While there are those who are quick to portray illegal aliens as being victims, few journalists and politicians are willing to discuss how the violations of our nation’s borders and immigration laws victimize our nation and our citizens.
Make no mistake about it, the reason that the vast majority of employers who intentionally hire illegal aliens do so in order to exploit them and reduce labor and other costs so that they can maximize their profits. I understand the desire to maximize profits but not when it involves exploitation of vulnerable people and not when it costs Americans their jobs!
The news report upon which I focused for my commentary for CAPS illustrates the flip side of illegal immigration, how aliens are able to easily commit fraud and game the system. This ability to game the system costs money and lives. The terrorists who attacked our nation on September 11, 2001 all gamed the immigration and/or visa processes in order to enter our country and embed themselves in communities around our country. Other terror suspects have similarly taken advantage of gaping holes in the system.
Not all aliens who make a mockery of our laws are terrorists however. Criminals of all sorts also avail themselves of opportunities that our nation’s incompetence, ineptitude and lack of integrity provide them with.
The news report to which I refer focused on a woman who gamed the system for nearly a decade by (obviously) fraudulently claiming to have at least 20 children- all of whom having purportedly born on the same date! If her claim was to be believed, could you imagine what the delivery room would have looked like when she gave birth?!
I have this image, in my mind’s eye, of the Volkswagen at the circus. As calliope music plays in the background, a long parade of clowns emerges from that tiny car, to the gales of laughter of the audience!
There is, however, no humor to be found when the sort of incompetence we are considering enabled an illegal alien to game the system for nearly a decade! It is additionally disturbing that this deceit went undiscovered after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 which should have hammered home the importance of identifying and combating fraud in all governmental systems in all agencies.
Perception becomes reality. Today there is a perception that our government is stupendously inept. That perception is, unfortunately largely justified. This encourages and emboldens individuals to game the system. The consequence of this reverberates throughout our nation and, indeed, around the world. We are as good as our reputation! When that reputation convinces the world that the United States is conducting itself like the “Not Ready For Prime-Time Players” we truly have a crisis on our hands! At a time when the threats posed by transnational gangs and international terrorists continue to increase across our nation, the effective enforcement of our nation’s immigration laws and the development of strategies to really secure our nation’s borders could not be more essential for the security of our nation and the wellbeing of our citizens!
Just as only a minuscule percentage of the number of law violators get caught (think of how rarely speeders get pulled over by police officers) it must be presumed that similar scams are being perpetrated by many other illegal aliens each day across this vast nation. There is a listen being taught as a result of this- America is still the “Land of Opportunity!” The opportunity to violate our borders, the opportunity to violate our immigration laws, and apparently the opportunity to violate other laws- all without fear of being discovered, arrested or punished!
If you doubt this- think about the case we are discussing- an illegal alien became confident that she could send false tax returns to the IRS! Clearly she became convinced that being an illegal alien in the United States is not a big deal! Who could blame her? Haven’t our political leaders including the President of the United States and members of his administration as well as members of Congress in both houses and from both political parties openly advocated placing unknown millions of illegal aliens on a pathway to United States citizenship?
Haven’t mayors and governors declared their cities and states to be “Sanctuaries” for illegal aliens? Haven’t colleges provided illegal aliens with instate tuition?
If anything, being an illegal alien in the United States has, in many communities and especially in our nation’s Capitol something that provides a certain sense of entitlement! I am surprised that the Norma Coronel, the woman who was ultimately arrested for her unbelievable crimes, did not scream about her right to “The American Dream!”
It is time for our nation’s leaders, on all levels, to come to terms with the fundamental fact that the purpose of our immigration laws is to protect our nation and our citizens from aliens whose presence has the potential to have a serious adverse impact. Ignoring those laws exposes our nation and our citizens to a variety of serious threats and challenges ranging from national security and criminal justice and public safety to the economy, the environment, healthcare and education!
A country without secure borders can no more stand than can a house without walls!
If our country is to survive and if our children and their children are to get their share of the “American Dream” the citizens of this nation must take their citizenship seriously!
We the People must be the best citizens we can be, citizens who are worthy of the gallantry demonstrated by our valiant men and women in the military, law enforcement and firefighters, who routinely go in harm’s way in defense of this nation and our citizens.
My goal in writing this and other commentaries is to point out our nations many failings before more victims pay the ultimate price for the incompetence and ineptitude of our government.
The first step in problem-solving is to first identify the problems and vulnerabilities and then devise strategies to overcome them.
If you find yourself to be in agreement with this commentary, I ask that you forward it to as many of your friends and family members as possible and encourage them to do the same. We need to create a “Bucket Brigade of Truth!”
The practice of good citizenship does not end in the voting booth, it only begins there.
For far too long our citizens demonstrated apathy which emboldened elected representatives to all but ignore the needs of the average American citizen in a quest for massive campaign funds and the promises of votes to be ostensibly delivered by special interest groups.
It is therefore understandable that the politicians of both parties are greatly concerned about the demonstrations currently sweeping our nation just as did the creation of the Tea Party. Clearly more and more of our fellow Americans are demonstrating that they are not as dumb as the politicians from both parties had expected us to be!
I am encouraged that more and more of us, We the People, are not willing to simply sit on the sidelines anymore!
I believe our nation’s is greatly benefited by the rich diversity of our people which is why I could never imagine living anywhere except New York City, arguably the most diverse city in our nation if not, in fact, the world. However, my idea of diversity most certainly does not include members of MS-13, the Mexican drug cartels or members of other transnational gangs or members of al-Qaeda!
I also believe that the original purpose of our nation’s immigration laws need to be brought “front and center” to make certain that our nation does not permit the entry of aliens into our country whose presence in our country is problematic for the citizens of our nation and that if such aliens do succeed in entering our country that our nation have the resources, integrity and dedication to do everything possible to make it impossible for such aliens to function within our country so that even if they are not apprehended, they will find it pointless to remain in the United States.
As I have noted on a number of occasions, “No one would break into the amusement park if they could not get to go on the rides and no one remains in the amusement park at the end of the day when they turn shut down the rides and turn off the lights!”
If our government’s failures to secure our nation’s borders and effectively enforce our immigration laws concerns you or especially if it angers you, I ask you to call your Senators and Congressional “Representative. This is not only your right- it is your obligation!
All I ask is that you make it clear to our politicians that we are not as dumb as they hope we are!
We live in a perilous world and in a perilous era. The survival of our nation and the lives of our citizens hang in the balance.
This is neither a Conservative issue, nor is it a Liberal issue- simply stated; this is most certainly an AMERICAN issue!
You are either part of the solution or you are a part of the problem!
Democracy is not a spectator sport!
Lead, follow or get out of the way!
Gaming the Immigration System
