As someone who strongly supported Arnold Schwarzenegger for Governor in the 2003 special recall election, and as someone who has endorsed and supports Schwarzenegger for re-election this year, I was extremely frustrated to read this quote attributed to the Governor today in several major newspapers, when he was questioned by opponents of illegal immigration at a campaign stop yesterday in La Mesa in San Diego County:
While I certainly am ‘mad’ at the federal government for not securing our borders, why in Earth would I NOT get mad at "anyone" trying to come into this country, if they are coming here in violation of the law? Such a statement has as its natural extention that there is no moral relevence between those who legally immigrate into America, following our nation’s laws, versus those who sneak/smuggle/trespass into America by flaunting or ignoring our laws.
Let me be very clear, I draw a very BIG distinction between someone who legally emmigrates to America versus someone who disgards our immigration laws. The first group of people are RIGHT and the second group of people are WRONG. The Governor himself showed his respect for this country by following all of the rules that we have set up for those who are citizens of other countries coming to this one.
I actually DO get quite mad at those people who violate our laws to come into the United States. A major component of my world-view is the idea of individual responsibility. To say that one should blame the government for not enforcing a law instead of blaming the law-breaker is very disturbing position to take. Clearly it would be ideal if our government could enforce all of its laws on the books. But the liberty and freedom we enjoy as Americans depends on our people following the laws of the land without having to be policed. As Alexander de Toqueville observed about this country, "America is great because America is good. When she ceases to be good, she will cease to be great."
Is it really that hard to understand that someone who does not have the moral character to follow our laws is EXACTLY someone with whom I have grave concerns coming into America? Someone who literally has as their first act coming to this country a violation of the law.
Being opposed to illegal immigration does not make someone prejudiced — unless it is prejudice against law-breakers. I believe in the American dream of creating success, and that this dream should be something to which anyone should be able to aspire. Unfortunately, America has been turned into a modern welfare state which means that we all must be concerned about who and how people are allowed to come into this country.
As Hoover Institution fellow Thomas Sowell says in the featured story on the main page today:
It is my hope that as the Governor continues to talk about this issue, that he will clarify whether he thinks that there is any moral distinction between those who come to America legally and those who come here illegally.
I hope that you have a great day!!
[If you read this after reading Dan Weintraub’s blog post, click here for my response to what he wrote!]
Jon
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