Have some given up fighting illegal immigration?

These days, it is difficult for the average American to understand just what constitutes being an “illegal alien”. In fact, there are states in the U.S. that even grant a driver’s license to undocumented individuals. In 2003 California Governor Gray Davis even signed a bill that would have given these individuals the “RIGHT” to obtain a drivers license, and auto insurance. Arguments in favor of this bill claim that it would make our streets and roads safer by having more licensed and insured drivers. Those against argued the obvious. Why give someone a driver’s license if they are not supposed to be here to begin with?

It seems to me that by giving a driver’s license to those individuals in the U.S. illegally, it is more like saying “Since we cannot enforce the laws, let’s just try and make them safe drivers.” Isn’t that the same as just giving up? Have we really gotten to a point that our laws have gotten so complicated that they cannot be enforced, and the only reasonable thing left to do is to co-exist instead of enforcing the laws that were designed to prevent this? Obviously, the fight against illegal immigration is about a great deal more than just driver’s licenses, but it is just one example of how skewed many laws have become in fighting it.

Why should we be so stern on border security?

For years, we have been fighting against terrorism. Long before the attacks on 9-11-01, we were dealing with terrorist attacks in our homeland. In fact, the World Trade Center has been the focus of terrorist attacks in the past. The reason for these attacks has never been over oil, money, religion, or even land. The reason is because of hatred by others over our freedom. The very freedom we cherish most about our country. Stronger border security may have easily prevented many of the attacks within the U.S., but the flaws in our system continue to allow this to be a very real possibility. The irony of the 9-11-01 attacks on the World trade center is that our own flawed immigration system allowed these terrorist to live in our country. We even trained them how to fly the very planes they used in the attacks!

Each and every day, our country’s law enforcement agents fight crime and risk their lives to protect citizens. In fact, crime has seen a significant decline in almost every area, except illegal drug sales, possession, and usage. Some may argue that drug use would exist no matter where it came from, and they would probably be correct. However, our country’s law makers should be ashamed of the fact that the vast majority of illegal drugs bought and sold in the U.S. came across the borders we should be protecting. I find that it is an absolute travesty that while encouraging our law enforcement officers to risk their lives on a daily basis to find and arrest those involved in illegal drug trade that we put so little emphasis on preventing it from coming across the border in the first place.

Recently, the President of the United States allowed 3000 American troops to be placed along our southern border. Let’s put this into prospective. The city of New York employs over 34,000 police officers. The city of Phoenix, Arizona employs more than 3500 officers. I think it tells a bit about how much emphasis our government has placed upon border security, and stopping illegal drugs from entering the country.

Some of the latest jobless rates estimate that nearly ten percent of Americans are unemployed. Obviously recent financial problems within the structure of U.S. corporate have a great deal to do with those numbers, but there is also another large contributing problem. According to the Center for Immigration Studies (CIS), more than 35 percent of America’s farming and custodial building maintenance industry is made up of illegal immigrants. Also, almost thirty percent of America’s construction workers are in the country illegally. We have to ask: If almost ten percent of our nation is unemployed, why are we continuing to allow large numbers in some of our core workforce areas to be consumed by people that are not even suppose to be in the country?

Some will argue that the employers of these people should be held accountable, and they would be correct to argue that point, to a degree. However, we also have to realize that it is because of our flawed immigration laws that it is allowed. In some states, it is completely legal for illegal aliens to be employed! It seems like a sort of paradox that we claim that they are here illegally, but it is illegal for us to prevent them from taking American jobs. Recently, the town of Fremont, Nebraska passed a law to prevent the hiring of illegal immigrants by businesses and the renting of housing to them by landlords. Would you believe that Nebraska is now coming under fire and the law is being contested by such people as the Civil Liberties Union? It seems that by stopping illegal immigrants from illegally prospering, we are somehow violating their civil rights. I do not claim to be a genius by any means, but doesn’t the Bill of Rights grant those rights to legal citizens of the U.S., or is this yet another part of the law that is now so far blurred that we can no longer enforce it? It raises the question: If you are not a legal citizen of the U.S., are you still protected by the same Bill of Rights written by Americans, for Americans?

How do we stop this madness?

Recently, the state of Arizona took a huge stance on illegal immigration. I will not agree or disagree with SB 1070, but I will say that I applaud the state for at least putting up a fight. I do think that it is the responsibility of the Federal government to create and enforce these types of laws, but the fact that they have not, leaves little else for a state like Arizona to do, except fight it themselves. I feel that at some point, the U.S. has to take a strong stance and put a stop to all of this. The fact that the country is being terrorized, jobs are being taken, and legal citizens of the country are paying the high price is nothing less than an outrage.

America needs to be tougher on illegal immigration. Obviously, we cannot stop all illegal aliens from entering the country. That would require a soldier at every square inch of the entire U.S. border. But, what we can do is make it simply not worth it for people to try and live and prosper in our country. We can do this by putting a stop to the laws that protect them from being rejected for employment, housing, and anything gainful, until they have provided legal documentation that permits them to live and work here. Do we give them a driver’s license to help keep our roads safe? NO! What we should be doing is arresting them at the DMV when they try! When a person is pulled over or arrested on our streets, they should be required that they provide documentation of U.S. citizenship.

One major reason for the rejection of the SB 1070 law of Arizona is the fear of racial profiling. I do agree that this law would be very difficult to enforce, without a certain degree of profiling, and to deny it we would just be kidding ourselves. However, there is a way to enforce such a law that is not bordering on discrimination. Force every American to always carry ID that proves their legal status. It could be a driver’s license, or even a simple ID card. Now, some will argue that an ID such as this can be easily forged. I say that notion is crazy, and with the technology we have in the U.S. today, it can be done.

Ever notice the black strip on the back of new driver’s licenses that is similar to that of a credit card? Why is that not being used by law enforcement? I was recently pulled over on an interstate for speeding, and yes I was guilty and I paid the price. But, while I was sitting there, the officer simply ran my driver license number, but never scanned the card. Perhaps he did not have the technology to scan it, but that is not the point. If an officer had this technology, and was require to use it with every single interaction, it could be used to detect whether or not a subject was a legal U.S. citizen. It would be a tool that could make a huge difference in the number of people that are undocumented and illegal in the country.

Protect our liberty

The U.S. was founded on a basis of liberty and the right to prosperity. It is this notion that attracts illegal immigrants to live in our country, and the same notion that attracts terrorist to try to destroy our country. It is not only our right to protect our freedom, but it is also our responsibility. We have a responsibility to help preserve this great nation for our children and grandchildren.

The United States of America began as immigrants, and will forever be “A country of immigrants”. However, it has to be a country of legal immigrants, and one that does not give asylum to those who wish to do harm to it. We have to find a way to enforce strict immigration standards, while continuing to grant freedom and liberty to those who live here as legal citizens.

It is the duty of our Federal government to provide the means for Americans to protect what is sacred in our lives. Laws preventing illegal immigration need to be solid, and not the transparent laws that allow them to be left to a matter of interpretation. Tying the hands of our law enforcement, yet asking them to die in the line of duty protecting our borders is simply unfair and unjust.

I firmly believe that the party lines of our country’s law makers take a front seat when it comes to creating and enforcing laws on immigration. We elect our politicians on the basis of ideas and beliefs, and by what our country needs, yet it seems that when the time comes, it is a party line that makes the deciding vote. Democracy is a wonderful thing, but when abused by the strict division of parties in the face of what is actually good for the nation, democracy will fail.

It’s my right to write

I am but an average person in the U.S. I am not a politician, nor a scholar, but I am one thing for certain: I am an American. By being an American, I have the right to express my opinion and I have the right to protect my liberty and freedom. I do not have the right to break the law, and I do not have the right to impose on the rights of another American. Because I am an American, I have the right to say this: If you want to live, raise a family and prosper in this country, become an American or get the hell out!

By James C.

Murder, robbery, sexual assault, kidnappings, and the seemingly never-ending flow of illegal drugs into our culture are just a small tip of some of the burdens that we ask our law enforcement to save us from on a daily basis. We ask them to do it for what many consider to be a shameful salary in comparison to the work they do, and all the while, we ask them to do it in the face of constant criticism.

Why do police officers do their jobs?

As many of us sit in the comfort of our home, we have to realize that out on the streets, police officers are there watching over us and making sure we are safe. Knowing what could lie in wait for them, we have to ask ourselves “Why do they do it?” They cannot possibly do it for the pay. Law Enforcement officers in the USA are among some of the lowest paid public servants in the country. In many areas, their income levels remain below the national poverty levels. Surely it is not for recognition. The news reports over the last few years are filled with slanderous allegations of corruption and threats against all of our police officers. It isn’t just for self fulfillment. While the job certainly entitles an officer to be very proud of what they do, it just can’t be the sole reason one would endure the hazardous environment they work in each day.

If you ask most any officer, they will tell you very plainly why they continue to do the job they do. They do it because of a desire they have had since they were young to help society and to help put a stop to the pain, suffering, and grief that engulfs many Americans every day. They do it because there are people in trouble, and they want nothing more than to help relieve them of their problems. Officers will tell you that despite the dangers of their jobs, the low pay rates, and the constant complaints of criminals and criminal proponents of our culture, they still feel as though they have the best jobs in the world. They are proud of the work they do, and proud of having the ability to make a difference in the lives of fellow citizens. They will tell you that the satisfaction of taking another criminal off our streets can be unmatched by anything else, and as long as crime continues to be a problem in our world, they will continue to wake up every morning and anxiously return to work the streets to ensure our safety.

Are law enforcement officers making a difference?

Crime in the USA seems nearly out of control. With the constant barrage of reports from our media, it seems as though our police are fighting a losing battle. But, is it really a losing battle?

Each year, the Federal Bureau of Investigations publishes the reports from a Uniform Crime Reporting Program that was first established in 1929. These publications provide an in-depth look at the effectiveness of how well our society is being policed.

According to the Uniform Crime Report of 2009, the latest publication, our law enforcement officers are not only doing their job well, but they are succeeding in reducing crime at nearly every level. According to this most recent report, violent crimes were reduced by 5.5%. Also in this publication, property crimes were reduced by 4.9% and arson saw a downtrend of over 10%! One disturbing trend seen in recent publications is a significant rise in the number of crimes committed in association with illicit drug abuse and sales. This data implies that while the overall fight against crime has been a substantial success, police are now fighting a losing battle against the sale and use of illegal drugs that overshadow the real effectiveness of our law enforcement. If we as a nation could somehow get a firm control over drug abuse in the USA, the hard work that police have put into their jobs would be brought clearly into light. This would cast undeniable evidence that our police are effective and the training and hard work they have gone through for so many years is paying off.

Recognition for our public servants

Each day, our police officers step onto the street with the threat of violence and assault against them. Aside from this, new threats have been publicized against our law enforcement officers by drug cartels based outside of our own country. There is a very telling tale in these threats. Our law enforcement officials are now seemingly doing their job well enough that the criminals responsible for passing illegal drugs into our country are scared, and they are scared enough that they are forced to threaten violence against our officers, in order to continue their criminal activities.

We as citizens of the USA have a lot to be thankful for. Our law enforcement is among the very best in the world, and despite what it appears on the surface, they are doing their job effectively and with proficiency. It is time we put a halt to narrow-minded thinking that we will never get a grasp on crime. Over the years they have proven that they can do the jobs we ask, and as long as they can receive the support needed from the very citizens they risk their lives for, they will continue the uphill climb in reducing crime and making our country a safer place for us to carry on our daily lives.

Today would be a great day to thank an officer that you know. Just let them know that they are appreciated, and that they still have our support.

If you or someone you know is thinking of entering a career in law enforcement, consider some of the online schools that offer law enforcement degrees. Options are available, and those that have always wanted to step up and help prevent crime, can take advantage of those options.