THE PROGRESSIVE CONSERVATIVE, USA
An Online Journal of Political Commentary & Analysis
Volume XII, Issue # 75, May 16, 2010
Dr. Almon Leroy Way, Jr., Editor
Government Committed to & Acting in Accord with Conservative Principles
Ensures a Nation's Strength, Progress, & Prosperity
THINKING ABOUT MEXICANS
By Alan Caruba
ARIZONA STATE LAW, U.S. FEDERAL LAW, & ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION: THE FAILURE OF THE U.S. NATIONAL
GOVERNMENT TO STRICTLY ENFORCE U.S. IMMIGRATION LAWS & PREVENT THE FLOW OF ILLEGAL ALIENS INTO THE
U.S.A. -- ACTION TAKEN BY THE STATE OF ARIZONA TO STOP THE FLOW OF ILLEGAL ALIENS ACROSS THE
U.S.-MEXICAN BORDER INTO ARIZONA -- THE POLITICAL ADVANTAGE THAT THE OBAMA ADMINISTRATION & THE
DEMOCRATIC PARTY HOPES TO GAIN FROM UNCONTROLLED IMMIGRATION FROM MEXICO TO THE U.S.A.
FULL STORY:
For some time now, friends have been asking me why I haven’t written anything about the Arizona immigration law,
amnesty, illegal immigration, and Mexicans.
The problem with trying to see all sides of the problem is that, sooner or later, you have to pick a side. That is what
Americans are doing in light of the Arizona state immigration law recently passed by the Arizona State Legislature -- a
law that mirrors a U.S. federal immigration law that, quite simply, is not being enforced.
What exactly were Arizonans expected to do in light of the fact that their border with Mexico is now a war zone?
A typical bachelor, I pretty much have the same thing for lunch every day, a soft tortilla in which two thin slices of
smoked turkey are placed. Thirty seconds in the microwave and about six bites later lunch is over. And every day I look
at that damned tortilla and think about Mexicans.
Not Carlos Slim, one of the richest men in the world, but those poor souls trekking across deserts or sneaking in any
way they can because, presumably, Mexico sucks so badly that their only hope is the land of the free and the home of
the brave.
There are a number of factors that encourage Mexicans to come here, not the least of which is that their per capita
income is about one-third of that in the U.S.A. Mexico has always had an oligarchy of families that controlled the bulk
of the money there, and, on top of that, there are the drug lords whose income allows them to corrupt those in
government positions and to kill those who oppose them.
Mexican President Felipe Calderon has made strides to improve the Mexican economy, which has largely depended on
its national oil company, tourism, and the billions in remittances sent home by Mexicans illegally in the United States.
Mexico's trade with the U.S.A. and Canada has tripled since the implementation of the North American Free Trade
Area (NAFTA) in 1994. There are an estimated 46.1 million workers in the Mexican labor force. Nearly 60% of Mexican
workers are in the services sector, 25.7% are in industry, and 15.1% are in agriculture. Overall, 18.2% live below the
poverty level and, in terms of their personal assets, 47% can be defined as poor.
A growing amount of agricultural harvesting in America is mechanized, but I have heard estimates that up to 80%
depend on farm labor to do the hard work of picking produce. The Mexicans who cross the border often seek to make
enough to send money back home and return there, but some do not. A simple guest worker program is needed and
long overdue. Agriculture is a huge part of our national GDP.
Arizona arrived at its decision to deal with its illegal immigration problem because of a dramatic rise in crime of every
description. It did so because the U.S. national government has paid lip service to protecting the 2,000 miles of
America's southern border. Rasmussen Reports indicate that 59% of those polled support Arizona’s action.
What has myself and many other Americans thinking about Mexicans who are here illegally is as much a question of
their attitude as of statistics. These are people whose heroes are not George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, or any
other American icon. These are people who do not grow up celebrating the Fourth of July. National differences are
important and should not be discounted.
Something is very wrong when illegal aliens, Mexicans and others from south of the border, feel empowered to march
in the streets of our nation’s cities to demand instant U.S. citizenship. They have no right to be in the streets. They
have no right to be in America.
Something is very wrong when America makes all manner of accommodation with what is essentially an invasion by
millions of people who are here illegally.
The warnings against a bilingual society are based in the reality of how this undermines national cohesion.
Generations of immigrants, including my own grandparents, learned to speak English. The provision of all manner of
free social services costs taxpayers billions. It has distorted our educational and healthcare systems, and put an
extraordinary burden on law enforcement and incarceration.
Americans are not opposed to legal immigration. They are opposed to a central government that fails to meet its
primary obligation to defend our borders and ensure the safety and security of our native-born and naturalized
citizens.
Politically, the Obama administration and the Democratic Party want to depict Republicans as racists because they
want the U.S. Constitution and other applicable laws enforced. We need to see through this deception; a position
designed to enhance the political power of the Democratic Party and its Liberal Leftist leadership by encouraging
Mexicans to enter the U.S.A. illegally, granting these illegal aliens amnesty, and putting them on a fast and easy
road to U.S. citizenship -- in short pandering to Hispanics and luring them into the Democratic Party.
We tried amnesty in the past. It doesn’t just extend to those granted amnesty for having broken our laws; it and
the citizenship that follows invite a new wave of illegal aliens. Amnesty for illegal aliens is an extraordinarily bad
idea, and this is particularly true when the nation is in the midst of a financial crisis.
So, while I personally harbor no ill will toward Mexicans, I do oppose their being here in the U.S.A. illegally, and I
resent the resulting costs that must be borne by Americans. The problem is that there are anywhere from twelve to
twenty million illegal aliens -- including all such people, Hispanic and others -- within the borders of our nation.
Other nation-states, including Mexico, have extremely harsh laws regarding illegal aliens. Unless and until the U.S.
national government begins to seriously enforce our federal immigration laws, it will continue to put our lives, our
economy, and our nation at risk.
© Alan Caruba, 2010
LINKS TO RELATED TOPICS:
United States Immigration, Assimilation, & National Security Policy:
Immigration into the U.S.A., Legal & Illegal Aliens,
& U.S. Border Control
American Nationhood & American National Sovereighty:
The United States of America as a Single Sovereign Nation-State:
Protecting & Preserving American National Independence,
America's Common National Culture & Identity,
& American National Interests
Alan Caruba blogs daily at http://factsnotfantasy.blogspot.com. An author and business and science writer, he is
the Founder of The National Anxiety Center, a clearinghouse for information about "scare campaigns" designed to influence
public opinion and policy.
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THE PROGRESSIVE CONSERVATIVE, USA
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Dr. Almon Leroy Way, Jr., Editor
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