As a nation we currently host 12 million residents whose very presence here is illegal, but whose departure would result in hardship and instability. While the remedy will be as complex as the problem, the solution is found at the source of the predicament.
Most immigrants come to America seeking the “unalienable rights” secured by our Republic. But the very principle that draws illegal immigrants across our borders becomes the basis for holding them accountable and the justification for keeping them out.
America is founded upon the rule of law — a tradition of holding the actions of our government to the objective standard of fundamental moral law. This legal ordering not only preexists, but transcends government. Because it is not bestowed by the state, it cannot be applied or complied with selectively. And just as the law is not subject to the will of the majority, it cannot be suspended in its application to the individual, regardless of the alternative or consequence.
While this irony is troubling, it does not make our course impossible or self-defeating. Like most Americans, I am not an expert on immigration policy. But I am certain that any law Congress passes must be measured against and ultimately sustain America’s greatest virtue — its foundation in the rule of law.
Therefore, it seems obvious that our borders must be immediately sealed and all immigrants required to enter our country legally. We are at war with an enemy that has demonstrated a commitment and ability to breach our borders and kill our citizens. Furthermore, it is naive to view illegal immigration as a victimless crime. Those who impose themselves on an already strained system cause hardship for legal citizens who utilize public resources.
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Article comments
— go to most recent comments1 - Carson
The article sounded okay until it changed gears and started talking about, "immigrants".
Immigrants are a totally separate subject from illegal aliens or illegal invaders.
Immigrants come here legally and as far as I've seen are treated pretty well.
The illegal invaders on the other hand have been treated better than the honest citizen and the immigrants.
The government with its Revolution in governing has been coming up with special gravy and amnesty for these illegal invaders and it needs to stop!
I'm afraid first we will need to restore law and order in our government before we can restore law and order in our streets.
2 - gonzo marx
solid Article, and much of it i have been saying around here for quite some time
a few quibbles though
i do not think it's our Law they come here for, but the money...a better life, plain and simple
so..in accordance with supply and demand...the border must be sealed, yes...but the Rule of Law must be imposed on each and every Employer who knowingly hires illegals
prosecution to the fullest extent
remove the demand, and the supply will dwindle
just a Thought
Excelsior?
3 - Mongo Aurelio
Mr Syrios,
I am an undocumented worker.
As an attorney, you might be able to educate me on the following questions.
-Isn't the American legal system based on social custom, precedent and discretionary enforcement as much as in the letter of the law (a characteristic inherited from Common Law)?
- If so, isn't the null enforcement that immigration law received in the last decades a perfect example of that?
- When offenders are numerous, doesn't amnesty make sense? (think about the post-Civil War situation, for example).
- Wouldn't bringing that many million people back to the social fabric, document them, et cetera, actually strengthen the rule of law?
Thank you for your opinion
Mongo Aurelio
4 - gonzo marx
heh..while waiting for the lawyer
didn't work in '86, we have had 20 years of trying, and it has made the problem worse for everybody
you could say the same thing about the pot smokers, drug users...they've been breaking the law for even longer, but you reasoning missed a point
folks are caught on the border every day, in large numbers...the Law IS being enforced in this instance, problem is..just like contraband, way more folks are breaking it than are getting caught...an Enforcement issue...NOT a cultural one
nuff said...
Excelsior?
5 - Arch Conservative
Pretty decent article.
Mongo...get it straight [Gratuitous vulgarity deleted by Comments Editor]. You're an ILLEGAL ALIEN. You're a criminal.
And no it doesn't make sense to grant amnesty to millions who have no desire to fully become part of the system. There is absolutely no eveidence to suppor the idea that they would begin obeying all US law. Presently they are not paying taxes, recieving free healthcare and government welfare assistance, committing violent criems without fear of being tracked down and punished etc...
Why would they trade that all in for an invitation to actually pay their own way and be accountable?
6 - Dave Nalle
You seem to almost understand the issue, but just miss it when you say:
This legal ordering not only preexists, but transcends government. Because it is not bestowed by the state, it cannot be applied or complied with selectively. And just as the law is not subject to the will of the majority, it cannot be suspended in its application to the individual, regardless of the alternative or consequence.
But then you move on to endorsing the same old draconian security measures which haven't worked will never work and cannot work. But you were so close to seeing the reality, that there are laws which transcend the laws we legislate, and that the rule of law is not the rule of the dictates of congress or the states, but the rule of the natural laws on which they are (often imperfectly) based.
Rigidly enforcing bad laws does no one any good. A bad law cannot be enforced fairly or to produce a good result. When bad law is enforced that way the result is oppression in the name of law.
Dave
7 - gonzo marx
why is it a "bad law" to fucking enforce the borders
no one ever claiming this is some kind of "bad law" has EVER explained that one, or shown facts to back the claim
here, one would think in a time of conflict , where we are concerned with foreign folks coming into the country and bombing shit, that border security should be priority number one
but i guess cheap lawn work and nannys trumps our Rule of Law and national security for the recipients of cheap labor
Excelsior?
8 - moonraven
I bailed out right away because this premise is false:
Most immigrants come to America seeking the "unalienable rights" secured by our Republic.
The largest sector of undocumented worker is from Mexico. They are not risking life and limb for any rights except the right/opportunity to make money to send home to their families.
9 - Dave Nalle
Gonzo, it's bad law to fortify the borders when there is an obvious need in the country to bring in immigrant labor and an obvious need of the population in Mexico to find work. A manmade law which goes against what is effectively a force of nature - at least human nature - is self-defeating and idiotic.
but i guess cheap lawn work and nannys trumps our Rule of Law and national security for the recipients of cheap labor
To be frank, it absolutely does.
Dave
10 - Jerry
At least until the next investigation of a major terrorist attack reveals that their maincured lawns and trees were blown to hell by someone crossing the Mexican border.
11 - Clavos
O frabjous day! Callooh! Callay!
I agree with the large, harsh-voiced black bird!!! (#8)
12 - gonzo marx
@ #9 - well then, we see the priorities
as well as the root of the problem..pure fucking rapacious greed, rather than adherence to the Law, or even the security of the Country
i will just have to disagree, and there has still been NO proof, or even a decent and logical argument to be made as to why sealing the borders against criminals is bad in any way....
Excelsior?
13 - Nancy
Good article, the only fault is, it ignores the biggest offender in violating federal immigration law - the Bush administration, i.e. the government itself. Around the DC area, many localities are trying to crack down on illegals, to the point of investigating & rounding them up. Trouble is, they can't get the damned feds to come get them or deport them, even tho they're doing 90% of their work for them! This, apparently, on the orders of BushCo, probably to supply the cheap labor entitlement BushCo's fellow plutocrats require & demand, as mentioned above.
14 - Baronius
- People come to this country because of its prosperity, not its laws -
We became prosperous because of our laws. They provide a structure and a guarantee that property will be safe. It didn't just happen that the big economic winners were settled by England and the Netherlands. Spain, Portugal, and France had moderate successes. No one else has.
Just as important for immigrants, this country's government is restrained by its laws. Many people who come here are fleeing oppressive regimes. For all the griping that Americans do about the Patriot Act, no one's getting dragged out of his home for his religion or race.
15 - Victor Plenty
Right-wingers say "illegal immigrant." Left-wingers say "undocumented worker."
I say let's call them what they are: international jaywalkers.
Face the truth. Every day in this country we let millions of criminals go unpunished. People who drive faster than the law says they should. People who cross the street when the light says they shouldn't. People who rip the tags off their mattresses. And people who walk across an imaginary line in the desert without first obtaining a permission slip from the government.
The crime of the illegal immigrant is a victimless crime, just like the crime of the jaywalker or the speeder. Claims about unfair advantages illegal immigrants gain over legal immigrants are just a specious excuse for preying on people's irrational fears and hatreds.
Does anyone advocate hunting down all the speeders because they unfairly reached their destinations sooner than those vanishingly rare people who drive within the speed limit? Of course not! That would be stupid. And so is today's anti-immigrant fervor.
Opposing amnesty for such a minor crime is not, never has been, and never will be a matter of noble legal principle. It will ever remain a matter of low irrational fear and hate. History will judge it just as harshly as we now judge the internment camps of World War 2 or the forced relocations of the American Indians.
Even worse, everyone wasting time complaining about "the ILLEGALS!!!1!!" is helping to distract the body politic from the steady erosion of our essential liberties. If we continue failing to stand up against that monumental crime, the punishment for all of us is built right in.
16 - gonzo marx
well Victor, one of those Liberties is the sanctity of the border and our right to say who can immigrate and who can't
we have an entire system set up to legally enter this country
criminals bypass that, some in their desire to become citizens, many to work and send money home...and to go back eventually themselves
they themselves are some of the victims, being taken advantage of like any other example of slave labor
many citizens are also victims, the artificial downward pressure on wages due to the glut of cheap, illegal labor is damaging to the nation in many ways
i'm all for working something out with those already here...seal the border, let those here admit it and GET TO THE END OF THE LINE BEHIND LEGAL APPLICANTS...and i'm fine
but sealing the border must come first, then prosecuting EVERY employer who knowingly hires illegals to cut off the demand, THEN we can document those here, and set them at the end of the line after those who are following the rules
anything else is wrong on every level, and completely unfair to those who have followed the rules and waited, sometimes for years, for their chance to come here the right way
Excelsior?
17 - bliffle
Respect For Law? Can't expect illegals to have any respect when the Scofflaw-In-Chief commutes his crony. Just like Mexico.
18 - Dave Nalle
Bliffle, I'm pretty damned sure that the average illegal has no idea what Bush is doing and doesn't care.
Dave
19 - gonzo marx
objection your Honor...both #17 and #18 are speculation..possibly accurate, but speculation none the less
Excelsior?
20 - Victor Plenty
Convenient to demand "sealing the border must come first," Gonzo. With that as your condition none of the other reforms will ever be put in place, because borders cannot be sealed so totally.
Not without destroying every last remaining vestige of personal liberty.
But please, continue to demand physically impossible and morally contradictory conditions. Eventually perhaps people will realize you are not thinking rationally on this issue.
21 - Dave Nalle
Victor, remember that Gonzo - like most of the border enforcement hardasses - lives as far away from the border as humanly possible, in Maine where people are still outraged that 3 blacks moved there right after the civil war, and where they look on the Portuguese who've been in Portland for 100 years as foreign devils.
Dave
22 - gonzo marx
well Victor...knowing nothing is 100% secure..i'd take 90% as a victory, wouldn't you?
please to point out the "morally contradictory" bit for me..i'll do my best to explain
i'm completely rational here, what is irrational on wanting the Law to be followed, our borders as secured as possible, and for those who entered illegally to go to the end of the line behind those following the rules and the criminal employers who knowingly hire illegals to be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law?
do please clarify what in that you consider "irrational"
and oy yes, thanks so much for the civil discourse on the topic (that was sarcasm)
Excelsior?
23 - gonzo marx
@ #21 - pure bullshit...i may live in Maine now, but i've not always lived here...in fact there was a time in my school days where i was one of three white kids in the entire school
you know shit when it comes to me, but nice try at character assassination, too bad you have NO command of the facts
try dealing with my positions directly, or the arguments i use rather than feeble attempts at smears and distractions
might be too much to ask for some, but i can Dream, can't i?
Excelsior?
24 - Baronius
Dave, all laws oppose some element of human nature. There aren't many laws against singing songs to mailboxes, because it never comes up. Just because people want to come into the country, we should drop our law against it? What about the fact that some people really want to steal? Is that a bad law too?
Also, your comments about Gonzo were cheap. I know that you're not a lib, but you fell back on their two most common defenses: saying that you're more fit to make a decision, and implying that the other guy is racist.
25 - Jerry
It is unfortunate that Dave always reverts to the racist/nativist line. I would expect better from him than the employment of this Europeanesque tactic used by the globalist types.
I would also like empirical evidence that the majority of Americans wanting the border sealed are from the greatest distances away. I live 200 miles from it, and I know a lot of folks like myself that are growing weary of the rapid Mexification of their towns, along with increased crime and all the other stuff that's been mentioned a thousand times.
Dave is out of touch on this issue, and he knows it but won't budge regardless.