There are those who would suggest we compromise on immigration policy and “normalize” the status of illegal aliens in America. The only way to accomplish that legally would be by changing present law on the subject.
If we are to be a nation “based on law and not on men,” we are compelled to follow the law. Title 8 Section 1325 of the U.S. Code reads as follows:
Any alien who (1) enters or attempts to enter the United States at any time or place other than as designated by immigration officers, or (2) eludes examination or inspection by immigration officers, or (3) attempts to enter or obtains entry to the United States by a willfully false or misleading representation or the willful concealment of a material fact, shall for the first commission of any such offense, be fined under Title 18 or imprisoned not more than 6 months, or both, and, for a subsequent commission of any such offense, be fined under title 18, or imprisoned not more than 2 years, or both.
The flagrant disregard for this law by President Barack Obama and his predecessors leads only to the conclusion that he and the other presidents have abdicated their responsibility to carry out immigration law in America to deter the crime of illegal entry into this country. The last President to actually enforce this law was President Eisenhower.
We have accepted at least 12 million illegal aliens into this country without any real effort to stem the tide of that crime. It started with the Cuban refugees after Castro took power, then the Mariel Boatlift from Cuba, leading to the influx of Mexicans into this country.
When I interviewed Senator Sam Brownback of Kansas about this tolerated and even encouraged violation of law, he acknowledged as a candidate for President that Congress had abdicated its responsibility on immigration policy for decades and should have changed the laws so that foreigners could enter legally without resorting to criminal entry.
WE have also seen each successive Mexican President urge a policy of tolerance and acceptance of these Mexicans entering America on humanitarian grounds. Of course, they do not discuss the corrupt and criminal behavior of many in the Mexican military and government who benefit from the cartels and their illicit drug trafficking slave trade of women, and movement of firearms between the United States and Mexico. We are the dumping ground for Mexico and our government does little to take back control of this problem.
The ultimate irony is Mexican law and how it treats illegal aliens from America or any other country. Mexican Population Law Article 67 is literally translated as follows:
Authorities, whether federal, state or municipal…Are required to demand that foreigners prove their legal presence in the country, before attending to any issues.
Mexican law calls for six to twelve years of prison and up to $46000 in fines for anyone who shelters or transports illegal immigrants.
Ironically, this law is similar to our federal law and the Arizona law that Obama is so indignant about. Mexican police are fully empowered and expected to check IDs and they do engage regularly in racial profiling as a matter of routine.
In fact, here is a specific example of how Mexican immigration law functions in the real world.
Jabin Bogan is a Dallas truck driver and was transporting 268000 rounds of ammunition in his truck to a Phoenix gun shop in April. He made an honest mistake when he was lost, asked a police officer how to make a U-turn, and return to the proper route for his delivery to Phoenix. The officer told him to go 3 or 4 miles and then turn around. The problem was that the 3 or 4 miles placed him in Mexico. Mr. Bogan was arrested when he tried to enter the U.S. near El Paso and was jailed. Seven months later, he is finally out of the Mexican prison. Had he been found guilty, he would have served more than 25 years.
Since the Administration of Barack Obama sent 2200 automatic weapons to the Sinaloa and Zeda cartels in Mexico, I imagine they would have considered a Mexican crossing into the United States illegally with a truck load of ammunition a normal event and invited him to stay.
The real point is that Mexico is carrying out a sane immigration policy under its law, so that those helping illegal entrants to Mexico face long prison terms for their unauthorized entry into Mexico. Why then do they expect and we agree to look the other way at illegal immigration into America?
No, we should not compromise on the principal that we are a nation of law and not of men. We should change the law if that is what the will of the American people is. Otherwise, the stability that law allows any society will disintegrate and we will ultimately see people determining what laws they will follow based on their own self-interest. How then, do we keep an orderly society? The answer is tyranny.
