Recently, Barack
Obama ruffled some feathers with a recent ruling that we would not deport young
Illegal Aliens who were brought over by their parents. While it’s extremely questionable whether or
not Obama actually has the authority to declare such a fiat, the bigger point
is that he unequivocally endorsed what amounts to amnesty for a large group of
Illegal Aliens. Unfortunately, Mitt
Romney did not strike against Obama when he made this treasonous
decision—instead he took the position that he’s become so used to taking as of
late--the position of taking no position at all, and sitting on the fence.
Many who support
Obama’s decision (and even some who support Romney’s non-decision) state that
it would be unfair to send back Illegal Aliens who did not come here of their
own volition but instead because of their parent’s lawbreaking. While it is completely understandable to feel
some sympathy (at least on the surface) for Illegal Aliens in this predicament,
I still do not see where such sympathy should then translate to an obligation
on our part to use our resources (already stretched to the maximum to begin
with) to help them stay here. While many
of these young Illegals did not come here through any fault of their own, the
fact remains that they are not here because of any fault on our part, either. As such, why should we be the ones to take
responsibility for the illegal and immoral actions of their parents (actions
which many of them took purposefully
in order to make sure that their offspring were born as “American Citizens”
without going through the proper channels)?
Add to this the gang violence and drug trade that is perpetrated by many
(though by no means all) of the young Illegals, and it becomes clear
that—sympathetic or not—we simply cannot assist them in the callous breaking of
the law which their parents undertook.
In a time of international war and economic issues domestically, this
type of assistance would be nothing short of slitting our own throats.
Looking at this from
a purely political perspective, one thing is apparent: Obama is trying to use this stance to court
Hispanic voters, and Romney is being very careful not to piss off those same
Hispanic voters. But is this a
reasonable reaction from either candidate (particularly Romney)? Is it a given that all (or even most)
Hispanic voters are sympathetic to Illegal Aliens? I ask that question rhetorically, as I
honestly do not know the correct answer at this point in time. But as I think about it, I would think that logically Hispanic voters should be no
more sympathetic to Illegals than we are…indeed, logically speaking, they
should be more angry with Illegals,
as their actions reflect poorly on legal Hispanics and cause tremendous amounts
of anger and distrust toward Hispanics who are here legally—anger and mistrust
that would not otherwise be there if the Illegals weren’t such a significant
problem.
Now, to be sure,
there are many voters (and even large blocks of voters) who do not cast their
ballots logically (see the nearly homogenous support for the Democratic party
by the African-American community—despite a half-century of policies that have
destroyed their families and confined them to near-permanent poverty—for an
excellent example). It is entirely
possible that a significant number of Hispanics are sympathizing with Illegals
and thereby voting against their own best interests…it certainly wouldn’t be
the first time in American politics that such “misguided voting” has
happened. However, it seems to me that
the best way to deal with this in the long term for the Republican party (or
any party for that matter) would not be to accept the faulty premise put forth
by these voters, but to instead better inform and educate them as to why they
should turn against Illegal Immigration themselves. To accept the faulty premise might win you
some elections in the short term, but would do irreparable damage to the nation
in the long-term (again, see the Democratic Party’s constant efforts to appeal
to the lowest common denominator within the African-American community). But if instead, you clearly and coherently
make your case, you have the potential (over the long haul) to change the
attitudes of the best and brightest voters within that community and start a
generational shift in how that block of voters approaches such issues.
If your goal is
simply to win one election, then I’ll admit, it’s a low-percentage play. But if your goal is to save and improve the
nation, it is the only strategy that makes sense.
But maybe there’s
another alternative…maybe there are already significant numbers within the
Hispanic community which already have the same disdain for Illegals as the
majority of other Americans do. After
all, Legal Hispanics are just as much a part of—and just as much invested in—America
as all other legal American citizens are.
Perhaps there are a significant number of Legal Hispanics who’s
attitudes towards Illegal Immigration are
logically correct. Perhaps there is
a group within the community who realizes that they suffer more directly than
anybody else in America because of the actions of Illegals.
Those people may be
out there (or if not, a significant number could be converted). But as long as the Democrats appeal directly
to the Illegals, and as long as the Republicans are too scared to upset them,
we may never know. And all American
Citizens—regardless of ethnicity—will continue to live in massive danger.
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