Guard the Borders Blogburst

The floodgates of illegal immigration into our country are wide open - and the flow continues to build momentum. At the current rate of illegal immigration, the Hispanic population in the U.S. will surpass the number of white Americans by the year 2050. The Hispanic population has already surpassed the black population, which, until the late 1990s, was the largest minority group in the U.S.A. In three states, Texas, Arizona, and California, Hispanics are the largest population group, outstripping the black and white population both through birthrate and illegal immigration.

As of this year, as a Caucasian, I am now a minority in Texas. I've idly wondered what public benefits I could now gleefully reap: special loan arrangements for business and housing, preferred contracting status, affirmative action for my children to get into the best colleges at reduced rates, free medical care - no questions asked, etc. The largest ethnic group in Texas is now Hispanic, and Caucasians are in the minority - but will we be allowed to reverse the tables and start reaping all the public benefits Hispanics have enjoyed for so long? No, despite their majority status, Hispanics, the largest portion of them illegal, will continue to benefit from public policies put in place to assist "disadvantaged minorities". As for me and my minority family, we will continue to labor and achieve the old-fashioned way - on our own merit.

Incentives for illegals to come to America are quite appealing:

"Everywhere, illegal aliens receive free public education and free medical care at taxpayer expense; 13 states offer them drivers licenses. States everywhere have been pushed to grant illegal aliens college scholarships and reduced in-state tuition. One hundred banks, over 800 law-enforcement agencies, and dozens of cities accept an identification card created by Mexico to credentialize illegal Mexican aliens in the U.S. The Bush administration has given its blessing to this matricula consular card, over the strong protest of the FBI, which warns that the gaping security loopholes that the card creates makes it a boon to money launderers, immigrant smugglers, and terrorists. Border authorities have already caught an Iranian man sneaking across the border this year, Mexican matricula card in hand."

In this turn of the tables, we can clearly see how the end result of these benefits policies has drifted so far away from their original intent. In the same way, our law enforcement has veered away from its moral and legal intent, and into something very different - and unacceptable. While illegal aliens from Mexico have been entering the United States at an alarming rate, our government's response, at all levels, has been characterized, for the most part, by ignoring our federal laws.

Beginning in the late 1980s, bureaucrats began to revamp the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) in a radical departure from its intended purpose”the enforcement of federal law. The agency's new direction became the administering of benefits for illegal immigrants. The INS now specialized in the offering of assistance in procuring permanent residency, citizenship and work permits. The depleted segment of the INS devoted to law enforcement became quickly overwhelmed by the sheer number of backlogged cases. As illegal aliens grew over fivefold in the 1990s, ironically, the enforcement capability of the INS was significantly curtailed.

With our federal government failing catastrophically in its most basic duties to protect and defend our borders, a crucial side effect has been to breed an utter contempt for the rule of law in our country: "The message could not be clearer: This is a culture that can't enforce its most basic law of entry. If policing's broken-windows theory is correct, the failure to enforce one set of rules breeds overall contempt for the law". (John Mullaly, a former NYPD homicide detective)

Unfortunately, our government's default of duty has passed the buck down to local law enforcement, who in their turn, are paralyzed and immobilized by even more damning bureaucratic policies. New York, Chicago, Los Angles, San Diego, Austin and Houston have led the way in adopting "Sanctuary Laws" to protect illegal aliens from being reported to the INS. These local ordinances make it illegal for law enforcement to question the immigration status of any suspect.

This is getting a lot of press in Austin, Texas right now because a known criminal, who had already been previously deported twice, had returned to the city. The police could not pick him on the basis of his known illegal entry status - but only if he was currently suspected of committing a crime (other than an immigration crime). In this particular case, they did not apprehend him until after he had raped and killed a college student. The family of the victim is now suing the city of Austin - and rightly so - for instituting a policy that directly led to the murder of their daughter.

So why have Sanctuary Laws proliferated? In spite of a number of weak excuses, the truth of the matter is simple: large city officials fear any hint of action that would be offensive to the mushrooming numbers of immigrants. "The immigrant population has grown so large that public officials are terrified of alienating it, even at the expense of ignoring the law and tolerating violence." (Heather MacDonald, "The Illegal Alien Crime Wave," City Journal (NYC), Winter 2004). In other words, real Americans are being thrown over in favor of illegal immigrants with no allegiance to our nation, and no intention of becoming citizens. Our political so-called "leaders" are more focused on placating these interlopers at the expense of our wages, our lawful representation, and our national security, than they are on representing their constituents!

Various sanctuary policies adopted by major cities are quite similar - they all attempt to shield their local illegal aliens from the INS. This is primarily done out of fear of backlash by powerful ethnic lobbyists. These very sanctuary laws unwittingly served to facilitate the anonymity of the terrorists involved in the 9/11 attack. Even in the wake of 9/11, rare is the call for repeal of such laws.

Consider the current impact of illegal aliens upon major cities. A case in point: 95 percent of all outstanding warrants for homicide (up to 1,500 warrants) are attributed to illegal aliens in Los Angeles. In addition, about 65 percent of all fugitive felony warrants are for illegal aliens - that is over 11,000 of the outstanding 17,000 warrants.

In spite of such statistics, the Los Angeles sanctuary law "Special Order 40" prohibits police from seeking to discover the alien status of anyone. Only after filing criminal charges are the police even allowed to ask about one's status. Even then, the police are prohibited from notifying the INS. This impassible barrier between local law enforcement and any immigration authorities creates a de facto safe haven for such criminals .

The Mexican mafia and other organized crime rings from Central and South America flourish under this sanctuary umbrella. [Ironically], the previously established population of legal immigrants from the same countries have been victimized by their illegal counterparts, as much as any other population segment. Many of these have been successful business owners. These independent-minded, self-supporting immigrants are ignored by big-city, liberal politicians who much prefer people who vote in blocs, dependant on government and ever-willing to trade votes for favors.

Beyond the criminal and cultural impact, the implications of this Free Pass for illegal entrants cannot be ignored when it comes to terrorism. It is known that well over 100,000 illegal aliens from the Middle East currently reside in the U.S.A. One spokesman for a Washington-based think tank on immigration stated this so succinctly and simply: "We can't protect ourselves from terrorism without dealing with illegal immigration." (Steven A. Camarota, Director of Research, The Center for Immigrations Studies).

"If our government leaders have no respect for law, how can the citizens be expected to have higher standards? The first impression that immigrants are given about U.S. laws is that the authorities do not enforce them!" Illegal aliens have brazenly shown no regard for our nation's laws, and beyond that, add insult to injury by demanding, receiving, and expanding the benefits and services available to them - most of which are not even available to American citizens! "This mindset has existed for nearly two decades, and few have the courage to acknowledge that our politically correct course is a recipe for escalating crime, lawlessness and terrorism!"

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This has been a production of the Guard the Borders Blogburst. It was started by Euphoric Reality, and serves to keep immigration issues in the forefront of our minds as we're going about our daily lives and continuing to fight the war on terror. If you are concerned with the trend of illegal immigration facing our country, join our blogburst! Just send an email with your blog name and url to kit.jarrell at gmail dot com.

Blogs already on board:

Euphoric Reality
A Lady's Ruminations
TMH's Bacon Bits
Part-Time Pundit
The Right Track

Social Sense
Cao's Blog
Ogre's Politics and Views
In The Bullpen
Ravings of a Mad Tech

America Is Not A Pinata!
NIF
Every Man
Kender's Musings
Watchman's Words

Third World County
Gribbit's Word
NYgirl
Right on Right
Team Swap
Gina's Rantings

Mover Mike
DANEgerus
Publius Rendezvous
Our Way of Life
Freedom Folks

View From Tonka
Left Brain Female in a Right Brain World
Something and Half of Something
Curley's Corner