crisis at the border.  Thousands of unaccompanied children crossing the border, many with severe health problems and diseases.  Parents of these children are risking their child's’ lives to send them to the US.  Why would they take this risk, and why are so many crossing the border?  BECAUSE WE ARE LETTING THEM IN!  It is really quite simple.  If we wouldn't let them in, they wouldn't come.  If we had a patrolled border and it was known that it was nearly impossible to cross - especially by a child, parents wouldn't be sending their children.  

The story of illegal immigration is a recurring theme.  We allow illegal immigrants into the country.  We don’t deport them.  We allow them to have children.  We allow employers to hire them.  We feel bad for them for having to “live in the shadows”, and then we grant them amnesty.  This has occurred several times in the past, and even our beloved Ronald Reagan is guilty of amnesty.  Starting in 1986, the US has granted amnesty seven times.  Each time was to be the last, and supposed to “wipe the slate clean”.  Each time, we are told that the border is secure.  At one point, Congress even passed a bill to build a fence.  Well, the fence was never built.  We were told it is impractical to build a fence, it would be too expensive, that it would be ineffective, and that we could better secure the border with technology.  None of this has proven to be true.  In fact, our current border isn't even secure enough to stop unaccompanied children! The fact of the matter  is that the border has never been more open and that is the way Barack Obama and his administration wants it.  

The left will tell you to have compassion for these children; that they are refugees, and we need to help them.  But this issue is not about helping foreign children.  It is about saving our country.  A country without borders is no country at all.  Right now, our government has encouraged so many immigrants to cross our borders illegally, that they cannot keep up with adequate medical screening.   The result is, we are transporting many of these children with rare and serious diseases on commercial airplanes with unknowing American passengers to places all around this country.  The threat of these contagious diseases spreading is serious but the Obama administration doesn’t want you to know about it.  In fact, any nurses or doctors at these medical facilities are being threatened with - not their jobs, but with arrest, should they talk about these risks.  This is not an administration that has YOUR interests in mind.  

Maybe I try and over simplify things, but to me, this is a very simple issue.  Let’s say you took your family on a dream two week vacation to Disney World and were staying at one of their best hotels.  After a wonderful day at the park, you come back to your hotel room only to realize that there is someone else sleeping on one of the beds.  You call down to the front desk and are told that this is someone who showed up and wanted to visit the park but didn’t have the funds to do it, so they put them in the room with you.  While you are on the phone, you hear them coughing repeatedly.  After some inquiry, you find out that they are very sick.  Although you don’t know what it is, you gather that what they have is rare and contagious.  You are also told that, not only will they be staying with you, but you will also be responsible for taking them to the park with you, paying for their ticket, and their food, as well as any costs associated with their health care.

The next day, you take your uninvited guest to the park with your family.  Although you try not to get close to them, they cough near you, and are riding on the monorail with you and your family.  You pay for their ticket, their food, and after a frustrating day at the park, you come back to your room only to realize that there are two more uninvited guests in your room.  You immediately call the front desk and are told that the two new people are family members of the first, and that it wouldn’t be fair to have one experience the park without the others.  After all, you have your entire family with you.  So, now you are staying in a hotel room with three people you don’t know, one or more have some sort of disease.  They are using your beds, your bathroom, and your money.  And you are told, you have no choice.  You even come to realize after talking with one of your “guests”, that one of them is a convicted felon.  

About this time, you realize something has to be done.  That this isn't fair.  You talk to management and demand a room to yourself, only to find out the other paying customers are experiencing the same thing.  You demand a refund, or that they stop allowing non-paying people into your room.  Then you get a call from someone who can finally do something about this mess.  Someone from the government.  You are relieved at first, thinking that your government wouldn’t allow this to happen.  But you are told that not only will you not be receiving a refund, you will be required to spend the rest of your time at the park with these “underprivileged” guests, and that if you complain to anyone, or tell anyone about what is happening, you will be arrested.  

If you knew this, would you or anyone you know, want to visit Disney World?  Of course not.  Thankfully, this isn’t reality.  But in this story, reality is even worse.  Because we are allowing people we know nothing about into our country.  They have no ID.  They don’t get their picture taken.  They aren’t asked if they have been in contact with livestock.  We don’t look into their background to see if they have ties to terrorism.  They don’t even get a proper medical screening.  Then you pay for a seat on a plane filled with legal American citizens for them.  You pay to house them, you pay to feed them, you pay for their health care, you pay to clothe them, you pay to educate them.  And then, eventually, you are told that it is only right to grant them legal status.  Do you think that the terrorists understand this?  Of course they do.  You see, the bigger risk isn’t disease, it is an act of terrorism.  We must secure our border if we are going to remain a free country.  

Are all illegal immigrants terrorists?  No.  Do all illegal immigrant have diseases?  No.  But, the fact that they are ILLEGAL, means they have no respect for the law.  We do have ways to come to this country legally.  And that is where the reform should be.  We need to make it easier for ambitious, motivated, hard working immigrants to gain American citizenship.  

Immigration is Important

I believe strongly that immigration is vital to the survival of America.  The problem with this country is America is too far removed from difficult times.  And Americans are too far removed from difficult times.  When we talk about the poor today, most have air conditioning (83%),  a cell phone (80%), a big screen tv (96%), a computer (58%).  During the depression, the poor didn’t even have food and were going hungry.  But many of them left other countries with oppressive governments where they didn’t have an opportunity to thrive.  Well, that generation overcame the hard times.  But that is all but a distant memory today.  A memory most of America has long forgotten.  That’s why LEGAL immigration is so important.  America needs people from other parts of the world that don’t have the same opportunities as we do here in this country.  We need people who know and understand how special and rare America is.  We need this constant flow of legal, motivated, and ambitious immigrants to refresh our economy, and keep alive, the memory of how far America has come.   

So, why is it that this Administration has made it so difficult to come to this country legally, and yet so easy to come here illegally?  Leave your answers in the comments below.