Illegal Immigrants and the Peril of Amnesty
Rauf Naqishbendi
June 03, 2007
Whether you call them “illegal immigrants” or “undocumented workers”, these euphemisms don’t soften the fact that illegal immigrants by definition are those who have obtruded their way into America against the established laws of the land. Decades of border neglect to indulge the avarice of certain businesses have resulted in the accumulation of over ten million illegal aliens in America. The gravity of the potential harm to our national security and the financial burden this puts on us have gotten panicked politicians to react. From President Bush’s rhetoric to the proposals before the Senate to redress this problem it is clear that the likelihood of amnesty is imminent, even if no one will admit it and instead choose to call it by another name.
American businesses assert that immigration is good for the American economy; it reduces the cost of goods and services and that results in the easing of pricing pressure and better purchasing power for American consumers. Through their generous political campaign contributions they have attained a consensus among lawmakers, thus allowing legal and illegal personnel to enter America and compete with the American labor force. They cited the same sophism when arguing the issues of outsourcing, in-sourcing, and off-shoring American manufacturing and services jobs, and consumers got poor quality of services and products at higher or the same prices while small businesses and corporate American tycoons grew more prosperous. Here we go again, greedy businesses are inflicting harm on America with the backing of lawmakers, the same disgraceful conduct by our elected officials that has transformed our democratic system into a plutocracy.
Proponents of the immigration of foreign workers insist that these foreigners are willing to do jobs that Americans won’t do. That was true at the beginning when they worked as dishwashers in restaurants and the like. But with time they became plumbers, construction workers, painters, roofers, and cooks. They worked for substantially less wages than American workers did and eventually, Americans gave up seeking these jobs since the wages weren’t enough to accommodate a decent standard of living. Thus, Americans were defeated and lost many of these jobs to foreign workers.
According to universal laws of justice no one should be reduced to the need to forfeit his or her God-given right to decent treatment. However, by virtue of being illegal these aliens have abrogated their rights resulting in their abuse. In many instances they have been reduced to slaves, and only a miniscule portion of their abuse and suffering has been revealed by the media while the majority of it goes unnoticed. However, these profligate abuses have been known to our callous and power mongering politicians, and they have ignored the human misery in return for the propitiation of the deep-pocketed businesses who were their political campaign financiers. It isn’t just that they haven’t thwarted the abusive practices but by turning a blind eye they have even made them flourish.
Protecting our borders against the intrusion of foreigners is considered one of the pivotal issues of our national security. The prolonged relaxation of our border security against migrant workers has introduced exacerbated social entanglements such as drug trafficking and attacks on citizens’ property. This has caused the communities bordering Mexico to trade our civil society for the rule of jungle; the government has failed to protect American citizens and so communities have responded on their own. Again, our political establishment has ignored the plight of its citizens for protection and security in order to feed the insatiable greed of business.
When the borders of a country are relaxed against foreign intruders, the inherent evils affect not only the border communities but in time spread throughout the nation indiscriminately. At first the illegal emigrant workers settled in border towns but as has been seen recently they have found their way everywhere including into the heartland of America and even around Capitol Hill where our lawmakers are nested.
Naïve advocates of amnesty maintain that America has always been a nation of immigrants and should remain as such. In response one can argue that America isn’t the same as it was a century ago and that the new immigrants aren’t the same as the old ones. A century or longer ago America was resourceful and needed man power to utilize unfarmed land, and labor to fuel its industrial revolution. But now America cannot even offer a livelihood with decent wages to its own citizens as a result of the transfer of its industries and services off-shore.
Notably, there is by far a great difference between the old immigrants and the new ones regarding creativity, contribution to society and moral disposition. The old emigrants were mostly Europeans and they had one-way tickets to travel to America. They came and assimilated into American society; they became a part of the communities where they resided. Once settled, they ameliorated their living conditions and this was then translated into positive contributions to their societies, of which they became an integral part. On the other hand, these illegal aliens are a financial burden and a drain on the resources of the towns and communities bordering Mexico, and many have become criminals. They have burdened our educational system, exhausted the good will of charities, discombobulated our law enforcement, and overwhelmed our judiciary system. In every way they have been a drain to our communities and their resources.
The amnesty rewards millions of illegal intruders with lawful residency, and though our politicians may call it a step in the right direction for illegal immigrant issues, this will not stop those jumping over the fence seeking their promised land from forcing their way into America. What America needs is not amnesty but better protection of its borders and a severe penalty for those who hire illegal workers.
Rauf Naqishbendi is a contributing columnist for Kurdishmedia.com and American Chronicle and has written Op/Ed pages for LA times. He has just completed his first novel The Garden Of The Poets and through his literary agent seeking publication.
American businesses assert that immigration is good for the American economy; it reduces the cost of goods and services and that results in the easing of pricing pressure and better purchasing power for American consumers. Through their generous political campaign contributions they have attained a consensus among lawmakers, thus allowing legal and illegal personnel to enter America and compete with the American labor force. They cited the same sophism when arguing the issues of outsourcing, in-sourcing, and off-shoring American manufacturing and services jobs, and consumers got poor quality of services and products at higher or the same prices while small businesses and corporate American tycoons grew more prosperous. Here we go again, greedy businesses are inflicting harm on America with the backing of lawmakers, the same disgraceful conduct by our elected officials that has transformed our democratic system into a plutocracy.
Proponents of the immigration of foreign workers insist that these foreigners are willing to do jobs that Americans won’t do. That was true at the beginning when they worked as dishwashers in restaurants and the like. But with time they became plumbers, construction workers, painters, roofers, and cooks. They worked for substantially less wages than American workers did and eventually, Americans gave up seeking these jobs since the wages weren’t enough to accommodate a decent standard of living. Thus, Americans were defeated and lost many of these jobs to foreign workers.
According to universal laws of justice no one should be reduced to the need to forfeit his or her God-given right to decent treatment. However, by virtue of being illegal these aliens have abrogated their rights resulting in their abuse. In many instances they have been reduced to slaves, and only a miniscule portion of their abuse and suffering has been revealed by the media while the majority of it goes unnoticed. However, these profligate abuses have been known to our callous and power mongering politicians, and they have ignored the human misery in return for the propitiation of the deep-pocketed businesses who were their political campaign financiers. It isn’t just that they haven’t thwarted the abusive practices but by turning a blind eye they have even made them flourish.
Protecting our borders against the intrusion of foreigners is considered one of the pivotal issues of our national security. The prolonged relaxation of our border security against migrant workers has introduced exacerbated social entanglements such as drug trafficking and attacks on citizens’ property. This has caused the communities bordering Mexico to trade our civil society for the rule of jungle; the government has failed to protect American citizens and so communities have responded on their own. Again, our political establishment has ignored the plight of its citizens for protection and security in order to feed the insatiable greed of business.
When the borders of a country are relaxed against foreign intruders, the inherent evils affect not only the border communities but in time spread throughout the nation indiscriminately. At first the illegal emigrant workers settled in border towns but as has been seen recently they have found their way everywhere including into the heartland of America and even around Capitol Hill where our lawmakers are nested.
Naïve advocates of amnesty maintain that America has always been a nation of immigrants and should remain as such. In response one can argue that America isn’t the same as it was a century ago and that the new immigrants aren’t the same as the old ones. A century or longer ago America was resourceful and needed man power to utilize unfarmed land, and labor to fuel its industrial revolution. But now America cannot even offer a livelihood with decent wages to its own citizens as a result of the transfer of its industries and services off-shore.
Notably, there is by far a great difference between the old immigrants and the new ones regarding creativity, contribution to society and moral disposition. The old emigrants were mostly Europeans and they had one-way tickets to travel to America. They came and assimilated into American society; they became a part of the communities where they resided. Once settled, they ameliorated their living conditions and this was then translated into positive contributions to their societies, of which they became an integral part. On the other hand, these illegal aliens are a financial burden and a drain on the resources of the towns and communities bordering Mexico, and many have become criminals. They have burdened our educational system, exhausted the good will of charities, discombobulated our law enforcement, and overwhelmed our judiciary system. In every way they have been a drain to our communities and their resources.
The amnesty rewards millions of illegal intruders with lawful residency, and though our politicians may call it a step in the right direction for illegal immigrant issues, this will not stop those jumping over the fence seeking their promised land from forcing their way into America. What America needs is not amnesty but better protection of its borders and a severe penalty for those who hire illegal workers.
Rauf Naqishbendi is a contributing columnist for Kurdishmedia.com and American Chronicle and has written Op/Ed pages for LA times. He has just completed his first novel The Garden Of The Poets and through his literary agent seeking publication.
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