The Immigration Issue: A Barometer of the Strength of the West

That the West is bedevilled by the problem of immigration is an understatement indeed. Yesterday, the States witnessed the biggest demonstration ever in its history staged by illegal immigrants. Europe has yet to witness such a large demonstration; but it might well come to that if the authorities suddenly turned to rather more Draconian measures to control the borders. The immigration problem in Britain and Europe is simply simmering under the surface.

The numbers of protesters in the streets of cities such as Chicago and New York yesterday were mind-boggling. It just shows how weak the States has become vis-à-vis such a pressing issue. George W. Bush’s handling of this issue, again, has been singularly unimpressive. He has shown no resolve in tackling the issue. Ultimately, this reveals his weakness as a President of the most powerful nation on earth, and the weakness of the authorities in enforcing the law. President Bush is beginning to resemble putty more and more!

Hasn’t the US got itself into this fix because it has failed to act decisively from the start? Procrastination has only made matters worse. It always does. However has America allowed eleven million illegal immigrants into the country anyway? This is an absurd figure! Quite absurd, too! It shows how little control the authorities have on the borders. But more than that: It sets a very dangerous precedent for the future. If these people are afforded an amnesty, then it will be a signal to the Mexicans that they can cross the border with impunity.

Laws are not there to be broken; they are there to be enforced. However harsh that may sound, it is true. Unless laws are enforced, then there is little point in wasting time passing the laws in the first place. It is the authorities’ responsibility to enforce the laws that have already been enacted. It is not good enough not to do so, since not only will it send the wrong message, but it is also unfair to all those people – American and foreign – who abide by the laws of the land. Why should Mexicans get away with breaking the law when others cannot?

For example, when I, as a Brit, visit the States, I have to be very careful that I do not stay a day longer than I am allowed to by law. For some inexplicable reason, people entering the States from the old country are very carefully controlled. I dread to think of what would happen to me if I stayed even a day longer than I am legally entitled to do. One thing is certain: The next time I would try to enter the States, I might well be turned away. Why, then, are the Mexicans treated preferentially? The same laws should apply to all!

The fact of the matter is clear: These Mexicans have entered the States illegally. They knew what the score was before they entered. They did so at their own risk. They should now be made to face the consequences of their illegal entry. To say, as some people have, that all Americans are immigrants is to miss the point entirely. Yes, all Americans might well be immigrants; but the vast majority of them entered that country legally. Therein lies the difference! The people who should be rewarded are the people who abide by the law, not the people who break it!

To say that the presence of these illegal immigrants makes life easier for the Americans themselves is also to miss the point. So, these people’s labour comes cheap, and they do the work that Americans do not want to do. So what? That is no reason to allow them to get away with breaking the law and stay.

Often times, people use the argument that it is difficult, if not well nigh impossible, to find people to do the menial work. That is utter rubbish! Nonsense! Balderdash! Everything has a price in a free market economy. If you pay enough, you’ll get everything you want done. You simply have to pay enough.

In any case, to utter such sentiments shows just how decadent people have become. It seems that many now would prefer cheap labour to having the laws of the land enforced. This sets a new and dangerous precedent. It might also mark the beginning of the end for the US as a superpower. After all, if the authorities cannot control the borders, what else can’t they control? This is no good sign for the future of the free world.

Here in Europe, we have a similar problem. Just look at the number of immigrants coming into Europe illegally. Usually, it has to be said, Muslim immigrants at that. This is also not a good sign for the stability of Europe.

Muslim immigrants in Europe and Mexican immigrants in the US share one thing in common: They are unwilling to assimilate. In the States, there has recently been a rumpus over the national anthem. The Mexican immigrants want to sing it in Spanish! Now that’s a nerve if ever there was one! They enter the States illegally and then re-write the national anthem in their own language. That would be enough for a strong American President to show them the door. I mean: How much nonsense must Western governments tolerate?

It is hard for me to imagine how a President of the United States of America can be so weak on this most important of matters. This should not be about a ready supply of cheap labour; rather, it should be about ensuring that the law is abided by, that the laws are enforced. It is also about the strength of the nation.

At a time when the US wants to show its strong face to Iran, it behoves the US government show that it is in total control. This fiasco sends all the wrong messages to Iran and the rest of the world. People in the rest of the world will look on: Those who love the Americans will sympathize, the rest will laugh gleefully at the government's lack of firm control and weakness. In short, they will delight in America’s problems; and they will also delight in Bush’s lack of firm control.

The immigration issue is a problem for most of the free world. The West has allowed itself, out of weakness, to be infiltrated. Getting immigration under control is a barometer of the strength of the West; it is a barometer of the determination of the West to survive.

The way things are going, it is looking increasingly doubtful that our civilization will make it into the next century!

©Mark Alexander

The Power of Immigrants

Building sites fell silent, fruit was left unpicked, restaurant tables were not served and conveyor belts stood still.

The strike by immigrants across America was hugely impressive even if not observed by all of the estimated 12 million illegal workers.

Sympathisers also joined the protests and responded to calls to stay away from work, to keep their children out of school and to boycott stores in order to show their economic power.

Television pictures of the people who humbly do America's toughest and worst-paid jobs demanding a better life struck a chord in a country built on immigration. Marchers show America the power of immigrants

The British Problem

Yesterday's "Day without Immigrants" - Un Dia Sin Inmigrantes - in the United States was a protest mounted on behalf of recent immigrants, mostly Hispanic and many illegal. The idea was to show that the world's greatest economy could be crippled by a strike by people who, largely, are not supposed to be there in the first place.

The American government did not support the strike - but one significant fact should be noted. The protest was aimed at hardline anti-immigration legislation passed by the House of Representatives that the President does not fully support. He favours a guest-worker programme that would open up a path to citizenship for many illegal immigrants.

It is worth contrasting George Bush's attitude with the slogan coined by Nicolas Sarkozy, the French interior minister: "Love France or leave it." Mr Sarkozy, himself from an immigrant background, is hardly a Front National rabble-rouser; but he vigorously supports the deportation of illegal immigrants - the sans papiers - who have turned the outer suburbs into dystopian ghettos. We can no longer dodge the immigration issue

Mark