Arizona Si, Obama No!
May 14, 2010 by Chip Wood
Bloodshed! Violence! Riots! Threats!
That’s been the reaction from the racists of La Raza, and a number of other self-proclaimed do-gooders, who claim to be outraged that the good citizens of Arizona have the unmitigated gall to do what their Federal government should be doing for them—protecting them from an alien invasion.
I have a lot to say about this whole contrived crisis, as you might imagine. And I hope you do, too. That’s what the “comments” section at the end of this column is for.
But before I do, I have one introductory item I must mention. And that is to congratulate the law-enforcement officials in New York City and environs who were so quick to identify and arrest Faisal Shahzad, the would-be terrorist who tried to blow up part of Times Square and several innocent civilians.
As many of you know, I’m not a huge fan of our government’s response to the Islamofascists who want to kill us. I sometimes suspect we’d be better off without the Department of Homeland Security, their minions in the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), the unconstitutional abuses of the USA PATRIOT Act and much more. But I have to say the people charged with protecting us seem to have done a great job this time. Thanks, everyone. (And thanks, too, that the only suicidal jihadists our enemies can attract seem to be as dumb as rocks. That certainly helps.)
And now, back to the current crisis.
Do you remember back in 1986, when Ronald Reagan proposed and Congress approved the Immigration Reform and Control Act? That legislation was supposed to solve the immigration crisis once and for all. It granted amnesty to 2.7 million “undocumented workers” then living in the United States. We were told this would set them on the path to becoming law-abiding, English-speaking, tax-paying citizens.
We were also assured that the flood of illegal immigration into this country would be stopped. Congress subsequently approved legislation to build a massive wall along the U.S.-Mexican border and to hire thousands of additional agents for the Border Patrol.
None of this happened. Not a single thing we were promised 24 years ago came true.
Instead, the flood of illegals into this country became a tsunami. Where we once had 4 million to 5 million illegal immigrants, we’re now told the correct number is somewhere between 12 million and 20 million. The number is several times higher than a pessimist’s worst prediction two decades ago. Even more shocking is that responsible authorities can’t tell us the right number to the nearest million—or even the nearest 5 million.
Whatever the correct number, it’s enough to overwhelm our schools, our hospitals, our prisons and our law enforcement officials wherever illegal aliens settle in any significant numbers.
This is not immigration. It’s an invasion. And we need to deal with it as such.
This is not just my opinion. It’s what our Constitution says. Article IV, Section 4 of the U.S. Constitution clearly states, “The United States shall guarantee to every State in this Union a republican form of government, and … shall protect each of them against invasion….”
Please note that the Constitution does not specify a military invasion or the use of arms. No, it simply says “invasion.” And if that is not what we are facing, what is it?
Shame on President Obama for refusing to do his constitutional duty to protect us from this unlawful invasion. Shame on Congress for refusing to act to defend us.
And congratulations to the people of Arizona who acted wisely and responsibly (and, may I point out, legally and constitutionally) to do what our Federal government has refused to do—that is, to protect their citizens and enforce the law.
It is amazing to me, and disgusting, too, to see how many liberal do-gooders out there are actively encouraging lawbreakers to break more laws. Sadly, I even put Obama in this category.
Let’s not let them get away with it.
Let’s demand that Congress pass legislation that will stop the invasion and demand the President enforce it. Will that mean hiring 12,000 new border guards, as President Bush once promised to do? Fine. Let’s do it. Hire them, train them and give them all the latest high-tech goodies (and old tech stuff, too, such as the vehicles, floodlights and weapons) to do the job.
Will that mean building a wall along the border with Mexico, stretching from California to Texas? Then appropriate the money and let’s finish building the darned thing.
In addition, we must tell the government of Mexico that we require its cooperation in halting the tidal wave of illegal immigration pouring out of their country—a tidal wave they have been actively encouraging. That must stop. This is not a request; this is a condition for our continuing friendship.
We must also warn the people of Mexico (and their friends, family and allies in our country) that the U.S. is going to enforce its laws. Make it clear that we will no longer look the other way or compromise on enforcing our rules and regulations. There will be no way across the border except legally. Period.
And most important of all: We must demand that our government do whatever needs to be done to secure our borders. No more excuses. No more delays. The time to act is now.
There is much more that could and should be said on this subject. As we move to resolve this crisis, let’s make sure that illegal aliens who knowingly and deliberately broke our laws aren’t given a better deal than all those applicants for entry who have played by the rules.
Let’s make it our choice who gets to come here—when, from where, how many and for how long. If we need more temporary workers, fine. Let’s decide how many can come, how long they can stay and what they must do (and not do) while they’re here.
And let’s also insist that we get to decide what to do about the millions of illegals who are already here. I’ll agree that if they’ve been law-abiding, tax-paying contributors to our society since they arrived, that deserves some consideration. But just because someone got away with a crime for years doesn’t mean they’ve earned a free pass to citizenship.
All of these issues, and more, we can debate and decide later on. For now, there is only one thing that must be done. We must secure our borders.
If you agree, then there are two things you can do. First, forward this column to several other friends and family members. Urge them to read it, to act on it and to pass it on to others.
Two, contact the three people in Washington who have been elected to represent you—your two Senators and one Representative. It takes only a moment to call their office, or send them an email, and tell them, “Before doing anything to fix the immigration mess, I demand that you secure our borders. If you won’t help stop the invasion of our country, I will elect someone who will.”
If you’re not sure how to contact your congressmen (or don’t know who they are), there’s an easy-to-use website called Contacting the Congress that will give you this information in moments. When you get to the site simply enter your address and the contact information for your representatives in Congress will appear.
It isn’t often you get an opportunity to help decide the kind of country your children and your children’s children will live in. This is one of them. So please do it now, while you’re thinking about it. And while we still have time.
Meanwhile, if you live in Arizona, please accept my congratulations on what your government is trying to do. And my condolences on the way you’re being treated by others, from the president of the U.S. to the racist rabble-rousers of La Raza.
If you don’t live in the Grand Canyon State but know someone who does, please tell them they are not alone in this battle. The vast majority of American people share their concerns. Urge them to stand fast while we rally others behind them.
Until next time, keep some powder dry.
—Chip Wood
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