Essay: Keep 'em All Out, Except Me!!?? - 5/1/06

This summer, I plan to visit one of the first major areas of illegal immigration in this country. The illegals who entered at this place engaged in extremely destructive behavior. Not only did they put people out of work, they murdered citizens and ravaged their lands. I am talking, of course, about Jamestown, where a boatload of illegal European immigrants arrived in 1607. They were illegal in the eyes of the local Powhatan tribe, which certainly didn’t want them around. When they eventually moved to expel them, it was too late. The neighborhood had been ruined.

Thinking about it that way puts a slightly different spin on the illegal immigration issue, doesn’t it? This is a country of immigrants. And what bugs me is that every new immigrant seems to think his was the last boat that should have been allowed to land. Today, rallies are planned across the nation to oppose politically motivated attempts to “crack down” on illegal immigration.

Journalists don’t normally join protest rallies, but I am there in spirit. Let me note that I am a white male of almost entirely Anglo-Saxon Protestant origins, some of whose ancestors were in this country since before the American Revolution. And I think the idea that the new immigrants are in any way inferior to my people is insane.

The idea that our nation is about to be overwhelmed by billions of illegal immigrants of whatever kind you fear most -- Mexicans or Hottentots or Palestinians is also just plain nuts. Yes, we unfortunately do need some controls. We can no longer be a safe harbor for everybody, unfortunately, though we would be better off taking far more people than we do.

However, no matter how high we build our walls, some illegals always will slip through the gaps, due to luck and their own desperate ingenuity. Here’s the attitude I think we should have toward them:

Don’t ask, don’t tell.  Yes, if there are really any al-Qaeda members trying to infiltrate our society, we need to find them and through them out, and ditto for felons on the lam. But otherwise, treat them as fellow humans.

Prior to the Civil War, the census observed a ridiculous compromise in which slaves counted as “three-fifths of a person.” We palefaces have been living that down ever since. Now Congressman Candice Miller wants to pass a constitutional amendment to have the census count only “citizens” instead of persons.

So Albert Einstein, when he was living here in exile, wouldn’t have counted, while Ted Bundy would. Memo to Ms. Miller: Think again.

Immigration does change a society. We are changing anyway, since members of my tribe are currently not even having enough children to replace themselves.

But what about our precious culture?  Tell you what. Let’s admit about 400,000 hard-working Asian or Nigerian immigrants, and let them settle in the ruins of the largely depopulated city of Detroit.

I’ll bet they would change its character, all right. We should be so lucky.    

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Comments

[Thomas Dunham]

"We are all immigrants..." True Jack, but don't forget that the indigenous peoples conquered eachother and occupied the land: so those indigenous victors are also immigrants. So why be racist and just pick the part of history and human nature that suits your needs.

I am offended generally by the media that fails to differentiate between illegal immigrants and immigrants, just as you have. If you ask the question about illegal immigrants then most people say NO! If you ask the question about legal immigrants the overwhelming majority feels as you do, YES!

You perform a great diservice to the public by not making the distinction clear. So what's the big deal? Class, race and equity is the big deal.

The law still means something to me and legal immigrants. "Civil Disobedience" in this regard comes at a cost. That cost is paid by legal immigrants and the economically challenged Americans in the form of low wages and increased pressure on social services.

I patently reject that illegal immigrants do work that Americans don't want b/c I personally have done many jobs that immigrants do. I have been: a dishwasher, a lawnmower, a waiter, a construction laborer, a factory worker, a painter and these jobs over two decades in California.

Frankly, I would happily pay the cost of illegal immigrant deportation in whatever form that manifests if the playing field was leveled and legal immigrants and lower income Americans could gain.

Life is rough all over and I am making my voice heard to counteract voices like yours. I have earned the right to stand face to face with any illegal because I have worked side by side, shared good and bad times and I still come away with the opinion that they are still law breakers and do not deserve amnesty. They deserve deportation and the front door to America: legal immigration, just like everybody else.

If you need me to cook your food or mow your lawn, just call and you can pay me a living wage for a job well done.

[Jack Lessenberry]

I wonder if Mr.Dunham has any real idea how his ancestors came here, or even who they were.

[Thrasher]

Doubtful Jack, it is obvious Mr. Dunham still clings to the backward notion that only people like him matter...

I get amused when I read over and over again about how illegal human beings a are especially when those making the charges have illegal roots in thier origins on this soil.

For the record I reject all forms of barriers, boundaries, fences,I am a earthling , mortal, human being living on a place called earth....lol,lol,lol, I have a gobal passport and I will not report any of my fellow earthlings to the authorities....lol,lol,lol

Yeah an eartling ..I like the sound of that..lol,lol,lol

[Dan Smith]

I find the irony of this argument amusing. First of all, one of the major reasons Mexicans want to come to this country is the fact that in Mexico they do not have the rule of law. So in an twist, we now say that the rule of law is not important, because human rights trumps it, that America is something that everyone should enjoy no matter what laws are in place because, white people stole America from the native Americans. In the end the problem is that we have laws that say illegal immigration is wrong, but that’s ok, so long as we are helping people. Well the world is full of people wanting to come here and we can’t possibly try to assimilate them all. In the end, the laws that we all abide by, make this country great. Ignoring them, is simply not an option. But that is what Jack does in this essay and it’s sad. Human rights, as a policy position alone only destroys this country. There is no excuse for illegal immigration, but how we deal with those illegal immigrants, may be a discussion but excusing there illegal behavior is nothing more than an excuse.