Amnesty, American Values, and Economic Dependency

Ellis Island Immigrants

In the ongoing battle about amnesty for illegal aliens, one recurring theme has been “these are not American values,” meaning that we have to bestow citizenship on these people who broke our laws because they are already here, we can’t send them back, it’s un-American. This question should be asked, what are the American values the proponents of amnesty on both sides of the isle in Congress are referring to?

Being a law abiding American who lives by American values is clearly spelled out in the Declaration of Independence and in the U.S. Constitution. George Washington warned us that we must defend our values and laws from “the impostures of pretended patriotism.”

“Let every American pledge his life, his property, and his sacred honor; let every man remember that to violate the law, is to trample on the blood of his father, and to tear the character of his own, and his children’s liberty. Let reverence for the laws, be breathed by every American mother, to the lisping babe, that prattles on her lap – let it be taught in schools, in seminaries, and in colleges; let it be written in Primers, spelling books, and in Almanacs; - let it be preached from the pulpit, proclaimed in legislative halls, and enforced in courts of justice.”

What are these American values? Americans believe that all men are created equal and God endowed us with the unalienable rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. These values are self-sufficiency, not dependence on government, personal responsibility, respect for the law, hard work, family, Judeo-Christian values, and equal opportunity for excellence, not forced quotas, nor forced equality by government redistribution of wealth under the guise of the communist mantra of “social justice.”

Preying on our sympathy, kindness, and generosity to foreign nations, we are being guilted and forced to be generous with lawbreakers by awarding them citizenship because they jumped a fence, swam across a river, or walked through the hot desert, putting their lives in peril, defying and disrespecting our borders and our laws.

This amnesty is forced on the American people at a time when we can ill-afford to be generous, with millions of Americans unemployed, underemployed, and on welfare, facing the fundamental destruction of our healthcare.

Legal immigration laws should be written to augment the interests of the American people and to defend the vital interests of the United States, not the interests of the illegal immigrant who broke our laws.

Are the new American values having 50 percent of our population dependent on welfare while expecting a financial entitlement from the labor of the other 50 % of the population who works hard to support them through burdensome taxation?

What are the children of the entitlement state, including illegal aliens, going to do when there are no more taxpayers to steal from? Having escaped third world impoverished socialist countries, illegals come here not to assimilate into our culture but to demand “full communism because they value a fair society and social justice.”

What was wrong with the old immigration system when we enforced the borders and enforced the law? What was wrong with immigrants coming here to obtain a green card and work legally? What was wrong with them going back home after they finished school or work? What was wrong with upholding the law, the sovereignty of our country?

Why is the system broken? Is cheap labor for crony capitalists so important that we no longer enforce the law, we are allowing illegal aliens to flood the country and surround us via the southern border with Mexico, while people who are not so lucky and live across oceans are waiting patiently for visas, going through proper channels, doing the legal paperwork?

Jeh Johnson, Homeland Security Secretary, said on ABC’s “This Week” that “Immigration laws or any other law needs to comport with American values. One of those American values is respect for human dignity. I also believe one of those American values is respect for the sanctity of the family unit.” http://cnsnews.com/news/article/susan-jones/dhs-secretary-immigration-law-should-respect-sanctity-family-unit

Perhaps we should point out that the family reunification program which accounts for approximately two-thirds of permanent immigration to the United States each year was designed for legal immigration by the Immigration Act of 1990. In 2001, the former INS had an application backlog of 3.9 million people awaiting family reunification visas.  Top countries in this category were Mexico, Philippines, China, India, Vietnam, Dominican Republic, Haiti, Colombia, Jamaica, and El Salvador. http://www.migrationpolicy.org/article/family-reunification

Secretary Johnson is contemplating a modification to the “priority list” by giving amnesty to illegal aliens who have not committed “serious crimes,” to include those who have re-entered the U.S. after being deported previously and those who fled immigration court proceedings. It is interesting to note that one third of inmates in U.S. jails are illegal aliens.  Why should these illegals have priority over the 4 million legal immigrants awaiting the resolution of their backlogged visas? http://www.frontpagemag.com/2014/ian-smith/obamas-backdoor-amnesty-plan/

In the meantime, illegal aliens have received $4.2 billion in earned income tax credit in the previous year for children who did not necessarily reside in the U.S., using Individual Tax Identification Numbers (ITIN). ITIN was designed by the IRS to encourage illegals to pay taxes but created instead a Pandora’s box of entitlements for illegal aliens, including allowing them to mix easier into our society and to vote illegally. http://cis.org/IRSTaxID-ImmigrationLaw

Brooks County, Texas, with a land mass twice the size of Manhattan Island, has four deputies to protect the American residents under “assaults every day and every night” by illegal immigrants that liberals call euphemistically “paperless/undocumented Americans.” Rescuing illegal immigrants and picking up the bodies of those who don’t make it across has brought the county to the brink of bankruptcy.  According to ALIPAC, “129 undocumented immigrants were found dead just in Brooks County in 2012, which is more than triple the number who were found dead in the county just six years ago.” The more discussion of ‘amnesty’ in Washington, the more immigrants risk their lives to come to the U.S. now, especially from Central America. http://www.alipac.us/content/texas-county-facing-bankruptcy-due-illegal-immigration-2850/

Former Florida Governor Jeb Bush described instances of illegal immigration as “acts of love.” Perhaps he was referring to those who enter illegally or those who overstay legal visas in order to earn money to provide for their families back home. Brandon Darby describes “35 Acts of Love” in his recent column in Breitbart.com. They include targeted assassinations, human trafficking, drug smuggling, border patrol killings, assaults with rocks and bullets, rapes, and other heinous crimes. http://www.breitbart.com/Breitbart-Texas/2014/04/10/Thirty-Five-Acts-of-Love-from-the-Mexican-Border

Dr. Rich Swier wrote, “In a report released by the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR) the impact of providing College Tuition subsidy for Illegal Aliens (HB851/SB1400 a.k.a. in-state tuition) will be that approximately 5,000 legal students will be displaced in Florida higher education institutions by illegal alien students.” Among these are the newly amnestied “Dreamers” who voted in the November 2012 election. http://teapartyorg.ning.com/forum/topics/5000-legal-students-in-florida-to-lose-their-tuition-to-illegals

American citizens have a right to decide who becomes a citizen. But, according to Ann Coulter, “liberal judicial activist” Justice Brennan wrote a footnote in his 1982, 5-4 opinion on Plyler v. Doe which gave us anchor babies. That act alone nullified our right to decide who becomes a citizen. “Combine Justice Brennan’s footnote with America’s ludicrously generous welfare policies, and you end up with a bankrupt country.” http://www.humanevents.com/2010/08/04/justice-brennans-footnote-gave-us-anchor-babies/

With 16 major chains closing or planning on closing stores across America, Staples, Office Depot, Radio Shack, Albertsons, Safeway (Dominick’s in Chicago), Abercrombie and Fitch, Barnes and Noble, J.C. Penney, Toys R Us, Sweetbay Supermarket, Loehmann’s, Quiznos, Sears and Kmart, Ruby Tuesday, Red Lobster, and Ralph’s, more Americans will be unemployed, having to compete for jobs with 12 million potential amnestied illegal aliens and their extended families, while tax revenues that support welfare dependency will decrease. http://endtimeheadlines.org/economy/these-16-major-retail-chains-closing-stores-across-america/

Why must we dilute the composition of our society so much that our votes no longer count and America is changed fundamentally into a hodge-podge of unassimilated ethnic groups who do not care about our country’s future, traditions and history? Does anyone remember Rome’s history?