[freedomtowernight_edited.jpg] 26th Parallel: What Now?

Thursday, June 28, 2007

What Now?

So the immigration bill fell flat on its face today. Not surprising considering that seemingly the only people who were in favor of the bill were George W. Bush and Ted Kennedy (odd couple there).

So now what? We still have 12 or who-knows-how-many millions of illegal immigrants in this country. What do we do with them? Do we have strong enough laws currently in place that simply need to be better enforced? I don't know the answer to those questions, but I do know this:

- We need to secure our borders AHORA. No excuses. If we need to hire thousands more border patrol agents, fine. If we need to put a fence up, great.

- We can't just send the illegals that are already here back. That would only work in Fantasyland. Honestly, this aspect of the immigration problem is the one thing that the failed bill was on the right track with. Far from perfect, mind you, but at least it acknowledged that you have a recipe for disaster if you start rounding up illegals and send them back. If some people consider anything short of sending them all back "amnesty", then I'm guilty as charged.

One thing really pissed me off tonight. Watching the Miami TV show Polos Opuestos, host Maria Elvira Salazar had ex-Hialeah Cuban-American mayor Raul Martinez along with an immigration attorney and a Nicaraguan father and son, of whom the father I believe is here illegally. Anyway, Raul Martinez, a Democrat (go figure), and apparently still bitter over the failure of the immigration bill in the Senate, started lashing out at Americans for their bad treatment of Hispanics in this country. I have never heard anything more ridiculous. Martinez cited examples of Hispanic politicians in Pasco County, Florida with burning crosses set on their front lawns, as well as the (in)famous "Will the Last American Leaving Miami Please Bring the Flag" bumper stickers that were common in South Florida during the early 1980s. He really can't think that the country which generously adopted him as a child feels that way in the majority about Hispanics, right? Of course, he would never admit that in person, but his words spoke volumes and they really got to me. At best, it was pandering. At worst, an example of how polarized we have become. I don't care if he's "one of us", but Martinez is a mal agradecido (ungrateful) for making those comments tonight.

The issue here isn't how we feel about Hispanics or any other ethnic group. Goodness knows some Republicans are guilty of the same prejudice Martinez displayed, except in reverse. It's about what fair and just. Granting a freebie to illegals isn't going to solve our immigration problems and is a slap in the face to those who come here and seek to become residents the right and lawful way. Not only that, but those who advocate for true amnesty would never even think about properly securing our borders against the real menace...Al Qaeda.

Talk about real problems.

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3 Comments:

Blogger richard said...

What would be so wrong with rounding them up and sending them back? They are criminals.

2:45 AM, July 01, 2007  
Blogger Yvette said...

Why can't we send them back? We send the Haitians right back, as far as I know. I'll never understand this racist double standard. If we allow one group to stay, we should allow both groups. Or we should allow no groups. Or we should define a specific and consistent criteria for becoming a legal immigrant that applies to everyone, equally. Why can't we provide conditional amnesty for the people who are already here and send everyone else back? Some day, I'll be smart enough to understand this...

11:45 AM, July 01, 2007  
Blogger Robert said...

Yvette,

We can indeed send those back who are trying to get in. Put the fence up.

My question refers to the ones that are ALREADY HERE. We can't just round them up and kick them all out. We would have a mass revolt on our hands.

Those people need to go to the back of the line and go through the process. If they have to pay hefty fines and jump through a million loops, fine. They came here illegally and must pay a price.

Those that are here illegally that have committed crimes get sent back immediately.

That's one solution. The trick is to enforce it.

11:56 AM, July 01, 2007  

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