Illegal Immigrants: Part 2

This is the second article of three on the topic. The first one is below. In it, I identified some facts and observations as I perceive them. This time, I will expand on some of the ideas. I will probably irritate all readers but you will have a chance to rebut my wisdom a bit later if you choose.

I am a big fan of Ronald Reagan. I have read his philosophy about the illegal immigration issue and I think he sent a wonderful message of compassion and decency. However, he made one major mistake. He did not follow through and see to it that the real problem was fixed.

If somebody keeps cutting you with a razor-blade and all you do is tend the wounds you will never solve the real problem until you take the razor-blade away. President Reagan took care of the wounds but he failed to confiscate the razor-blade. There were plans to beef up the border, but it never got funded and the problem continues through 4 more presidents and 24 years.

I for one, have compassion for the immigrants. They remind me of other important movements in our history. Our own founding fathers began this country by defying their government, but a battle was necessary to pull it off.

The civil war shaped us further as two distinct factions fought it out. Some wanted to preserve the status quo of an agricultural society, built in part, on the backs of slaves; and, another group wanted to move into a more prosperous and futuristic concept of industrialization. A half-million people lost their lives in the process.

In a non-military example, many blacks really never did get a fair shake until the civil rights movement of the sixties. All of that was set up by Eisenhower putting the Arkansas National Guard under Federal control and escorting black students into an all white high school. That too was met with violence. Later Rosa Parks demanded an equal seat on the bus. Then there were plenty of riots in the streets. It took a lot of effort to get the attention of the masses and turn the tide.

After that, there was the hippie days, where free love and new drug awareness was part of an evolving society. From that we had a great movement of women’s rights. Once again the downtrodden had to fight for what should have been theirs all along.

Meanwhile, otherwise good citizens were hauled off to jail for partaking in a recreational drug that is not much different from that of the drinking crowd who enforce the laws. Over time both of those movements had made contributions to the positive evolution of a complicated society.

As I see it the immigration issue is similar because people who are otherwise good citizens are victims of an inept system and essentially encouraged to defy a legal system in order to fulfill their greater destiny. They did not set up the circumstances, they merely deal with them. They would gladly come here legally, if we would devise a reasonable process for that. But since it is nearly impossible to get in here legally (one in 200 applicants is awarded a green card via a lottery process) and we only enforce our laws on an arbitrarily basis, we are the ones who have created a subculture of “illegals”.

Meanwhile, our citizens want the borders controlled and out leaders ignore the sentiment (sound familiar?) Both political parties exploit the “illegals”. The Democratic leaders ignore the problem because the more people who employ the social programs, the more power the leaders can wield as they promote and implement the Government’s aid. The Republican leaders are no better because they see these people as cheap labor that fuels the profits of a capitalistic system. Leaders in both parties are really more interested in getting reelected than solving the problem in a sensible way. All of that creative avoidance unnecessarily pits neighbors against each other when they are not the ones to blame.

In the meantime, the Mexican Government does nothing to promote a middle class although they have incredible opportunity to do so. They obviously have an enthusiastic work force. They also enjoy hundreds of miles of pacific coast land that could be developed similarly and better than what we have done all the way from San Francisco to San Diego. In addition they are blessed with natural resources (we get 25% of our imported oil from Mexico) and awesome agricultural opportunities due to their climate and weather.

However, their leaders are more corrupt than ours. They do not want a middle class because that strips them of their power. You may have heard of Lord Acton’s famous quote, “Power corrupts; absolute power corrupts absolutely.” The Mexican government is a quintessential example of that.

They are also devoid of a worthwhile banking system. Therefore their citizens have no jobs and no way to get their hands on money. Even if they do get money, they may have to buy off the Federales, who are their police.

It is a tragic misfortune that the Mexican economy is so dependent on the money they receive from “illegals” in our country. However, that source of revenue pales compared to what they could generate if they would just seize the opportunities all around them. But instead, their most industrious people take wild risks to share in the crumbs of American success.

So, the failures of two governments pit one group of industrious citizens against the other. Mexicans use our institutions and avoid learning our language. They take up entry level jobs that our own high-school kids could do. They send billions of dollars out of the US as they support their families, back home. They take up one-third of our prisons in Los Angeles and other places. Since they hide in undesirable jobs, they do not make enough money to buy health insurance and therefore they run-up our health costs. They do not pay income taxes or Social Security taxes while the remainder of us get tax-raped by our government year after year.

All along, many of our citizens want to blame a hard working people who would gladly do the honorable thing if given that opportunity. But there is no other realistic way for them to improve their circumstances. We ignore the fact that our founding fathers would also be considered invaders. I suppose we could ask the Mexican citizens to overthrow their government, but how is an unarmed citizenry of so many women and children suppose to do that? Our own government has enough trouble just controlling a border and we have all sorts of tools and weapons.

Furthermore, if we chase the “illegals” home we will end up with millions of vacant homes and that will just devastate an already weak housing market. Such a drastic action could actually force us into a depression that would take a generation to overcome.

All of that could have been avoided if Reagan would have insisted on taking the razor-blade away. He should have set up a realistic way for good people to get in legally. He also could have helped Mexico to set up programs that enable their citizens to succeed in their own country.

My next post will include my “fairly realistic” solution to the problem. Be sure to drop in again and let me know why you think I am full of bologna. For that matter, you can begin right now. Just click on “comment” below and let ‘er rip!

Also check out my Family Finances Blog where I am currently discussing how to buy a car and save thousands.