Illegal Immigrants? Take the Buffalo approach!
I am here to say that the problem of illegal immigration is a big one for a number of reasons. Illegal immmigration is a huge security problem, for one thing, and so we most definitely need to close down the borders. There is a growing consensus in this country to do just that, even as the method of doing so is debated. All good and necessary.
But what about the illegals already here? Do we give them amnesty? Do we offer a kind of a guest worker program of a retroactive nature. Do we put them on a kind of probationary time to fulfill certain requirements and then they get citizenship?
NO! No, no, no and no! Anytime illegal aliens have been granted amnesty, it has emboldened more new illegal entries into the country. On top of that, the illegal immigrant situation we have now threatens to bankrupt several states that find themselves providing all sorts of services to people who are in the country illegally. We cannot afford to reward bad behavior. Plenty of people have entered into this country legally, followed the law, and become great citizens. These are the people we reward, not the ones who begin their stay here as criminals. ILLEGAL ALIEN denotes a criminal, right?
SO WHY ARE THEY HERE????? To do the jobs Americans won't do?
Unfortunately, while some like to say that they are here to do the jobs Americans refuse to do, or can't do, that is a crock! They are here to hold down the cost of menial labor so that Freddy and Muffy can have three servants for the price of one. They are here so the local lawn company can charge less to mow your lawn or put in new sod at a lower cost and thereby get more business. Illegal aliens pick our vegetables and hold down the cost of fresh produce, true. But somebody has to do it. If the cheap and illegal labor was not available, then the employers in these fields and the elite who want gardeners and maids and cabana attendants would all have to pay an American more money to do the same thing. Then that American would have more money to spend. Having done the work legally, a paycheck would be getting cut, taxes paid, and the money to fund the services like schools and hospitals and clinics would be available. The economy would be doing even better and unemployment would drop.
I understand why the illegals come here. I think this is the greatest country in the world. But our border states are reeling under enormous costs and there is a small minority in this country that doesn't just want to come here, they want to change here. I see shirts with Aztlan, MEChA, Raza and I get angry. I hear slogans like, "we didn't cross the border, the border crossed us!" and I get angrier.
We are a nation of immigrants. These immigrants came here to assimilate, to join the "melting pot" of America and enrich our country with the varieties of culture that came with them. These immigrants have come to our country legally and sought citizenship. It has been this way for multiple generations. But so many illegal aliens want us to speak their language, to follow their ways and to ignore our laws so they can just take cash money under the table and live in part off of our hard-earned tax dollars. We shouldn't, and we can't stand for it.
What can we do about it?
We can learn from Buffalo, New York. Now in Buffalo the rat problem in the city was a huge one. Exterminators could not handle the problem. But then in 2001 the city mandated that everyone would have to begin using special anti-rat garbage totes that the rats could not open. With no way to get to the garbage, the rats left Buffalo. Now, they went to the suburbs and now the suburbs are fighting them. But it is no longer a problem for the people of Buffalo, New York. Here is how to do the same with our problem:
1) No services.
Absolutely no services of any kind for those who cannot prove they are in the country legally. Nothing but emergency medical care. Without all the social services, medical and other services provided for them, the illegals will find life here less attractive.
2) No schools.
Absolutely no schooling for anyone who cannot prove they belong here legally.
3) No easy birthright.
Change the law. Now, if you are born here, you are a citizen. I say, if you cannot prove that you were born here and that your mother was here legally at the time, then your citizenship is that of the mother and not of the USA.
4) No legal status. No drivers licenses. No bank accounts. No ability to sue a citizen. No legal standing for anyone who is in this country illegally.
5) No free lunch for "The Man".
Make it a criminal offense (and enforce it if it is already on the books) to hire an illegal alien, or to rent a dwelling place to him, or to sell him a home knowing that he intends to live there. Make employers provide documentation for all of their workers. You put the onus on "The Man" and it suddenly becomes less appealing to take advantage of the illegals.
THE RATS WILL GO SOMEWHERE ELSE
If illegals cannot benefit by being in this country illegally, they will either decide to make it legal or they will go away. If they come into the country legally and seek to make a home here, cool, come on in! Otherwise, not one nickel for services to illegals, not one seat in a classroom, not one job opening, not one drivers license and not one apartment to rent. Once we nail that down, the traffic at the border will probably reverse for awhile as those who seek a free lunch look for it somewhere else.
It will work. We just need to have the guts, the will and the integrity to follow it through.
But what about the illegals already here? Do we give them amnesty? Do we offer a kind of a guest worker program of a retroactive nature. Do we put them on a kind of probationary time to fulfill certain requirements and then they get citizenship?
NO! No, no, no and no! Anytime illegal aliens have been granted amnesty, it has emboldened more new illegal entries into the country. On top of that, the illegal immigrant situation we have now threatens to bankrupt several states that find themselves providing all sorts of services to people who are in the country illegally. We cannot afford to reward bad behavior. Plenty of people have entered into this country legally, followed the law, and become great citizens. These are the people we reward, not the ones who begin their stay here as criminals. ILLEGAL ALIEN denotes a criminal, right?
SO WHY ARE THEY HERE????? To do the jobs Americans won't do?
Unfortunately, while some like to say that they are here to do the jobs Americans refuse to do, or can't do, that is a crock! They are here to hold down the cost of menial labor so that Freddy and Muffy can have three servants for the price of one. They are here so the local lawn company can charge less to mow your lawn or put in new sod at a lower cost and thereby get more business. Illegal aliens pick our vegetables and hold down the cost of fresh produce, true. But somebody has to do it. If the cheap and illegal labor was not available, then the employers in these fields and the elite who want gardeners and maids and cabana attendants would all have to pay an American more money to do the same thing. Then that American would have more money to spend. Having done the work legally, a paycheck would be getting cut, taxes paid, and the money to fund the services like schools and hospitals and clinics would be available. The economy would be doing even better and unemployment would drop.
I understand why the illegals come here. I think this is the greatest country in the world. But our border states are reeling under enormous costs and there is a small minority in this country that doesn't just want to come here, they want to change here. I see shirts with Aztlan, MEChA, Raza and I get angry. I hear slogans like, "we didn't cross the border, the border crossed us!" and I get angrier.
We are a nation of immigrants. These immigrants came here to assimilate, to join the "melting pot" of America and enrich our country with the varieties of culture that came with them. These immigrants have come to our country legally and sought citizenship. It has been this way for multiple generations. But so many illegal aliens want us to speak their language, to follow their ways and to ignore our laws so they can just take cash money under the table and live in part off of our hard-earned tax dollars. We shouldn't, and we can't stand for it.
What can we do about it?
We can learn from Buffalo, New York. Now in Buffalo the rat problem in the city was a huge one. Exterminators could not handle the problem. But then in 2001 the city mandated that everyone would have to begin using special anti-rat garbage totes that the rats could not open. With no way to get to the garbage, the rats left Buffalo. Now, they went to the suburbs and now the suburbs are fighting them. But it is no longer a problem for the people of Buffalo, New York. Here is how to do the same with our problem:
1) No services.
Absolutely no services of any kind for those who cannot prove they are in the country legally. Nothing but emergency medical care. Without all the social services, medical and other services provided for them, the illegals will find life here less attractive.
2) No schools.
Absolutely no schooling for anyone who cannot prove they belong here legally.
3) No easy birthright.
Change the law. Now, if you are born here, you are a citizen. I say, if you cannot prove that you were born here and that your mother was here legally at the time, then your citizenship is that of the mother and not of the USA.
4) No legal status. No drivers licenses. No bank accounts. No ability to sue a citizen. No legal standing for anyone who is in this country illegally.
5) No free lunch for "The Man".
Make it a criminal offense (and enforce it if it is already on the books) to hire an illegal alien, or to rent a dwelling place to him, or to sell him a home knowing that he intends to live there. Make employers provide documentation for all of their workers. You put the onus on "The Man" and it suddenly becomes less appealing to take advantage of the illegals.
THE RATS WILL GO SOMEWHERE ELSE
If illegals cannot benefit by being in this country illegally, they will either decide to make it legal or they will go away. If they come into the country legally and seek to make a home here, cool, come on in! Otherwise, not one nickel for services to illegals, not one seat in a classroom, not one job opening, not one drivers license and not one apartment to rent. Once we nail that down, the traffic at the border will probably reverse for awhile as those who seek a free lunch look for it somewhere else.
It will work. We just need to have the guts, the will and the integrity to follow it through.