Forget Borders and Laws, by Mychal Massie

America doesn’t need immigration reform.  America needs border enforcement.

No matter how supporters try to spin it, the Senate’s immigration reform legislation is little more than an amnesty bill for those who have blatantly broken the laws of our nation.

America shouldn’t legalize people who broke into our country under the guise of being hard workers willing to do work our people won’t.  Our nation needs its legal citizenry to stop whining, begging, blaming and making excuses for themselves and get to work.

There is no acceptable reason the President and Congress can use to justify rewarding those here illegally with what is essentially the boundless rights of full American citizenship — even if they could be viewed as assets to our collective way of life.

Let’s consider the changes we may experience if blanket amnesty is granted.

From what I already see, it seems only a small number of these illegals are proficient in English.  If they were, Congress probably would not be trying to recognize English as our nation’s common language rather than the official language.  Accordingly, we will be burdened with the expense and hassle of mandated bilingualism from the ballot box to Burger King.  If you want a taste of it, visit Quebec.

Americans also recognize a rich history with the observance of specific days, dates and traditions.  Which of these days will be embraced by these new citizens?  How long before employers are legislated into observing dates without an American history or tradition?  How long before our history is further filtered through the prism of political correctness?

It’s also important to remember that these people are here because they lack a respect for our laws.  Are we to believe amnesty will somehow encourage them to embrace our culture and system of jurisprudence, especially when some are already scoffing at the visa program and fines related to the proposed legislation?

Furthermore, how will this affect our pocketbooks?  It should be noted there appears to be no regard for the influx of tens of millions who could qualify for welfare programs.  To put this in perspective, Robert E. Rector and Christine Kim of The Heritage Foundation point out that American taxpayers already spent $564 billion on welfare programs and $840 billion on direct Medicare benefits in 2004.  Is the American taxpayer prepared to have these numbers explode virtually overnight?

According to Rector and Kim’s research, the government spent $662 billion on population-based services (such as police, fire, parks and related things) in 2004.  Who will pick up the tab for the increased expenditures?  Will Senators John McCain, Ted Kennedy, Trent Lott and each of the congressional supporters and President Bush write personal checks to help defray the cost to taxpayers?  Most likely, they will propose higher taxes with the excuse that there’s no other choice.

We don’t need millions more people with possibly dubious skills and intentions to flood our communities. We need to invigorate and challenge those American citizens who are, at present, the so-called unemployable.  We don’t need people who are more committed to Dia de la Constitucion, Mexican Flag Day and Cinco de Mayo than they are to the Fourth of July.

We certainly do not need an underclass that will take generations to assimilate.  America doesn’t need another excuse for new and continued affirmative action programs and race-preferences.

What we need to do is abide by legislation already enacted last year to build a border fence and increase security and immigration enforcement.

America has borders and laws for a reason.  If both are willfully disregard and illegals are rewarded at taxpayer expense while legal Americans are punished for even the slightest of indiscretions (ask Scooter Libby), then America indeed has gone to hell in a handbasket.

If such is to be the case, I say do away with our borders and laws.  Let every man establish and define both as they apply to his own selfish ends.

#  #  #

Mychal Massie is chairman of the national advisory council of the black leadership network Project 21 and a syndicated columnist for WorldNetDaily.  Comments may be sent to [email protected].

Published by The National Center for Public Policy Research. Reprints permitted provided source is credited. New Visions Commentaries reflect the views of their author, and not necessarily those of Project 21 or the National Center for Public Policy Research.



The National Center for Public Policy Research is a communications and research foundation supportive of a strong national defense and dedicated to providing free market solutions to today’s public policy problems. We believe that the principles of a free market, individual liberty and personal responsibility provide the greatest hope for meeting the challenges facing America in the 21st century.