Illegal immigrants have been busy in recent weeks “coming out” of the shadows to brazenly declare their perceived “right” to be here illegally in America. Fueled by fear and anger surrounding new state laws that are serious about halting illegal immigration, groups like the ACLU and the National Council of La Raza have organized protests, and ICE has frequently looked the other way. Many of the protesters are young “Dreamers” who are tenaciously awaiting passage of the DREAM act.
Georgia has recently passed an Arizona-type immigration law that is being challenged in federal courts. A key provision in the law is a requirement for employers to use E-Verify to determine if new hires are eligible to work in the United States. Two other provisions of the law were halted temporarily by a federal judge’s ruling this week. Those two provisions involve the ability of police to check an immigrant’s status, then potentially detain them, and also include knowingly transporting or harboring illegal immigrants.
“The apparent legislative intent is to create such a climate of hostility, fear, mistrust and insecurity that all illegal aliens will leave Georgia,” the federal judge irrationally surmised in his decision.Governor Deal’s spokesman responded to the decision:
“Curiously, the court writes ‘all illegal aliens will leave Georgia’ if the law is enforced, as if it is appalled at the thought of people attaining visas before coming to our nation,”The large population of illegal immigrants in Georgia is estimated to be around 425,000 according to the Pew Hispanic Center. The state ranks 7th among states with the highest saturation of illegal immigrants.
Following the federal court’s ruling on Georgia’s immigration law, protesters who were not satisfied with it took to the streets of Atlanta on June 28th to openly proclaim their illegal status.
Some protesters carried signs that read “undocumented and unafraid” while students sat in the middle of the road near the state Capitol blocking traffic. They were protesting Georgia’s immigration law as well as new policies in Georgia that bar students who are undocumented from attending certain state universities and colleges. Six students were taken into custody, and those 18 or older were headed for jail, even though the passive policies of ICE will likely lead to their release.
These organized protests have been breaking out all over the country and even occupied center stage inside a congressional hearing on the DREAM Act in Washington D.C. this week. The DREAM Act would provide a path to legalization for certain young people brought into the U.S. by their parents. The group of illegal “dreamers” attending Sen. Dick Durbin’s hearing inside our nation’s Capitol included several dozen students who proudly wore caps and gowns despite their undocumented status. Defying all logic, Sen. Durbin introduced the group of illegal immigrants to Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano,
“They want to serve the country they love,” Durbin lamented. “All they want is a chance.”
However, many American citizens are also struggling in this economic downturn and desire a chance of their own, not to mention those immigrants who entered this country legally and deserve a chance at the opportunities for which they have sacrificed so much.
But groups like La Raza that champion an open-borders policy in America are currently winning the national debate. They have managed to obtain millions of dollars in federal funding to expand their influence and organizations and have access inside our government at the highest levels. Much of this funding, that is derived from various departments within our government, enables and empowers local, community-based organizations that agitate for more services and acceptance of illegal immigrants in the United States.
Supreme Court Justice Sotomayor was a member of La Raza for six years prior to Senate confirmation. Additionally, funding for the National Council of La Raza skyrocketed after Obama’s appointment of Cecilia Muñoz to serve as director of intergovernmental affairs in 2009. Prior to this appointment within our government, Muñoz was the senior vice president of La Raza. The new figure granted to La Raza after her appointment was a whopping 11 million in U.S. tax dollars. The administration had to issue a special “ethics waiver” since the president had promised throughout his campaign not to hire such lobbyists.
Meanwhile, naturalization statistics indicate that desires to become legal citizens of the United States have been quashed. Immigration statistics point to a steep decline in naturalizations.
In 2008, immigrants completing the naturalization process reached an all time high of over one million. The reason for this spike was likely due to “special efforts to encourage eligible applicants to apply for U.S. citizenship” and pending fee increases that would be levied in the future. Since then, naturalizations have declined steadily. In 2010, the number of persons choosing to naturalize was 619,913 down from the 2009 total of 743,715.
Given the climate of general acceptance of an increased illegal immigrant population from our government at its highest levels, including the U.S. Capitol itself, it is simply no wonder that the motivation to become a naturalized citizen has diminished. The assault on tougher immigration laws at the state level has effectively undermined the impact and benefits of those laws for now. It is more desirable for immigrants who enter our country illegally to patiently await amnesty rather than enduring the normal process of naturalization.
In the chaos created by drawn out, unresolved court challenges and capitulations to well-organized lobby groups funded by taxpayers to spread their open borders position, activists have been emboldened to appear publicly with little reason to fear apprehension by authorities or deportation by ICE. These events have been labeled “coming out” events as if they equate to being closet homosexuals. Inexplicably, some minority civil rights groups have taken up the mantle of protecting illegal immigrants as if their plight is due to their skin color rather than their legal status.
America welcomes immigrants who enter legally and embraces those who follow our nation’s laws, which provide a pathway to citizenship. On the other hand, Americans are growing ever more weary of civil disobedience and flagrant protests of our laws that petulantly demand civil rights for those who trespass our borders and our laws.
Rhonda
Rhonda is a stay home mom of two and was a teacher for ten years. She is a graduate of Clemson University and lives in Georgia. She is dedicated to the conservative, Constitutional principles that have made America a great country.
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