BCT Editorial – 3/30/06

This page was last updated on April 1, 2006.

Border war; Editorial; Beaver County Times; March 30, 2006.

Below is a detailed critique of the subject editorial.

“Senate Judiciary Committee’s measure is a good first step in addressing immigration

“Sometimes elected officials must do what is right, not what is popular.

“Such is the case of immigration.

“The American people are pretty clear where they stand on the matter. An NBC News-Wall Street Journal poll found that 59 percent say they oppose allowing illegal immigrants to apply for legal, temporary-worker status, and a Quinnipiac University poll found 62 percent say they oppose making it easier for illegal immigrants to become citizens.”

[RWC] Who says illegal aliens want to become citizens? If this is true, perhaps someone can explain all the Mexican flags we saw during the recent staged protests and the virtual lack of American flags, except those being burned. If this is true, why were so many of the protesters wearing shirts with pictures of Castro, Hugo Chavez, Che Guevara, and Daniel Ortega? If this is true, why were the vast majority of signs and slogan chanting done in Spanish?

“It’s classic ‘close the door after we got here’ American nativism.”

[RWC] No, it is not. Unlike the editorial author, most Americans believe those persons who break the law should not benefit from their transgression.

This is yet another example of the Times asserting opposition to illegal aliens is the same as being anti-immigrant.

“Fortunately, President Bush and the Senate Judiciary Committee are intent on doing what is right, not what is popular. On Monday, the committee approved a package that tries to balance immigration and border security issues. The bill might not be perfect, but it is light years ahead of the measure the House had approved that is blatantly anti-immigrant, far too harsh and totally unrealistic. (The House’s measure falls into the ‘for every complex problem, there’s an easy solution - and it’s wrong’ category.)”

[RWC] If the Times agrees with President Bush, that’s pretty much a guarantee President Bush is wrong. That is the case with amnesty for illegal aliens.

The Judiciary Committee bill “tries to balance immigration and border security issues” only in fantasyland. We don’t enforce our current immigration laws. Why should we believe anything would change with a new law? This bill is only one in a history of immigration bills intended to make doing nothing look like doing something.

Regarding the House bill, it is not anti-immigrant. That said, it is also unnecessary. We already have immigration laws on the book. We would not have the problem we do if we had merely enforced existing laws. Remember that we have some states and local governments that tell their police officers not to enforce immigration laws.

“One problem in resolving the immigration issue is that it seems that everybody has a sticking point that makes achieving consensus particularly devilish, especially because the devil is in the details when it comes to immigration.

“But if the problem is undocumented immigrants, doesn’t it make sense to find ways for them have the documentation they need to make it easier for them to work in the United States legally? Doesn’t it seem obvious that acknowledging reality is better than living in a fantasy world that calls for the construction and maintenance of a fence along the U.S.-Mexican border?”

[RWC] The editorial editor goofed. He didn’t begin referring to illegal aliens as merely “undocumented immigrants” until the eighth paragraph. Even then the politically correct term is “undocumented worker.”

The translation for “acknowledging reality” is “give up.” This is the same approach the Times advocates for Iraq.

“The only real chance of dealing with the issue successfully is to acknowledge its complexity and the need for multiple solutions. Although it is not perfect, the Senate bill does that. As such, it is a good first step in the right direction.”

[RWC] This bill is in no way “a good first step in the right direction.” The Times believes the bill is good because it grants amnesty to millions of illegal aliens who likely will continue to vote Democrat. Yes, I wrote, “continue to vote.” With all of their falsified documents, if you believe some number of illegal aliens are not voting, you’re kidding yourself.

Second, the Times likes the bill because it knows there will be no enforcement, just as there is no enforcement of existing immigration laws.

The vast majority of illegal aliens are poor and all are criminals. As to the claim illegal aliens aren’t criminals, that’s absurd. Regardless of their goals or intentions, illegal aliens are criminals because they knowingly break our laws on a continuing basis. They break our immigration laws to enter the U.S. and continue to break laws to live here. For example, they break laws merely by working. When they provide a fake Socialist Security number to an employer, that’s a crime. If they get paid in cash, they break the law by not paying Socialist Security, Medicare, and other income-based taxes. The fact is, illegal aliens rely on falsified documents to live here.

Consider the following testimony before Congress by Northampton County, PA, District Attorney John M. Morganelli in 2003.

“Unfortunately, there are also those who come to America illegally. They come not with an intent to commit to the American way, but rather to evade the law, commit crime and impact negatively on our country. In the last ten (10) years, there has been a staggering increase in the number of illegal aliens residing in Pennsylvania. INS, now ICE, estimated that the illegal alien population of Pennsylvania in 1992 to be about 27,000. In 1996 that number jumped 37% to approximately 37,000. The 2000 census suggests that the number of illegal aliens in Pennsylvania is somewhere between 100,000 and 200,000. Nationwide, the estimates of illegal aliens living in the United States is somewhere between 9 and 13 million.

“Unfortunately, the majority of illegal aliens who are here are engaged in criminal activity. Identity theft, use of fraudulent social security numbers and green cards, tax evasion, driving without licenses represent some of the crimes that are engaged in by the majority of illegal aliens on a daily basis merely to maintain and hide their illegal status. In addition, violent crime and drug distribution and possession is also prevalent among illegal aliens. Over 25% of today’s federal prison population are illegal aliens. In some areas of the country, 12% of felonies, 25% of burglaries and 34% of thefts are committed by illegal aliens. The numerous crimes being committed by illegal aliens such as identity theft, fraud and use of false identification is causing havoc with record-keeping systems including but not limited to Social Security, income tax and other compilation of data that we have routinely relied upon for accuracy and identity verification. Just about every day, municipal and state police come in contact with illegal aliens who are utilizing fraudulent documents, false names and other people’s identities. Identification of these individuals is impossible and, quite frankly, many of the illegal aliens committing crimes here in the United States have criminal records from their country of origin which cannot be ascertained because of their continuous use of false identities. Clearly, in addition to being a crime issue, the growing population of illegal aliens in the United States is without a doubt the single most important national security issue facing us. As an example of that, in May 2002 federal agents arrested 2 Egyptian nationals for trying to smuggle illegal Middle Eastern immigrants into New Jersey by way of Mexico. For a fee of $8,000.00, court documents showed the suspected smuggling ring flew customers on tourist visas to Brazil, then sent them to Guadamala [sic] through Mexico and finally across the southwest border into the U.S. With regard to our northern border in Blaine, Washington, a retired Deputy Chief of Border Patrol Agent Eugene Davis stated recently that there has been no effort to locate 95% of aliens apprehended in his region over the past 10 years and released pending deportation hearings. According to Davis, these illegal aliens have simply been allowed to disappear into the United States. No one knows whether a number of these missing persons are trained terrorists who will emerge to perpetrate more acts of terrorism inside the United States.”

If you wonder why the Times supports illegal aliens, here’s my opinion.

Among other things, the Democrat platform perennially promises “free stuff” and leans toward lax law enforcement. These two planks appeal to “the poor,” criminals, and especially poor criminals and the Democrats consider these groups part of their base. If you doubt my opinion that Democrats consider criminals part of their base, then tell me why Democrats are fighting so hard to restore voting privileges to convicted felons.

In my opinion, to the Times and fellow travelers, more illegal aliens means more Democrat votes.

Finally, remember this editorial the next time you read an editorial about inadequate border and port security.