Between 1892 and 1954, 12 million people passed through the gates of Ellis Island in New York. These people were seeking freedom, a better and more prosperous life for themselves and for their children—and they wanted to be Americans.
No, they did not just want the title of being an American citizen, they wanted to truly adopt their new country; they wanted to know its history, customs, mores and status in the world.
Many, or most, were working class people with very little material possessions. But what they had was the inkling of the American ideal—that if you are honest and work hard, you will be rewarded.
Fast forward to our current immigration crisis. We refer here to the conflict between the immigrants themselves, the protesters trying to protect them, and the ICE officers who have a mission. For clarification’s sake, in this instance “immigrant” should be noted as “undocumented,” or by its more accurate term: illegal.
And the term “illegal” is the key here.
People who have come into the US from various countries around the world and have entered legally are not the focus of our conversation; they have entered the right way, filled out the proper paperwork, paid whatever fees are necessary and are, one would think, paying their taxes.
The targets of the ICE agents are either illegals who have committed crimes, or simply those who have entered the country—let’s say it together: illegally.
It is curious to many that the hue and cry on behalf of the illegal immigrants seems to leave this element out. We are all aware of the humanity of the situation. Many of these illegals have lived in the US for many years, have had children here, and have trades or jobs that they have been working at for perhaps decades. Obviously, no one, except the most heartless, wants to see families separated or mistreated. That is a given.
But that simple word will not go away: illegal.
Of course, there have been attempts to give all illegals amnesty, to simply pass a law and make them Americans.
This idea is akin to someone stealing a car and using it for years until they are caught. When arrested, the police say to them, “You stole a car and broke the law. But, hey, we are going to let you go in hopes you will buy one legitimately in the future. Bye!”
The absurdity of this should be obvious, but to many, it is not.
Allowing illegals to stay is simply unfair.
It is unfair to the many people who would like to make the US their home and want to come here legally through our system. Many of these people face years of examination, fees and paperwork—and many complete all this because they want to do things the right way.
Walking across our border without documentation, taking a job and not paying taxes, weighing down our medical and school systems is simply outrageous, unfair and let’s say it again: illegal.
Let us be fair. Many of these illegals came because they were invited. During the Biden administration, almost 11 million of them came across because of lax enforcement.
Indeed, many were escaping from the violence of the cartels. If your son was being forced into a cartel and told that they would have to kill or be killed, you would want out. That notion is clear.
What is also clear is that many of these people are committing horrendous crimes well out of proportion to their number.
It would be a miscarriage of justice to not act upon this fact.
The violent protesters that are interfering with the ICE officers’ duties are missing this element. Are these same protesters willing to let all peoples into the US from Ireland, Australia, Italy, England, etc., without documentation also, or would they be excluded?
The hypocrisy here is off the scale.
We are the most compassionate and caring country in the world, but we are also a country of laws.
To function as a fair and equitable society, those laws must be enforced.
This is something we all should agree on.
Sadly, some disagree.
