Lee’s Summit, June 17, 2014 – Immigration to the United States is often the greatest hope for many living outside our borders, and in many cases it is their last hope to give the next generation a chance to do better.
Confusion and false hope are the worst evil that the US Government can inflict on those who believe they’ve found a loophole in our law enforcement so they can come into this country. The Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) is being viewed by thousands as a way to come into the United States – illegally.
President Obama has no idea the harm he is inflicting on people. Many leave everything they have, everything they’ve gathered, everything they’ve purchased over the years, for the chance to enter the United States – the land of opportunity. They know that if they work hard, they will make more money in a year of hard work, than in ten or twenty years of work back home. For them the trade is justified. For them the risk is worth it.
Administration officials make statements that let people know that DACA is not for new immigrants; yet the facts on the ground still give false hope to immigrants.
One well-meaning official said “We ask families and communities to think twice before sending their children on this very dangerous journey. This is an important factor in thinking about how to address this problem.” I say well-meaning because these families have thought it through not once or twice but a hundred and one or two hundred times in the last year alone. The know what is in front of them and their children back home, so they risk it all to come to America.
Official numbers from Customs and Border Protection estimate that more than 90,000 migrant children are expected to be apprehended this year alone, and in 2015 as many as 140,000. Some say it is not President Obama’s lax and wavering immigration enforcement rules. They claim that it is the violence problems in Honduras, Guatemala, El Salvador, Mexico and other nations south of our border. They look at it as something new; but crack a history book, open an 1970’s newspaper and you’ll see that the problems of violence were there back then as well – but we did not inflict additional pain to the children by telling them lies.
In 1986 President Reagan and the Democrat led Congress passed a bill giving immigrants the path to green cards and to eventual citizenship. It was an Amnesty Act. It was also supposed to lead to stronger border control. It was supposed to stop illegal immigration. It failed.
Now President Obama is blurring the lines and people come to our borders seeking shelter.
Next we’ll hear the humanitarian need to allow them all to enter.
Even later we’ll realize the harm we’ve caused by not having a legitimate way to enter the country, to find work and to make a living. And, one more thing, those who struggled to be in this country legally, those people will wonder – why did we make the effort, take the time, and fight the bureaucratic red tape to obtain our visas – what was the point?
What is the point of learning our common immigrant story? What is the point of understanding our forefather’s gift to us? What is the purpose of the struggle to do the right thing for the right reasons?
Immigration is about who gets to come to America and help shoulder the burdens to achieve the goals for the next generation; to build a stronger community and country to face the next challenges.
Respectfully Submitted
The Lee’s Summit Conservative
