Aliens are not the same as settlers

Comments to yesterday’s Advocate essay about Obama’s balloon to legalize criminal aliens sometimes amazed me by their misunderstanding - and mixing - of issues.

For instance, leo21 (Jon Emler) wrote the following: “Bruce, My family came to America in 1732 from Germany. The American Indians didn't invite them and didn't want these white people to take over their land. I just don't understand how people think this land is only for them and keep others out. Fear isn't the answer.”

Here’s my response to that:

This argument implies that because settlers took over from the Indians that now anyone should be free to cross our borders at will, which is what happened in the case of the “criminal aliens” I write about.

If that is indeed your point then consider this: If our nation today were as weak, disorganized, and indefensible as the “nation” of Indians, then today our national language would be Russian or Nazi German and if not that, then Spanish.

It didn’t work out that way. Instead, millions of people - like your family and mine - entered this country legally (as laws developed to define the difference). They built our country into what it is - with labor and tax payments - so that we are able to protect ourselves from Russia and Nazi Germany, for instance, and also may decide who is allowed to cross our borders, and when they may cross, and what they must do to qualify for that privilege.

We pay a huge government a huge price to enforce those decisions, but government will not do that. Instead, it is ignoring our wishes in favor of big businesses who’ve bribed government to allow them cheap, illegal laborers.

I don’t think our ancestors, who obeyed immigration laws - no matter the delays and inconvenience - would be very proud of us if we threw open our borders to anyone who can find a way to get here.

And I think legalizing these millions would further weaken our national economy and national pride. All this aside from further straining a job market from which millions of jobs by U.S. employers have gone to other countries because it is more profitable.