As I write, the mass media is full of condemnations about the government shutdown. President Trump blames the Democrats, and the Democrats blame President Trump. The issue, of course, is the prospect of a wall at the Mexican border. But there are aspects of this very real problem that aren’t being discussed.
Before we get to them, let’s put some cards on the table. Like many others, I believe a wall will help to stem the tide of illegal entrants. Will some still find a way to enter even if a wall blocks much of the nearly 2,000-mile Mexico-U.S. border? Yes, but the number still entering will only be a small percentage of those arriving without a wall. No matter how high and how long a wall might be, however, it won’t have any effect on the many who don’t obey their visa limitations. The Center for Immigration Studies (CIS) reports that legal entrants who overstay their permitted time in the United States outnumber those who cross the border illegally.
The American people are told by Democrats and the media that caravans of desperate people are full of mothers and their young children. More misinformation! Most of those seeking entry into our country are men looking for work. Among them are drug dealers and hardened criminals. Democrats like to focus on the children, especially a child who dies while being held for eventual processing. One youngster whose death resulted in headlines about the supposed cruelty of President Trump succumbed to influenza, not deficient care.
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Listening only to Democrat leaders Chuck Schumer and Nancy Pelosi would persuade many that there are next to no criminals and no peddlers of drugs among those seeking entry. The two Democrat leaders insist that border guards can deal with the existing problems and there’s no need for a fence. This twosome and their fellow Democrats would have everyone believe that all who want to come here are upstanding individuals whose presence in America will benefit the nation. Schumer has insisted that Trump is demanding “an unneeded, ineffective and wasteful” fence. He pointedly told the president, “If you want to open the government [terminate the shutdown], you must abandon the wall, plain and simple.”
Neither Schumer nor Pelosi, nor their many friends in the media, have said anything about the variety of benefits supplied to illegal entrants. CIS claims that the average yearly amount handed out to illegal entrants is $8,251. They also get free education, free healthcare, and other benefits. Getting into the United States certainly is very appealing.
But there’s more to the story never mentioned by the Democrats and the national media. It is their shared desire to have more illegal immigrants entering our country because more immigrants, certainly including illegals, will mean more votes for Democrats in any election. It is the Democrats and their socialistic programs that gain a friendly constituency among immigrants. In a short time if not immediately, these people will be voters. And immigrant voters, who know nothing about limited government, overwhelmingly will pull the Democrat lever.
Look at what has happened in California due to immigration. The state formerly sent a large number of Republican conservatives to Congress. After the 2018 votes were counted, the state will now send 46 Democrats to the House of Representatives and only 7 Republicans. Even traditionally conservative Orange County has gone Democratic. Texas is next and will soon see its numbers of conservative Republican House members shrink as more immigrants (legal and illegal) vote for the politicians who offer an array of benefits.
Stemming this tide, however, can be done without any new laws. Hiring illegals breaks a law that has become meaningless through non-use. It should be used. New laws aren’t needed. Abolishing existing practices such as the sanctuary city policy that benefits illegals monetarily and politically should be undertaken. Suspension of the widely abused H1-B visa program would also stem the tide of entrants who enter legally and then ignore the expiration dates on their documents.
Our nation is being made over so it can easily become part of the “new world order,” not by force of arms but by immigration. Unless Americans begin to realize what is happening and force leaders to take proper action, the American goose that has always laid golden eggs will die. Dealing realistically with immigration — fence included — must be accomplished.
John F. McManus is president emeritus of The John Birch Society.
