As requested, and expected, I have an opinion on the President's speech last night. Below are some of the thoughts I had (and many I said) while listening to our Commander in Chief:
"We are also a nation of immigrants, and we must uphold that tradition, which has strengthened our country in so many ways." The President is correct in this. We are a nation of immigrants. My issue with this is that the term "immigrant" suggests that the people are here legally, that they jumped through all of the necessary hoops and respected this nation enough to obey our laws. Illegals are not immigrants, they are trespassers.
"At the same time, we are launching the most technologically advanced border security initiative in American history." Yeah, it's called a fence.
"Mexico is our neighbor and our friend." Just not one we want to have over for dinner, hence the fence.
"Master Gunnery Sergeant Denogean came to the United States from Mexico when he was a boy. He spent his summers picking crops with his family, and then he volunteered for the United States Marine Corps as soon as he was able. During the liberation of Iraq, Master Gunnery Sergeant Denogean was seriously injured. When asked if he had any requests, he made two a promotion for the corporal who helped rescue him and the chance to become an American citizen." Um, how good were his papers that this non-citizen was able to volunteer for the Marines? If this isn't an advertisement to terrorists on how to infiltrate our defenses, I don't know what is! "Ok, here's the plan. We sneak in from Mexico, become Marines, then they give us weapons, and we can do what we like. Let's see if we can get a tank or two for good measure!"
"That middle ground recognizes that there are differences between an illegal immigrant who crossed the border recently and someone who has worked here for many years, and has a home, a family, and an otherwise clean record. I believe that illegal immigrants who have roots in our country and want to stay should have to pay a meaningful penalty for breaking the law to pay their taxes to learn English and to work in a job for a number of years. People who meet these conditions should be able to apply for citizenship but approval would not be automatic, and they will have to wait in line behind those who played by the rules and followed the law." So what does this mean? You've been breaking our laws longer than others so you get special treatment? And while you are waiting in line behind those who followed the law, please feel free to continue living in our nation illegally. Not really thinkin', were ya, George?
This was a Democrat responding to the President's speech: "This issue must not be used for political gain. If the President is going to send troops to the Southern Border, is that going to become yet another military action with no clear exit strategy? Will that become another quagmire?" These statements were made in sequence. This Democratic responder to the Presidents speech said that the issue must not be used for political gain and then proceeded to attempt to use it for political gain. Apparently, this Democrat (forgive me for not getting his name) missed this line of the President's speech: "The Guard will assist the Border Patrol by operating surveillance systems analyzing intelligence installing fences and vehicle barriers building patrol roads and providing training. Guard units will not be involved in direct law enforcement activities that duty will be done by the Border Patrol." And he thinks we are dumb enough to believe that because he said that it must not be used for political gain, that the sentence that immediately followed that assertion was not designed to gain him any political stature, at all, in the slightest... honest.
There's only one problem with the Temporary Guest Worker program. The people that the President wants to offer this to do not consider themselves temporary. They haven't been invited which removes the whole "guest" premise, and they shouldn't be working if they are illegals.
Bottom line: We have too long allowed this debate to be about "Immigration." This is not about "immigration," it is about laws. Immigrants have papers, documents, and approval. The people we are discussing have none of these least they have been forged. This issue is about people breaking our laws to get into the country and companies breaking our laws to pay these people lower wages. Both need to stop. If the TGW program is as the President made it seem last night: paperwork to allow non-Americans to work in our nation for a temporary period of time, great, I'm all for it. If it is to justify illegals already in the nation to stay here, I'm not behind it.
If you desire to be in America so much that you're first act is to break one of her laws, then your respect for the nation you want to be in must not be very high. I'm Marc from Just my opinion, and I approve this message.
7 comments:
Hi there. Hope you and QE are okay, despite the flood. I listened to the speech last night--which, in my opinion, was the most content-filled address YET for this president--and wondered about a few things as well. First, that whole illegal Marine thing--how did this guy become a Marine? Is this like the Swiss, where we bring people in to participate in our armed forces? That made no sense. And there was another part that made no sense, oh yeah, when he was talking about that long-term illegals who have put down roots shouldn't just be amnestied in but should pay a price, and then he listed the price: pay their taxes, have a job, no criminal record. Oh, okay, he didn't mean do anything different than what they are already doing (or should be doing). I kept waiting for the punitive part, and got punted. Even he seemed flummoxed by that part, being the only section of the speech to receive a halting, dubya-esque "where am I again?" treatment. Practically, though, this was a good step forward IMHO. You're a bit of a purist, which is probably the most law-abiding place to be; but we've been skirting the law so long, we're all wearing skirts (how's that for a dubya-esque quotation?) We need to compromise a little, give the long-termers a firm kick in the butt to naturalize, and give the newbies a harder line to cross than we've had in the past. I also liked that he approached the problem from a systemic place: dealing with some of the causes of illegal immigration as well as simply erecting different kinds of fences.
Good comments, Thom.
When he mentioned the "paying their debt to society" I thought he literally meant paying. That they'd have to do all of the things that you've listed just to be considered on the list of "you get to stay" people, then, on top of that, pay fines and pay lots for the paperwork. Lest ye get booted.
That was my take.
Janitors, Thom, do you realize that you've met?
No, I didn't realize that.
Yup, at a fund raiser at Jimmy Alenhursts... for the school that we are both connected to.
That is CORRECT! Janitors are not only people, they are smart people.
I almost remember that--a good conversation, if memory serves.
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