Today Governor Schwarzenegger has an opinion piece published in the Los Angeles Times on the immigration issue, where he counsels all people who are engaged in the public debate on the illegal immigration issue to stay ‘civil’ in their discourse. I was reading through the column early this morning and would have spilled my coffee, if I had some, when I read this paragraph:
"To those who believe illegal immigration is reaching a crisis level in this country I say: Tone down the rhetoric. I myself have said things that caused division even when that was not my intent. Words can be weapons. We must be careful to distinguish between legal and illegal immigration, between those who break our laws to do us harm and those who break our laws to find freedom and prosperity in the greatest nation on Earth. It is hypocritical for Congress to condemn people for coming here illegally when the federal government has been unwilling to do what it takes to stop them from coming in the first place." This paragraph was like a one-two punch to me as I read it – especially because it made me feel like the Governor truly does not understand where I and many of my friends are coming from on this important issue.
First of all, there is no doubt that illegal immigration has reached the crisis-level in America. It is the number one issue that is on the mind of Americans, especially so here in California and in the other states that share a common border with Mexico, the source from which most illegal immigration originates.
The Governor says to ‘tone down the rhetoric’ and that ‘words can be weapons.’
To respond to this, you have to look at what is taking place here. What is happening is a violation of law – a willful act of defiance against America. Why would one ‘tone down the rhetoric’ on violations of law? If someone steals a car, or snatches a purse, or robs a liquor store, would we want to sugar coat their actions? Would we want to downplay the negative impact of these harmful actions? Of course not. As a matter of fact, one of the ways that we discourage illegal behavior is by being very forceful in our condemnation of those who break the law.
Which brings me to the Governor’s next point, where he says that, ‘it is hypocritical for Congress to condemn people for coming here illegally when the federal government has been unwilling to do what it takes to stop them from coming in the first place.’
Yes, Schwarzenegger is right that Congress is not doing their job. But that does not in any way mean that those who break the law are not, themselves, responsible for their own actions. There is not one person who criminally enters this country who does not know that they are breaking the law. Yes, Congress needs to act, but we should all be condemning those who come into the country against the law. There are also many things that state government can and should do to respond to the pervasive criminal alien problem in California.
This nation was founded on the idea of a limited role for the government, both federally at the state and local levels. The cornerstone of our ability, as a nation, to exist within this framework is that the people of this country understand the importance of individual responsibility, and respect for the law. I would submit to you when people illegally come into this country by the millions, the long term effect is to grow the size and scope of the government. After all, even in the Governor’s piece, he throws out a number of $250 billion dollars to deal with the criminal aliens in America. Yet, to do nothing is to surrender the security and sovereignty of our nation — and condone the actions of criminals.
The Governor says we must focus on the ‘intent’ of illegal immigrants in gauging whether what they are doing is a good or bad thing. Does this mean that someone who is starving should be excused from a robbery or a theft because their intentions (feeding themselves and their family) were good?
I would challenge the Governor as he calls for ‘civility’ in the debate over illegal immigration to remember that we stand up every day and tell criminals to stop what they are doing. The Governor should lead the debate by making it clear that California welcomes legal immigrants, and go on to ‘civilly’ ask all criminal aliens in California to go home.