Illegal Immigration - May 2006

“We should insist that if the immigrant who comes here in good faith becomes an American and assimilates himself to us, he shall be treated on an exact equality with everyone else, for it is an outrage to discriminate against any such man because of creed, or birthplace, or origin. But this is predicated upon that person becoming in every facet an American. There can be no divided allegiance here. We have room for but one flag, the American flag. We have room for but one language, and that is the English language. And we have room for but one loyalty and that is a loyalty to the American people. “

Those words were said by President Teddy Roosevelt shortly before he died in 1919. Back then our country was facing immigration challenges as millions were coming to this country from Ireland, Germany, Italy, England, and various areas of Scandinavia and Eastern Europe. My paternal grandparents were among them. President Roosevelt’s biggest concern was that our country would become a web of tangled nationalities rather than continuing as a single union.

Today, our country is again at a dividing point about how to handle an influx of foreign-born into our country. Unlike 100 years ago, today’s immigrants are as likely to enter our country illegally as they are to have the proper papers to come here. Or they overstay their visas to do so. President Roosevelt’s concerns about a divided America echoed again recently as illegal immigrants from our southern neighbor proudly displayed the Mexican flag during their protests. And you can see flags of dozens of other Latin and Caribbean nations on display in various car windows in South Florida.

I do not recall my grandparents ever talking about “how things were in my country” as I frequently hear in conversations today. My grandparents proudly worked in garment factories in Baltimore during the day and took English classes at night so they could be part of their new nation. They legally came to our shores by steamship steerage and were processed into this country at the federal immigration station unlike many of today’s immigrants who illegally slip across our borders from Mexico or Canada or are dropped off by smugglers using speedboats and fishing boats.

This country was built by immigrants and we should continue to welcome others to our country to share our American dream. But I do not know how today’s illegal immigrants can ever be expected to fully respect our rule of law if their first act in our country was ignoring our immigration laws. In 1986, the United States made the mistake of giving amnesty to earlier illegal immigrants through the Immigration and Reform Control Act which was, thereafter, supposed to stop the further flow of illegals by prosecuting those that employ them. That law did not work and we again are talking about an immigration bill which includes some form of amnesty.

Hopefully our leaders will not make the same mistake as they did 20 years ago and will require illegal immigrants who want to stay in our country to come forward and register with our immigration service, qualify to become American citizens, start paying taxes, and be required to pay a fine for breaking our laws or leave the country with their families and come back legally. Those that illegally came here simply to earn money to send back home, and do not plan to become citizens, should be deported immediately and be required to enter our country using the normal Temporary Employment Visas. We are a country of laws and we must enforce our immigration laws or face an unending inflow of illegals who will continue to burden our healthcare and educational systems.