by Sam Bridges (VociferousSam)
On April 19, Americans remembered the victims of the horrendous attack on the
Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City 10 years ago, an attack that
was the worst act of domestic terrorism in U.S. history. The 168 victims in that
attack were innocents, ranging from small children playing to young people
conducting business to workers simply trying to do their job. We were
excruciatingly reminded that the enemy can come from within and can sometimes
even be from our own ranks. Furthermore, these ceremonies and memorials
occurred against the backdrop of an ongoing and growing threat from within that
our government continues to mostly ignore.
The United States continues to spend billions of dollars on the War on Terror.
It is certainly a valid approach to take the offensive at times to stop our
enemies at their source outside our country. But a good offensive effort must
also be balanced by a defensive stance. If our enemies are currently elsewhere,
then we must also prevent them from coming here and attacking us from within.
In addition to the War on Terror, the United States also continues to spend
billions on Homeland Security in its various forms as the primary component of
our defensive strategy. These funds are, for the most part, well spent to
protect our land and its citizens. Governments are instituted to protect their
citizens. But we spend these billions, only to keep the gates wide open and
largely unchecked. Its as if the United States is attempting to apply the
Biblical and age-old concept of a fortified city, except that we are applying
it both poorly and incompletely. We fortify ourselves in every conceivable way,
save one...the flood of illegal immigration.
Without a doubt, unchecked immigration has terrible and long-term economic
impacts on this country. Illegal immigrants fill jobs that would otherwise be
filled by American citizens or legal residents. Public funds are used to
provide goods and services to those here illegally at the expense of the
American taxpayer. But perhaps the worst impact that unchecked immigration has
on this country is the opportunity it provides terrorists seeking an easy entry
to perform their wicked schemes.
We should welcome immigrants seeking freedom and opportunity, but only if they
are willing to follow the established laws and methods by which they can become
a legal resident of this country. If they are unwilling to follow our most basic
entry requirements, then we should be unwilling to use our citizens tax dollars
to support them as if they were a citizen or legal resident. While that may seem
callous and heartless, its actually just a simple matter of a country having
certain basic expectations of behavior and action for those wishing to enjoy
the freedoms and opportunities that country provides.
Responding to this inundation of illegal immigration, Arizona voters passed
Proposition 200 in November 2004, which requires state and local employees to
verify the immigration status of people applying for public benefits and report
undocumented immigrants or face possible criminal prosecution. The loudest
critic of this states effort to control the economic effects of illegal
immigration is none other than the Mexican government...which, by the way, has
recently issued a colorful comic book with advice for migrants on how to cross
the U.S. border with Mexico. Calling it "state-sponsored illegal immigration",
U.S. Rep. J.D. Hayworth (R-AZ) has written a letter of protest to the Mexican
government urging it to halt the distribution of this Guide for the Mexican
Migrant. Hayworth continues in his letter, "Mexico’s state sponsorship of
illegal immigration is nothing less than an act of deliberate hostility against
the United States - an attack on our sovereignty - and it must cease before it
does permanent damage to our relationship."
The U.S. Border Patrol agents do an excellent job, but they are apparently
under-supported and are limited by grossly inadequate resources compared to
their commission. The Minuteman Project is a volunteer effort to help stem the
tide of illegal border crossings and has been successful in shifting most of
the illegal immigrant traffic out of the Naco corridor southeast of Tucson.
Some, including the ACLU, view these volunteer citizens as vigilantes and are
critical of their efforts.
Even if we ignore the economic impacts, and even if only a small fraction of the
thousands of illegal immigrants flooding through our borders every year intend
us harm, that is still too many to allow. The risk is far too great. And that
risk is precisely the reason states and individual citizens are being forced to
counter the negative effects and secure our borders when the federal government
continues to ignore the reality of the issue, the size of the flood, and its
impacts on our nations safety, security, and viability.
If our government continues to allow illegal immigration to flood through our
borders unimpeded, then we have no reason to be surprised the next time we are
attacked from within.
© Sam Bridges and VociferousSam.com
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Sam Bridges is the founder and chief editor of VociferousSam.com, a website
dedicated to providing insightful commentary on today’s world and culture from
a God-centered worldview and Biblical perspective. He is happily married to a
beautiful Christian woman and is the father of five magnificent children. He
is a deacon, Sunday School teacher, and webmaster at his church.
In addition to the VociferousSam.com website, Sam is a regular columnist for
RenewAmerica.us and TheConservativeVoice.com. His commentaries have also been
published on BushCountry.org, and OpinionEditorials.com. For more information
and commentary, visit http://www.VociferousSam.com.
