Opposing Illegal Immigration does not make one a racist.

The term racist has become today what the term communist was during the time of Joseph McCarthy.  If one side wants to belittle the other side's argument, the quickest way to do so in today’s times is to call them a racist.

Illegal immigration has become an example of a policy issue and how some on one side of this issue label the opposing argument as racist.  There are certainly those opposed to illegal immigration simply because of the skin color of the majority of illegal aliens, but all those opposed to illegal immigration shouldn’t be painted with one brush, just as all individual’s belonging to a certain race or culture shouldn’t.

Any valid argument against illegal immigration has nothing to do with skin color.  Illegal aliens come to the United States from countries throughout the world and they have many different skin colors.  The key here is illegal immigration. This country was founded on immigration, but it was not founded by law breakers, which by definition is what illegal immigrants are. They aren’t simply breaking our immigration laws, but many other laws to avoid detection.   This is covered in my article; They are Called ILLEGAL Aliens for a Reason. 

I’m not saying that racists shouldn’t be called out for what they are, but simply labeling someone a racist because they have a view that is opposed by someone of a different race or culture is wrong.  Labeling all those against illegal immigration as bigots or racists is no less ignorant than the racists themselves labeling people simply based on skin color.

Why do cities offer "Sanctuary" to Illegal aliens?

It seems today that many large U.S. cities have become what are being labeled as sanctuary cities.  For those of you not familiar with the term; a sanctuary city is a city that goes out of its way not to report individuals who are illegally in this country.  This includes not only the victims of crime, but the suspected criminals, as well.

Those in support of this policy argue that individuals need to feel free to report a crime without fear of being deported for doing so.  The argument goes that if these individuals won’t report crime then criminals will intentionally target them.  I honestly don’t have a problem with victims of crime not being turned over to immigration officials, but why not the criminals themselves?   I don’t want a rapist on the loose simply because his victims are illegal aliens, but at the same time I don’t want a rapist to be allowed to remain in this country because the city government won’t turn him over to federal agents.

One of the problems with a sanctuary city is by not removing illegal aliens the crime in the city is increased.  Illegal aliens by definition are not legally allowed to be here and many commit multiple crimes to gain employment or benefits.  My blog article "They are called ILLEGAL aliens for a reason" explains this in more detail.   This doesn’t even address the fact that an illegal alien who commits a crime in these cities would be simply released after serving time and released back into the city to commit further criminal acts.

Houston police officer Rodney Johnson was murdered by an illegal alien who had been in the Houston Police Department’s custody on multiple occasions prior to his murder.  The wife of Officer Johnson is suing the city of Houston because of the sanctuary city policy.   The employer of the alien, Robert Camp, plead guilty to Harboring an Illegal Alien (8 United States Code 1324) and the alien himself was convicted of Capital Murder and sentenced to life in prison.  This case underscores the dangers of Sanctuary City policies and the role the employer plays in illegal immigration.   My blog "Illegal Immigration and the Employer" explores that issue further.

Summary:

There are reasons victims of crime should not be afraid to come to the police because of their immigration status.  Many illegal aliens are hard working people looking to better their lives and shouldn’t be preyed upon because of their fear of reporting crime to the police.  Criminals themselves should be not allowed this protection and by doing so cities increase their own rate of crime and allow more of their citizens to become victims themselves.

Five ways to avoid a traffic ticket.

Most everyone has been pulled over at one time or another for a traffic violation and occasionally some of us are let go with nothing more than a warning.  There is no guaranteed way ever to get the officer to cut you a break, but there are definite ways to improve your odds.  I’ve acquired a list through my job and my personal experiences that I’m going to share.

1.  Don’t break the law.  

It’s like saying abstinence is the best way to prevent pregnancy; it’s true, but sometimes things just happen.

2. Don’t make it worse than it is. 

 

Many of us have seen this video of the man going a little crazy after receiving his traffic citation and it’s definitely the extreme, but you’re pretty much guaranteed a ticket, if not more, for behaving like that.    Telling an officer you pay his salary or arguing with him is not going to help your situation and it will help him remember you if you go to court over the violation.

3.  Be polite. 

This may seem like common sense, but it’s sometimes difficult especially in the stress of the situation. No one wants to pay a ticket and deal with the embarrassment of sitting in a defensive driving class or traffic court, but if you’re courteous to the officer he may return the favor by giving you a warning or maybe cutting a few miles off your speed.

4.  Recognize that the officer doesn’t know if you’re dangerous or not.

I recall seeing a statistic that next to domestic violence situations more officers are killed during traffic stops than in any other situation.  An officer pulling you over doesn’t know who you are or if you are a potential danger.  This is especially true during a stop at night.  Recognizing this is a good way to get that ticket turned into a warning.  Here are a few things you can do to assist the officer.

A.  Pull over as far as possible or into a parking lot if possible, so the officer isn’t at risk from passing traffic.

B.  Turn off your vehicle.  Motorists have been known to speed off once the officer has left his vehicle. 

C.  Don’t get out of your vehicle unless the officer asks.  This can be seen as an aggressive gesture and it can definitely increase the stress of the situation for the officer.

D.  If you are pulled over at night turn on the overhead light.  This lets the officer know you aren’t trying to hide anything or anyone in the vehicle.

E.  Hands, Hands, Hands.  The biggest threat to an officer is your hands and if the officer cannot see them then they are a potential threat.  Keep your hands visible.  The best way to do this is to roll down your window then place your hands on the steering wheel.  Don’t go reaching for your insurance or license until he asks and when he does make nice slow movements.  The officer doesn’t know if you have a weapon in the vehicle and quick or jerky movements might make them nervous of your intent.

5.  Don’t flirt.   

We have all heard stories of attractive women in particular getting out of tickets and I’d be lying if I said it didn’t happen, but you take the risk of offending or annoying the officer by doing so.  If you think you can get away with a little harmless flirting feel free to try, but you have been warned.

Summary:

Most of this is really common sense.  If you treat an officer with respect and acknowledge what he does is inherently dangerous you have a much better chance of obtaining a warning as opposed to a ticket.   There are times when there is nothing you can do that is going to get you out of traffic court, but by offering the officer a little courtesy you can make sure the situation isn’t made worse than it needs to be.

History tells us Amnesty for illegal aliens is destined to fail.

Politicians in the United States seem incapable of learning from past mistakes.  This is particularly sad considering there are many members of congress who were present for the Reagan Amnesty in the 1986 Immigration Reform and Control Act.   This law gave permanent resident status to 2.7 million illegal aliens.  

There is a plethora of evidence that the Immigration Reform and Control act was a complete failure.  Amnesty did not reduce the number of illegal crossings; rather the number of illegal aliens entering the country immediately increased and that number remains high.   A report released in October 2000 by Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) concluded amnesties do not solve the illegal alien problem.  *

This report showed that by the beginning of 1997 all those that had been given amnesty had been replaced by new undocumented workers.  It also showed the number of illegal border crossings surging in the years shortly after the 1986 law, as many people came to join their newly legalized family members.

Amnesty means larger government and higher costs:

Politicians of both parties like Amnesty for different reasons, but it comes down to power.   Republicans enjoy the increased campaign contributions that come from providing their corporate donors a large, lower paid workforce.  Democrats benefit from the same donors and the anticipated increase in potential Democratic voters.    

Amnesty would mean increasing the size of government due to the large number of government employees needed to process background and other types of checks on millions of applicants.  The larger the government, the more power the politicians have to control that government.

There has been talk of a fee for those applying for Amnesty, but how high would  it have to be to pay for the increased size of government, the number of new people eligible for government benefits,  the increased initial number of deportations due to individuals not passing background tests and increased illegal immigration by individuals seeking amnesty?

The argument would be that these individual’s would now be paying taxes, but many of them already are, just under a fictitious or stolen identity or using a Individual Tax Identification Number (ITIT).  This number is actually issued by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) for individuals who do not have a social security number, but wish to pay taxes.    The IRS issued 1.5 million ITIT numbers for individuals in 2006, and in 2004 the IRS  received 7.9 million W-2’s with names that didn’t match the Social Security number.  Most of the names and Social of those that that didn’t match were from California, Texas, and Illinois, states with large illegal immigrant populations. **

Amnesty Rewards law breakers:

The biggest reason against Amnesty is that it simply encourages illegal behavior.  While crossing the border without inspection is only a misdemeanor, it’s not the only law these individuals typically violate.  I go into depth about this on my blog article “They are Called ILLEGAL aliens for a Reason”.  

Why would someone spend the time and money sitting on a waiting list in their own country trying to enter the United States legally when they could just hop across our border and obtain the same benefits?

Solutions:

Solutions are out there to solve the illegal alien problems, but the biggest obstacle is politics, with both parties having reasons to want illegal aliens in the country.  Those offering employment to the illegal aliens are a large part of the problem.  I go into this in detail in my blog article “The Illegal Alien and the Employer” If this country truly needs workers, which is hard to believe when we have close to 10% unemployment, then we should make it easier for individuals to enter the country legally to work.   Amnesty programs just reward illegal behavior and encourage more of it as was shown with President Ronald Reagan’s amnesty program.

*  http://www.cis.org/articles/2000/ins1986amnesty.html

**  http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/18077009/

They are called ILLEGAL aliens for a reason.

It is easy to see why there are those that support illegal immigration.  Many of the people that enter the United States illegally are hard working individuals merely seeking a better life.  Many of us would probably do the same to provide for our families.  Those defending them will say that crossing the border without inspection is only a misdemeanor and is no more severe than a traffic violation.

This argument might have more weight if it were true.  Crossing the border illegally is in fact a misdemeanor (8 United States Code 1325), but many if not most of these individuals use an alien smuggling organization to aid them across the border.    Typically a smuggler will help them across the U.S. border, another smuggler (a guide) will help them around U.S. Border Patrol checkpoints; an additional smuggler will pick them up on the other side of these checkpoints and transport them to a stash location where they will sit until they are ready to be transported by additional smugglers to their final destination.  This is rarely if ever charged, but by definition the alien has committed a crime by aiding this organization (Conspiracy to 8 United States Code 1324).  This isn’t where the law violations end either.  If the individual has been deported previously it is a felony punishable by 2 to 20 years in prison for returning (8 USC 1326).

Most employers, even the ones that knowingly are hiring illegal aliens, require the aliens have some form of identification to work.  Shortly after entering this country a typical illegal alien will acquire fraudulent documentation to obtain employment and or some type of government service.  Illegal document vendors can usually be found at flea markets and other locations and the will provide documents for typically between $50 - $150.  Obtaining these documents is also a crime as is using the documents to obtain a government benefit or employment. (8 USC 1324, 18 USC 1028 and 18 USC 1546)

There are some that will still say these are victimless crimes, but alien smuggling is anything but a victimless crime.  The life of an alien smuggler is just as violent if not more so than a drug dealers.  Most smugglers are armed to protect themselves from “bajaderos” (smugglers that literally steal aliens from other smugglers).   Violent street gangs such as MS13 and the Zetas are heavily involved in alien smuggling.  Many times those being smuggled are beaten, left for dead because they cannot keep up in the desert, raped, or killed by their smugglers.   Every alien that pays to be smuggled supports these individuals.

I understand the arguments in support of illegal immigrants, but I just don’t believe they are valid.  The very first action these individual’s make when entering the country is an illegal act and more crimes are committed shortly thereafter.

Instead of giving amnesty and rewarding those that have broken these laws, why not reward those on waiting lists within their own countries trying to enter our country legally?

Note:

This opinion merely covers illegal immigration across the Mexican border and does not include those that cross illegally from the Canadian border or through visa fraud.  Many of the same crimes are committed by these individuals, though.

Illegal immigration and employers.

Many people think of illegal aliens as individuals just trying to find a better life for themselves and are just doing jobs United States citizens just won’t do, and in many cases this is somewhat true.   By offering these people employment and services illegal immigration, though, is only made worse and at the same time benefits numerous criminal organizations to include alien smugglers and illegal document vendors.  It also supports less than ethical immigration attorneys, requires more tax payer money for border control, medical and educational costs.

Employers who hire illegal aliens are to blame for much of these problems.   If there are no jobs to come to there is no reason to come.  I believe in securing our border, but no amount of security will stop people from entering as long as there is money to be made or benefits to be had on the other side of the fence.  Much like drugs, as long as there is a demand it will find its way here.

The solution is as simple as not hiring these individuals, but that’s not quite as simple as it sounds.  For instance, if I’m a construction contractor and the going wage for legal workers is $10.00 an hour for labor, but illegal aliens will do it for $8.00 an hour it is very tempting to hire the illegal worker.  This is especially true when the contractor’s competition is already using illegal workers and would be able to undercut any bids from those using a legal workforce.

Fixing this problem could be as easy as the establishment and enforcement of strict employment law and sanctions for hiring illegal workers.  If it is more expensive for that contractor to hire illegal labor due to fines and possible jail time, not to mention losing his workforce through deportations, he or she will be forced to hire those legally allowed to be here.

I’m not advocating charging every employer that hires an illegal alien.  There are very good fraudulent documents out there and cases of identity theft that an employer cannot be expected to detect.  There are procedures out there to limit this though and these include filling out the I-9 Form correctly at the time of employment and systems such as E-Verify that search both Social Security and Immigration databases to detect fraudulent documents.  E-Verify is a free system and it is mandatory for certain government contracts and is also required by law for employers in certain states.

Solutions are out there to solve the illegal alien problems, but the biggest obstacle is politics, with both parties having reasons to want illegal aliens in the country.  If this country truly needs workers, which is hard to believe when we have close to 10% unemployment, then we should make it easier for individuals to enter the country legally to work.  Amnesty programs just reward illegal behavior and encourage more of it as was shown with President Ronald Reagan’s amnesty program.