Imagine you live in Arizona, and you are an ordinary, law-abiding citizen. Your home is near the border of Mexico; your spouse and children reside in your home. Imagine that one day, you observe a group of 10 young men entering your backyard, rummaging through your patio furniture, trampling your flowerbeds, handling your garden tools, lawnmower or barbecue equipment. Or maybe the group is simply strolling through your yard. You may think, first, to call the police. You may just yell at them to leave your property.
Now imagine replaying that scene each day, each week for as long as Arizona has been battling illegal immigration. Imagine the thousands of illegal immigrants who enter Arizona unrestricted year after year.
It would be perfectly logical for you to be upset, afraid and angry wondering how you can somehow stop the illegal traffic you observe sneaking through your backyard.
According to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Arizona was estimated to have more than 460,000 undocumented immigrants among a population of 6.5 million residents in 2009. Estimates vary for illegal immigrants residing in the United States from 13.9 million to 20 million. An estimated 78 illegal immigrants enter Arizona each day. California is by far the state with the highest number of undocumented immigrants residing within its borders an estimated 2.5 million of them.
Title 8 of the United States Code, the Immigration and Nationality Act and other amending statutes, require proper identification of legal immigrants. The Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency is charged with enforcing the laws that provide for the security of the U.S. border and combating criminal smuggling.
As you sit in your home watching illegal immigrants enter the United States each day for years without restriction, you might imagine that one day some illegal immigrant might knock on your door and frighten your family or enter your home when you’re not there. A recent report in Washington state documented illegal immigrants who committed crimes against Washington state residents and then were deported to Mexico only to return again to commit other crimes.
What steps might you take to safeguard your home and family? If you’re law-abiding, you have every right to assume the federal government will fulfill its responsibility to guard the U.S. border and stop the flow of illegal immigrants. If it doesn’t, you’ll probably call your congressman, senator or state officials, imploring them to “do something!”
If you’re from Arizona, you’re probably a lot like the 70 percent of all Arizonans who support the actions of Arizona Governor Jan Brewer, who, on April 23, 2010, signed Senate Bill 1070 into law. SB 1070 was adopted to enforce federal laws that prohibit illegal immigration and assure border security. If you’re not racist, but just frightened about the security of your home from illegals you don’t know, you want the law to:
Require federal-state cooperation in enforcement of immigration laws.
Prosecute illegal immigrants.
Prohibit human trafficking of illegal immigrants.
Allow police officers to arrest an illegal immigrant if that immigrant is discovered to be illegal pursuant to a lawful arrest.
Prosecute and enforce laws against employers who hire illegal immigrants.
If that’s how you feel, you probably don’t like President Obama, safe in the White House with federal officials guarding him and his family 24-7, telling you that the Arizona law is automatically unconstitutional and fosters “racial profiling.” Two of his top officials testified in Congress against the law when, by their own admission, they hadn’t even read it. And you really don’t like Mexico’s president coming onto U.S. soil lecturing Americans about Arizona’s law, when, by his own admission, Mexico has no patience with illegals entering Mexico from its southern border.
The United States remains a magnet for people worldwide who seek a better life, economic opportunity and freedom. An estimated 100 million first-generation Americans have settled in our country since its founding. In 2008, a record 1.046 million immigrants won their United States’ citizenship with just over 14,000 of them coming to Washington state alone.
Citizenship in a nation is precious. Naturalized citizens must take an exam to be admitted to U.S. citizenship. They must learn about the values, principles and history of their new country to which they pledge allegiance. (I list 50 sample citizenship test questions in my new book, In Tune With America: Our History in Song).
Naturalized citizens shed tears at their immigration ceremonies they are now proud to be called “Americans” because they have earned their citizenship. Those here illegally aren’t Americans they’re illegals. We’d like them to be legal, to be part of the dream our forefathers envisioned as they built a country around citizenship and the obligations all of us have as Americans.
My heart goes out to illegal immigrants who come to the U.S. for a better life. God bless them as human beings. But their best path to the blessings of liberty is not by sneaking in through the backyards of Arizona, but by entering the old-fashioned way legally and with proper purpose.
No president should “justify” illegality by not enforcing federal laws and thereby diminishing those courageous souls from around the world whose path to citizenship was faithful and lawful. Praise for Arizona’s courage to call out those who would ignore the proper path to American freedom and opportunity.
George Nethercutt served the 5th District of Washington as a Republican in Congress between 1995-2005. His column appears in The Inlander once a month. Send comments totheeditor@inlander.com.
Thank you, Mr Nethercutt, for throwing more wood on a fire called "vilify". If you knew anything about American immigration law and policies, you could tell us that our country grants visas to 5,000 people per year for menial jobs. There are millions of menial jobs in this country. There are far too many tomatoes to pick at 50 cents for every 32 pounds. Imagine earning $20 by picking 1280 pounds of tomatoes. Today´s American youth would scoff at such a job. But the tomatoes must be picked. The apples, peaches, and other fruits and vegetables must be harvested. The slaughtered chickens, pigs and cattle must still pass by workers who stand there and make the same cuts over and over desperately keeping up with the speed of the conveyor belt.
Such is the American dream of the illegal immigrant. Take that away and who would be left to take you up on those job offers? Not your sons or grandsons. Mine neither. Punish the employers and listen to them complain about the rotting harvest due to a lack of workers. We wouldn´t stand for that either. You must have tomatoes if Burger King is going to let you have it your way.
Immigration is a far more complex problem to solve than you even touch on. But keeping it simple means you don´t have to think. Just vilify. Jun 14, 2010 | Reply to this comment
Why? Is it because all illegal immigrants are all criminals or simply because they have a different skin color?
"A recent report in Washington state documented illegal immigrants who committed crimes against Washington state residents and then were deported to Mexico only to return again to commit other crimes."
All the thorough studies I´ve read actually show that crime rates of illegal immigrants is the same or lower than the rest of the population.
Aug 16, 2010 | Reply to this comment
While I´m having difficulty imagining making the leap of logic from what I see one day as an ordinary citizen to my ability to see the year-after-year thousands of illegals who enter my yard, I´m not having difficulty spotting that there needs to be a period in the following two sentences:
"Naturalized citizens shed tears at their immigration ceremonies they are now proud to be called “Americans” because they have earned their citizenship."
Neither am I having difficulty spotting the place in the following two sentences where a hyphen or dash, (or the addition of "to be" between "States" and "from" in the first sentence), would make the sentence flow (and read) more easily and understandably. As they´re written, the reader is required to re-direct his attention back to the beginning of each sentence, slowing sometimes the overall information gathering of the brain, and registering it in the short-term memory.
"Estimates vary for illegal immigrants residing in the United States from 13.9 million to 20 million."
"California is by far the state with the highest number of undocumented immigrants residing within its borders an estimated 2.5 million of them."
I calculate the value of my editing of your article to be 2 sentences 2 corrections in two sentences, which equals 4. I also calculate that you do not wish to pay me for editing your articles.
Therefore, while it is true that everybody knows that the difference between a psychotic and a neurotic is that a psychotic believes that 2 2 is 5, while a neurotic knows that 2 2 is four, but it makes him mad, I know that I´m a neurotic, not a psychotic, and that you don´t owe me $6.00 for 4 corrections in my editing of your article - I just know that my editing is worth more than knowing that 2 2 is four, not six.
I also know that $6.00 would pay the $5.00 per month charge for using my debit card if my bank initiates that policy as Bank of America has, plus $1.00 left over for either two first-class stamps, or half-a-bag of the Jolly Rancher´s Cinnamon Fire kisses that I love. Resume submitted upon request. Oct 01, 2011 | Reply to this comment
"Imagine you live in Arizona, and you are an ordinary, law-abiding citizen." "Imagine that one day, you observe a group of 10 young men entering your backyard..." "Now imagine replaying that scene each day, each week for as long as Arizona has been battling illegal immigration."
While I´m having difficulty imagining making the leap of logic from what I see one day as an ordinary citizen to my ability to see the year-after-year thousands of illegals who enter my yard, I´m not having difficulty spotting that there needs to be a period in the following two sentences:
"Naturalized citizens shed tears at their immigration ceremonies they are now proud to be called “Americans” because they have earned their citizenship."
Neither am I having difficulty spotting the place in the following two sentences where a hyphen or dash, (or the addition of "to be" between "States" and "from" in the first sentence), would make the sentence flow (and read) more easily and understandably. As they´re written, the reader is required to re-direct his attention back to the beginning of each sentence, slowing sometimes the overall information gathering of the brain, and registering it in the short-term memory.
"Estimates vary for illegal immigrants residing in the United States from 13.9 million to 20 million."
"California is by far the state with the highest number of undocumented immigrants residing within its borders an estimated 2.5 million of them."
I calculate the value of my editing of your article to be 2 sentences 2 corrections in two sentences, which equals 4. I also calculate that you do not wish to pay me for editing your articles.
Therefore, while it is true that everybody knows that the difference between a psychotic and a neurotic is that a psychotic believes that 2 2 is 5, while a neurotic knows that 2 2 is four, but it makes him mad, I know that I´m a neurotic, not a psychotic, and that you don´t owe me $6.00 for 4 corrections in my editing of your article - I just know that my editing is worth more than knowing that 2 2 is four, not six.
I also know that $6.00 would pay the $5.00 per month charge for using my debit card if my bank initiates that policy as Bank of America has, plus $1.00 left over for either two first-class stamps, or half-a-bag of the Jolly Rancher´s Cinnamon Fire kisses that I love. Resume submitted upon request. 0 minutes ago | Reply to this comment Oct 01, 2011 | Reply to this comment