Welcome to “Estados Unidos del Oaxaca Norte” – the former “United States of America” Part 4 (and last) – What Must Be Done b
Welcome to “Estados Unidos del Oaxaca Norte” – the former “United States of America” Part 4 (and last) – What Must Be Done by Larry Stout
This series has focused on the problems of illegal immigration and it should be obvious by now that this issue is much more complex than it has been portrayed in the media. Under the danger of similar presumption, I would like to offer five suggestions that I believe would make great strides for resolving the immigration issue and how evangelical Christians can help make it happen:
#1 – Abide by Rule of Law. Though this might seem obvious, but it must be the place where we begin. To paraphrase Martin Luther King, Jr. who said injustice anywhere is injustice everywhere, when immigration laws are openly broken, it is difficult to make a case for rule of law in other cases. Article 1, Section 8, Clause 4 of the United States Constitution states that Congress has the constitutional responsibility “to establish an uniform Rule of Naturalization” that sets the conditions of immigration and citizenship. Congress should do its job and write fair, just, and wise legislation that would ensure integrity of the legal process by which immigrants enter the country legally and, if they so desire, become American citizens. As was mentioned in the first article in this series, the Kyl-Kennedy bill actually had much to admire in this regard. But also, it is necessary for the executive branch of government to do its job and enforce these laws justly as they are required to do. The respective government agencies should be given good guidelines to follow, and then abide by them. As Christians, we should pressure our elected representatives to not write laws designed to get them votes, but designed to get justice done.
#2 – Assimilate Residents Who Entered Illegally. There should be an amnesty of prosecution, but not an amnesty of assimilation. Every person who is in the United States without proper documentation must either accept the political principles, history, institutions and civic culture which forms this country’s foundations, or be deported. This is not to say that immigrants must give up their own culture (which has never happened in American history), but they cannot expect to live here without desiring to join the social fabric which makes this country great. Christians should model this behavior in the best way possible and provide bridges to Latino cultures in assisting the assimilation process.
#3 – Establish English as the Official Language of the United States. Nothing limits an individual more than a limitation of language (trust me, I have experience in this area), and to not only allow but encourage a polyglot of languages in America does no service to those cultures. A young Hispanic living in the United States who can only speak Spanish will find himself locked into a minimum wage income for life. As politically incorrect this idea is, it is also one of the most important to solving the immigration crisis. I think this is an area more than any other where Christians can make a difference. We send missionaries all over the world, why cannot we send ESL (English as Second Language) teachers to the parts of our own country where poor immigrants are locked into Spanish-speaking ghettos?
#4 – Get Serious About Border Control. The Department of Homeland Security cannot be expected to protect the United States against terrorist threats when even Juan, Pedro, and Maria can simply walk across an open field and be in America. And when they are apprehended, the ‘catch and release’ practice obviously does nothing to discourage repeat border crossers. A barrier has proven very successful for Israel, but whether such a structure is practically feasible along such a long border as the US shares with Mexico is highly questionable. To use an overworked cliché, any country that was able to put a man on the moon should be able to figure out a way to secure a porous border. Christians should not let their elected officials escape from this very hard issue of securing America’s southern flank.
#5 – Find a Way to Gain Mexico’s Cooperation. As was mentioned in the last article in this series, conditions in Mexico are truly what is at the heart of America’s immigration crisis. Mexico has no vested interest in improving this situation for two reasons. The first is that those who are disgruntled with the system vote with their feet and leave. Without this release value, Mexico’s one-party rule might have been seriously challenged by a populace ripe for rebellion. The second reason is that the immigrants living in the United States send funds back home that serves as a welfare program for Mexico’s less fortunate. Without those funds, the Mexican government would be forced to provide a better safety net to its poor.
So what would make Mexico want to cooperate with America’s immigration problem when it is actually in their best interests not to? (Or as Upton Sinclair so eloquently put it, “It is difficult to get a man to understand something when his salary depends on his not understanding it.”) As I wrote in my book, Ideal Leadership: Time for a Change, there are only two options to initiating change – carrot and stick. To date, the United States has never truly communicated in word and deed to Mexico that it is serious about controlling illegal immigration. Serious negotiations must take place with the new government and inform them that the USA is turning a new page in this area and their cooperation is not only desired but expected. Surely there are incentives that can be offered that could make it worth Mexico’s while to assist the USA in this regard. It will take the wisdom of Solomon to pull this off, which is what Christians should be praying for.
Immigration has made America what it is today – and illegal immigration can destroy it!
This series has focused on the problems of illegal immigration and it should be obvious by now that this issue is much more complex than it has been portrayed in the media. Under the danger of similar presumption, I would like to offer five suggestions that I believe would make great strides for resolving the immigration issue and how evangelical Christians can help make it happen:
#1 – Abide by Rule of Law. Though this might seem obvious, but it must be the place where we begin. To paraphrase Martin Luther King, Jr. who said injustice anywhere is injustice everywhere, when immigration laws are openly broken, it is difficult to make a case for rule of law in other cases. Article 1, Section 8, Clause 4 of the United States Constitution states that Congress has the constitutional responsibility “to establish an uniform Rule of Naturalization” that sets the conditions of immigration and citizenship. Congress should do its job and write fair, just, and wise legislation that would ensure integrity of the legal process by which immigrants enter the country legally and, if they so desire, become American citizens. As was mentioned in the first article in this series, the Kyl-Kennedy bill actually had much to admire in this regard. But also, it is necessary for the executive branch of government to do its job and enforce these laws justly as they are required to do. The respective government agencies should be given good guidelines to follow, and then abide by them. As Christians, we should pressure our elected representatives to not write laws designed to get them votes, but designed to get justice done.
#2 – Assimilate Residents Who Entered Illegally. There should be an amnesty of prosecution, but not an amnesty of assimilation. Every person who is in the United States without proper documentation must either accept the political principles, history, institutions and civic culture which forms this country’s foundations, or be deported. This is not to say that immigrants must give up their own culture (which has never happened in American history), but they cannot expect to live here without desiring to join the social fabric which makes this country great. Christians should model this behavior in the best way possible and provide bridges to Latino cultures in assisting the assimilation process.
#3 – Establish English as the Official Language of the United States. Nothing limits an individual more than a limitation of language (trust me, I have experience in this area), and to not only allow but encourage a polyglot of languages in America does no service to those cultures. A young Hispanic living in the United States who can only speak Spanish will find himself locked into a minimum wage income for life. As politically incorrect this idea is, it is also one of the most important to solving the immigration crisis. I think this is an area more than any other where Christians can make a difference. We send missionaries all over the world, why cannot we send ESL (English as Second Language) teachers to the parts of our own country where poor immigrants are locked into Spanish-speaking ghettos?
#4 – Get Serious About Border Control. The Department of Homeland Security cannot be expected to protect the United States against terrorist threats when even Juan, Pedro, and Maria can simply walk across an open field and be in America. And when they are apprehended, the ‘catch and release’ practice obviously does nothing to discourage repeat border crossers. A barrier has proven very successful for Israel, but whether such a structure is practically feasible along such a long border as the US shares with Mexico is highly questionable. To use an overworked cliché, any country that was able to put a man on the moon should be able to figure out a way to secure a porous border. Christians should not let their elected officials escape from this very hard issue of securing America’s southern flank.
#5 – Find a Way to Gain Mexico’s Cooperation. As was mentioned in the last article in this series, conditions in Mexico are truly what is at the heart of America’s immigration crisis. Mexico has no vested interest in improving this situation for two reasons. The first is that those who are disgruntled with the system vote with their feet and leave. Without this release value, Mexico’s one-party rule might have been seriously challenged by a populace ripe for rebellion. The second reason is that the immigrants living in the United States send funds back home that serves as a welfare program for Mexico’s less fortunate. Without those funds, the Mexican government would be forced to provide a better safety net to its poor.
So what would make Mexico want to cooperate with America’s immigration problem when it is actually in their best interests not to? (Or as Upton Sinclair so eloquently put it, “It is difficult to get a man to understand something when his salary depends on his not understanding it.”) As I wrote in my book, Ideal Leadership: Time for a Change, there are only two options to initiating change – carrot and stick. To date, the United States has never truly communicated in word and deed to Mexico that it is serious about controlling illegal immigration. Serious negotiations must take place with the new government and inform them that the USA is turning a new page in this area and their cooperation is not only desired but expected. Surely there are incentives that can be offered that could make it worth Mexico’s while to assist the USA in this regard. It will take the wisdom of Solomon to pull this off, which is what Christians should be praying for.
Immigration has made America what it is today – and illegal immigration can destroy it!
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