It is a problem that has plagued America for decades. People from all over the world seek to come to the United States, but some are entering through the unlocked back door instead of knocking politely on the front door.
On this issue, both political parties and their mainstream media minions are guilty of spewing misinformation.
According to the Republican talking points, Democrats are the ones who opened the spigot of illegal border crossings to gain more Democrat voters. Those talking points ignore the fact that it was President Ronald Reagan who signed the 1986 Immigration Reform and Control Act that granted amnesty (Reagan’s word) to 1.7 million illegal aliens.
The right’s talking points also claim that illegal aliens receive government benefits such as food stamps, when the reality is, according to the National Council On Aging, that “undocumented immigrants” do not qualify for those benefits, nor can they vote in national elections due to the 1996 bill passed by Congress and signed by President Bill Clinton.
Undocumented immigrants can vote in state and local elections in seven states; Georgia is not one of those states, according to Ballotpedia.
Meanwhile, the left’s talking points insist that it is all about compassion and helping people get out of extreme poverty or escape their war-torn homelands, but they deny that children are being segregated from parents and held in chain-link fence lined “cages,” a fact that has been documented over and over.
Democrats also do not want to admit that it was their “compassionate” leadership that turned away scores of refugee ships from NAZI dominated Europe and sent the Jewish people back to a regime that murdered them.
America is truly a melting pot. We are a country that has historically welcomed people from all countries and cultures and invited them to become citizens.
The land of the free and home of the brave is one of the few countries in the world where a person can enjoy Chinese chop suey, Asian pad thai, German pretzels, Italian pasta, Japanese sushi, Greek gyros, Indian curry and Mexican burritos all in one mall food court.
At the turn of the 20th century, the United States had some of the most liberal immigration policies in the world. Shipping companies such as the Cunard and White Star lines made millions of dollars bringing immigrants to the New World.
During that period, millions and millions of people migrated to the U.S. until Congress passed the immigration reform bill of 1924 that slowed immigration to a trickle, and the 1965 law that set quotas for how many people can immigrate from particular countries each year.
Immigration policy and the immigrants themselves differed totally from what is occurring today.
Immigrants of that period came to America to work, and most worked hard to experience the American dream.
“Assimilation” was not a dirty word back then as people brought the good things about their homelands with them, but mostly left the bad behind overseas.
Before boarding a ship, such as the RMS Mauretania, so-called “steerage” passengers were checked for disease and received another health check upon arrival at Ellis Island.
None of this is the case today. Many immigrants entering the country today have no intention of assimilating. They tax the school systems by sending kids who can’t communicate in English to schools.
Some illegal immigrants cooperate with cartels and act as “mules” bringing deadly fentanyl into the country fanning the flames of the current overdose crisis.
According to the Texas Governor’s Office, “Since the launch of Operation Lone Star, the multi-agency effort has led to over 328,000 migrant apprehensions and more than 22,100 criminal arrests, with more than 19,600 felony charges reported. In the fight against fentanyl, DPS has seized over 353 million lethal doses of fentanyl during this border mission.”
Unfortunately, most of those apprehended are released back on the streets with a court date that they have no intention of meeting.
While undocumented immigrants can’t apply for SNAP benefits, according to the Center for Immigration Studies, those living here illegally can easily use identity theft to gain access to public assistance, drivers licenses and voter registration cards.
No matter a person’s legal status, hospitals must treat everyone whether they can pay or not, non-profit agencies also do not take into account a person’s legal status to offer aid and, in an effort to keep undocumented migrants off the streets, taxpayers in some cities are having to foot the bill for hotel rooms.
The problem is even larger in scope when taken into consideration that most illegals, unless they engage in identity theft, cannot get reliable automobile insurance.
Many years ago, I helped a family member grow his law firm and saw first hand how illegal immigration can plow a path of destruction.
A mother of three contacted the law firm after she was in an accident that was not her fault. She and one of her kids suffered minor injuries.
The person responsible for the crash was speeding and driving under the influence, and police reports showed this was not the man’s first DUI. In fact, he was due in court the next week on a prior charge.
The at-fault driver was an undocumented immigrant.
The man had car insurance through a fly-by-night company out of Texas known for giving policies to illegals. However, the company was in receivership by the state, and the policy was not honored.
As a result, the woman had to resort to taking public transportation since she did not have the funds to replace her aging minivan. She was also on the hook for her and her child’s medical bills.
Ultimately, the man was put back out on the streets, and he promptly disappeared.
Coming to America and attaining citizenship is not that difficult. I have two friends from Egypt who fled the Arab Spring, and it took less than a year and hardly any money out-of-pocket to become naturalized.
While I am not in favor of slamming the door on immigration, our nation’s leaders need to enforce the laws that are already on the books, or the situation will only get worse.
Scott Hudson is the Senior Investigative Reporter and Editorial Page Editor for The Augusta Press. Reach him at scott@theaugustapress.com
