We either have a border or we do not.
Do you have locks on your home? Do you have a fence around your yard? If not, do you welcome strangers coming and going at anytime that they want?
Great fences make great neighbors.
There are many reasons to have a secure border that have absolutely nothing to do with racism or xenophobia. ("Fear of people from other countries") Far too many people reach for the word RACIST to support their arguement when it absolutely does not apply. This destroys the importance of the word and makes their complaint LESS valid.
Security from terrorism is one aspect of closing a Swiss Cheese border. My opinion is that this is not the most important or dangerous part of illegal immigration.
To me, the list of negatives from illegal immigration isn't a long one.
* Illegal immigrants cause crime. Not all do, I would dare to say that not many do. Trouble is, even ONE that commits a crime is a criminal that does not belong here due to their unlawful entry in the first place. Stop the person from entering, there is ONE less criminal to deal with.
* Illegal Immigrants are a drain on the system. Again, some are hiding in the shadows and living productive lives. SOME are. Others are living 5 deep in a 2 bedroom, government funded apartment. No medical insurance means any trips to the Hospital are at the nearby E/R and the taxpayers are stuck paying the bill. If these persons were not here, there would be less money needed from OUR paychecks to fund programs that most of us do NOT use. There would be less traffic on the roads. We would need fewer Police and Firefighters, EMTs, we'd have MORE money to rebuild our roads, bridges, electrical infrastructure, etc. Fewer illegals would mean less need for MULTI language instruction in schools, simplifying the learning process.
* Illegal immigrants are instant Democrats. Okay, this isn't always true but if you went to another country to improve your life, then they showed you where to get free housing, free food, a check in the mail each month and a reminder of WHO to vote for, (Even though they are supposed to be ineligible) what are the chances that you'd support the opposition?
I used to think that the Democrats wanted the immigrants because they want the new voters while Republicans wanted them for cheap labor. While this may be true, I think this only applies to what the DEM/REP politicians want. Regular Republicans like me see a flood of unskilled immigrants as a real problem that the elite class never has to see. Politicians or big business people are not fighting every day to make a living, they are not living next to the immigrants. To them the immigrant is a "great success story" but sadly, these politicians live lives that are far detached from every day reality.
* Illegal Immigrants do the dirty jobs. Who will mow the lawns or pick the produce??? Who the hell did it before the illegals took over? Yes...the unskilled Americans already here....The Whites, Blacks, Asians and Hispanics.
* They contribute to our society. How? With culture? You mean they can't if they crossed the border through legal channels? How? Through taxes they never collect on? How about THIS. Many of them are smart enough to learn from others already here. They will file a W-2 for the highest amount of exemptions allowable so they pay very little in State or Federal taxes. They sometimes use an existing Social Security number to appease the lax Govt' requirement for employment. What happens if the SSN belongs to a US citizen? They are burdened with IRS problems to prove that they never worked on a construction site 19 states away.
I say, increase the penalties on business owners that knowingly hire illegal immigrants.
I say, eliminate the Government handouts to those that are NOT legal citizens.
Eliminate the easy access to FREE everything and the incentive to come here should drop off.
