Immigration must benefit the home nation

Immigration must benefit the home nation

Steve McCann

Regardless of what one may think of Donald Trump, he has brought the long festering issue of unfettered illegal immigration to the forefront of the nation's attention. His proposed plan to resolve the issue, if elected president, includes some very provocative propositions, not the least of which is mass deportation.

Recently, in an attempt to back me into a corner, I was confronted about Donald Trump and the issue of immigration by an old acquaintance (a very liberal Democrat) who was aware that I was not only an immigrant to the United States but came to this country alone as a displaced war orphan -- except that I had to cross an ocean rather than easily walking across an unsecured border. He had assumed that I would, therefore, be sympathetic to the plight of the millions, in particular the children, who have crossed the southern border under the cover of darkness ostensibly seeking a good life.

My first reaction was to point out the hypocrisy of the open border advocates who have, by manipulating the media, blurred the lines between legal and illegal immigration. The word illegal has specific meaning and must be attached to those who deliberately break the law by entering the United States without the requisite paperwork.

Among us live anywhere from 12 to 18 million illegal aliens. Many came in a desperate quest to secure freedom or economic gain, others to commit crimes and prey on our fellow citizens, and a few determined to sow destruction and terror in the name of religion or ideology. They were able to walk across a border because the nation's governing class chose to view these masses, not as individuals, but pawns in a crass political game.

The Left saw potential votes by making the illegals another dependent class as they had so cynically done with the African-Americans. Many in the Republican Party establishment, at the behest of the business lobby, viewed these same unfortunates as a source of cheap and easily exploited labor. Bowing to the most base of political motives, money and votes, the borders were left open and essentially unsecured.

The underlying purpose of any nation's immigration policy should be founded on the principle that immigration must be beneficial to the overall well-being of the country -- and not for those immigrating or for certain special interests within the nation. If not that country will, in the long term, cease to exist as it was founded.

As far as I am concerned, anyone who deliberately and knowingly broke the law to enter the United States can never be put on a path to citizenship. The highest status they can achieve, as this is an exceedingly compassionate nation, is to be granted work permits upon a thorough background check. This permit would be subject to renewal every ten years. Anyone who fails the comprehensive background check would be subject to immediate deportation and all employers would be subject to severe sanctions and penalties for hiring workers without a valid and verified work permit. Among the conditions of acquiring a work permit would be limited access to many of the social welfare programs available to American citizens.

Further there can be no chain migration or automatic citizenship for the children of these illegal immigrants by the mere factor of birth within the borders of the country. As these children were born to parents illegally in the country, citizenship should not be assumed; instead they can be placed in line among those applying for citizenship that came into the country legally. 

Concurrent to these proposals would be the building of a viable border fence and active prosecution of any illegal immigrant entering the country after January 1, 2015. Unfortunately matters have gotten so far out of hand that it would be impossible to physically round up and deport the millions living here, as Donald Trump is touting. However, these steps outline above combined with the inability to achieve citizenship would stem the tidal wave coming through a porous border and would result in not only the legal deportation but self-deportation of a vast number of illegal immigrants.

While those on the Left and many in the Republican Party in the thrall of the Chamber of Commerce try to demonize the opponents of this, in essence, invasion of the United States by throwing around the epithets such as "nativist", "racist" and "xenophobe"; they cannot defend what their policies have done to erode the standard of living as well as the safety and security of the American people.

The unvarnished truth is that if the United States is to survive as founded, it cannot afford either economically, politically or from a national security perspective to have an undefined, loose and emotion-based immigration policy.

Based on my life's experience I do have empathy with those seeking a better life and in particular the children who been used as pawns in order for their extended families to access the welfare and economic benefits of living in the United States. However, I am more concerned about the future of my adopted country and all of my fellow citizens. I would venture that I am not alone in my outlook, as a vast majority of other immigrants and naturalized citizens are increasingly amazed at the folly that is immigration policy in America.

For many years the various regimes in Washington and the nation's governing class has been motivated by crass politics and maintaining or increasing their hold on governmental power. They have not given a damn about the well-being of the people or the future of the country. While I am not a supporter of Donald Trump for other reasons, he has forced the American people and the governing class to focus on the issue of illegal immigration and its impact on the nation.