Guest Commentary

I got this in an email from an old Navy buddy of mine, and with his permission I am posting it entirely. The only changes to the original post have been in formatting to make it easier to read. My comments are inserted wherever I saw fit.

Hey, it's my blog!

So, without further ado, take it away Dex!

"I have had a lot of time to think about and have formed my opinion on immigration.

I`m not bothered by immigrants coming here. That is the foundation of this country. But what I do have a problem with is accountability on the part of Illegals within our laws.

Every year we have legal immigrants come to this country who desire to become citizens of the United States. They work very hard acclimating themselves to our society. They also go through the proper channels. The process takes a long time - I believe seven or ten years going through the the naturalization process.

(Note from the Scoundrel - friend James can attest to the length and expense of the naturalization process. His wife is Russian and is going through it right now.)

Their rights have been trampled on because they have had desire and all they see is people who have no business being here getting the rights and privileges that they worked so hard for!

I also have a problem with pouring tax dollars in to programs that are not designed to help citizens but to accommodate people who not supposed to be here. I have a big, big problem with politicians trying to circumvent the power of my vote by granting that right to people who did not properly become citizens by legal means nor served in the armed services to secure that right for themselves.

I also have a problem with a wave of people working in this country, who by their mere presence here allow employers to keep their wages artificially low for those Americans whose circumstances are not allowed to attain their true value in the market place. If you are a small business owner with working students or young adults on your staff, you are in direct competition with another small business who actively works illegals. That business owner playing by the rules is going to lose in the market place because he will be outbid on every job.

Now lets look at Illegal immigration from the point of view of the illegal. If a person is not here legally, he or she will be exploited from the time they step in this country. They have no legal recourse in this country.

(Note from the Scoundrel - the following points would be valid for illegals in Mexico, but here illegals are treated pretty well. A bevy of taxpayer-funded attorneys see to that. However, many illegals are indeed exploited in just such a manner, and threatened by their employers with these actions, because they believe that they will be treated this way if they seek legal recourse. End note.)

They are not citizens - they are illegal. They can be arrested and detained without just cause - they can be searched without Miranda having been read to them - they are not entitled to legal counsel - they are illegal.

They are not entitled to one single right - they are illegal. They are bought and sold into slavery - indentured servitude - they have no rights or legal recourse because they are illegal. They cannot report crimes to law enforcement for fear of being deported - because they are illegal.

They are forced to live twenty or thirty people in a townhouse. They cannot qualify for loans for homes because you have to have legal documents to purchase a home.

(Note from the Scoundrel - unless you go to Bank of America! Seriously, this is true, which is why most illegals have documents that are forged. This is also one of the reasons identity theft is such a problem. End note.)

They are transported by coyotes who force them into prostitution, drug trafficking, and other illegal activities to pay for their passage into this country. In some instances, they are left to die in the desert in trailers left by the coyotes. They are treated like cattle because they have no rights - they are illegal.

The solution is simple. It has to start with enforcement of the laws of this country and respect of our borders. Work visas are not difficult to get and to maintain it is just like getting a drivers license and keeping it up to date. But as of right now, our politicians want to use them just like everyone else wants to exploit the illegal.

We need to know what the character of the person is. Does he have a criminal record? Does he have any communicable diseases that can expose the general population to? Can he read and write?

The politicians (both lefties and righties) in this country have forgotten that we have an enemy that is looking for any weaknesses in our defenses. Our borders are wide open, because we lack the will to properly secure them.

If it sounds like I'm fearful, I am. I have seen the damage done at the Pentagon first-hand by people who were not supposed to be here. I and my children live in the flight path of more than a hundred planes flying overhead every day into Dulles, Reagan National, and Thurgood Marshall (BWI) airports.

I have formed my opinion. I hope I have exposed the politician's for being short-sighted and reckless.

Dex
Northern Virginia"