The immigration word is illegal. What's so hard to understand?

There is something deplorable about political labels. Rarely do they fit. For example, I’ve yet to hear a reasonable definition for neo-conservative, the idea of a centrist merely sounds like a fence sitter, and when people are not pure in anything else, how could they be pure Democrats or pure Republicans. None of us fall neatly into any pigeon hole without a great deal of overlap. It all depends on the issue under scrutiny.

So, for those who have told me in the past that I don’t have a conservative bone in my very liberal body, perhaps this will rock your tiny world. I am very conservative in my thinking on the issue of illegal immigration. And don’t give me any politically correct nonsense about ‘illegal’ as opposed to the more explicitly friendly ‘undocumented.’

Although we seem to have slipped many times under our current administration, ours is still a nation built upon and functioning under the rule of law. When a law is broken, the act is considered illegal. So, anyone who stealthily enters the United States by slipping across a border, jumping off a ship, or parachuting into a field is in this country illegally. Period.

Whether there are currently eleven million or twelve million illegal immigrates living and/or working here is not the point. Whether the bulk of them are of one nationality over another is not the point. The point is that they chose to come here illegally…and if any person is here illegally, regardless of nationally, they should be hounded, caught, and shipped back home in the cheapest manner possible. Fill a convoy of school busses and dump them out at the Mexican or Canadian border. Sign them onto merchant vessels as the lowest of laborers, and let them work off the cost to put them off at their home port in the Middle East or Asia or wherever.

If former illegals enter illegally a second time, they should be hounded, caught, and immediately incarcerated for a minimum of ten years where they can work on road gangs or make license plates, or grow prison food for two or three cents a day. Under no circumstances should amnesty or ‘guest’ privileges be offered anyone who immediately sets out to break our laws. We may behave like fools when under the thrall of our politicians or celebrities, but under no circumstances should we allow a non-citizen who snuck in ‘under the fence’ to feed off our national teat make bigger fools of us.

We have always been a nation of immigrants and most of us have taken great pride in that fact. We like to think of this as being a melting pot, of containing representation of almost every nation on earth, all living under the same promises from a constitution enacted more than 250 years ago that promises opportunity to seek happiness. Formally ask to come here, learn new skills or develop new talents to do so, wait patiently for the proper paperwork to create a new and different life, selflessly merge your talents with ours and we are happy to welcome you and make you one of us so that you will always enjoy the same freedom of choice as we do. But don’t sneak in and expect to be handed everything we have free of cost, because your first choice – sneaking in – was the wrong one and has defined you.

Don’t attempt to convince me that you’re here because you deserve a better life. And definitely don’t tell me that you want it now. Everyone deserves something better, even those of us who were born here, spilled our blood here, and continuously pay our dues for citizenship. Simply thinking you deserve something you don’t have doesn’t cut it with me. What did you do to deserve more in your own home land? What did you do to change conditions if necessary to be able to achieve what you wanted there?

Don’t tell me you came here because you wanted to be an American. If that were so, you would have come here legally. You would already have knowledge of our laws and be willing to abide by them – the first being that you would not come clandestinely, knowing you were breaking those laws. And – if you want to be an American so badly why are you waving your own country’s flag in my face?

Don’t ell me you came here because our medical profession is more advanced and you need that help. People here need that help as well, yet they aren’t given assistance without charge. Why should you be? Why should you be allowed something that our children or our elderly are denied?

Don’t tell me you’ll be loyal and upright now that you’re here. You’ve already shown that your loyalty is questionable by sneaking out of your country and into this one. You expect us to be like the third wife of a twice before philandering husband thinking he’ll be true to her when she knows he’s cheated before? Think again.

Don’t tell me you’ll work hard at the jobs Americans don’t want. What makes you think Americans don’t want those jobs because that is a blatant lie perpetrated by unscrupulous business owners who want to pay you nothing because you’re here illegally and they can legitimately deny employment to Americans who would cost them more in legal safeguards, benefits, and taxes. Using that as a reason tells me you either know nothing of this country, are gullible, or are simply a liar.

And don’t attempt to rally your religious leaders to speak up on your behalf. There is a definite difference between offering a little charity when people are in trouble and simply adopting 850,000 people a year…each told by some religious order that it’s their duty to constantly procreate. Any attempt by an organized faith-based group to lay a guilt trip on me for wanting to think of the needy in this country first is in for a very rude awakening. It will not work. It might be nice to think we are all a ‘brotherhood of mankind,’ but the legitimate citizens of this country are my family, and family comes first.

And don’t, if you’re of Mexican descent, tell me you have a right to be here because so much of this country belonged to Mexico first anyway. That was hundreds of years ago, and Mexico lost that land in battle. If they weren’t strong enough to hold it then, don’t think you can simply reclaim it with squatter’s rights or because your political leaders back home suggested you try such a thing. You’d be better served to clean up your own economic and political mess back there than attempt to worsen ours here. That tactic does not sit well with us.

As for those companies and business that break the law of their own country to help you get here illegally, or keep you here, or press relentlessly for you to be granted amnesty so they can continue to seek other illegals and continue their shifty ways of doing business – they need to be heavily penalized for every single illegal or undocumented worker they employ. It must be made more costly to them to hire such workers than it is to hire citizens or even to mechanize where they can.

Now, about that fence around our country's borders, whether made of stones, or electronics or barbed wire or a huge trench filled with alligators….that is totally absurd. There is no need for a fence. There is, however, a very strong need for upgrading and properly funding our Immigration and Naturalization Service and for enforcing those laws – immediately and strongly.

Oh, yes….and there is the question of dual citizenship. No. You’re either an American, or you aren’t. There is no halfway point unless you are a legal guest or visitor, and if you are that, we’ll expect you to leave - on time.

So – if you’re here illegally, go home and try again the correct and lawful way to enter here, because if you don’t, and I catch you, I’ll ship you out any way I can.