Hey, was it just a coincidence? After 20 years of little or no enforcement since the last major so-called immigration reform act of 1986, Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff calls a big news conference and talks up his "strategy" for enforcing laws on the books for decades.
The April 20th NY Times story reports "Saying the hiring by companies nationwide of millions of undocumented workers is often a form of organized crime. [VDARE.COM note: As reported here four years ago.] Mr. Chertoff, a former federal prosecutor, said the government will now attempt to combat the practice with techniques similar to those used to try to shut down the mob." [U.S. Cracks Down on Hiring of Illegal Immigrants, By Eric Lipton]
For those of us who have been pleading for action by the Federal Government for decades, this latest action is of course greeted with optimism. But, I must say, with guarded optimism.
We know that the Senate will shortly be treating various bills dealing with immigration reform, most of which call for another massive amnesty of perhaps 20 million more mostly uneducated Hispanics.
Chertoff's sudden addiction to law and order must be suspect—since his boss, President Bush, has been demanding this cheap labor import for months.
Then there is this matter of the May 1 boycott called for by sophisticated organizers of those illegal aliens and their supporters. The agitators for this attack on American sovereignty are trying subtly to equate it with the Mexican holiday of Cinco de Mayo.
The growing knowledge that many Mexicans see this continuing laxity on border control by our Federal Government as a chance to retake parts of the US, if not officially, at least politically for Mother Mexico—that paragon of mismanagement who can't support its own and thus exports its excess citizens as fast as possible. Remember this concept called La Reconquista, as it is not to be ignored. It means the re-conquest of the lands in America's southwest which these neo-Mexican illegal aliens think still belongs to them.
If you want that to politically happen, go for this latest amnesty plan by our treasonist President and his cabal of greedy open border advocates.
Are the forces favoring open borders getting scared or do they just think the American public is stupid and that a bit of law and order window dressing now as the next amnesty is about to be greased by will be helpful?
You know who they are. The businesses who, as Secretary Chertoff noted at his April 20th news conference, use illegal labor as a permanent part of their business plan.
Until businesses that use illegal labor are really penalized, none of this talk by Chertoff and the other branches of government will be put into play. You know what that means? That means Congress actually appropriating money to do the job. Without the money, the law is ephemeral, unenforced and worthless.
Controlling our borders requires pluck, luck and the firm exercise of the laws now on the books. Simply have Mr. Chertoff do his job with the tools provided 20 years ago with the 1986 legislation. Make it so uncomfortable for businesses that break the law that they won't do it. Send those seven Houston managers who were apprehended to jail. Make the fines big and painful, not the kind of slap on the wrist that Wal-Mart got for its open business plan to hire people without proper documentation.
Of course, the Federal Government has not made it easy to determine who is legal. False IDs have become common. But the use of secure Social Security Numbers issued to legal recipients would be a great start.
Whether we need a national ID card as earlier suggested by liberal Harvard Law Professor Alan Dershowitz, or other secure documents which could be created by drivers' licenses has been discussed and debated for years.
The real question is do we have the guts, the capacity to go beyond party politics and the understanding that our country is on the line if we do not.
My position as a Democrat is frankly irrelevant. This is WWIII for the USA.
Either we let our country become a large, fat carcass chewed on willy nilly by anyone who wants to—or we regain our sovereignty and control our borders, make those who are here prove they are here legally, and halt the rape of American workers—whom neither party seems willing to protect.
Secretary Chertoff's foray into enforcement is not to be ignored. He told us the truth about what is going on, even if it was done for political purposes.
Arlen Specter is planning to hold new hearings and submit a revised bill by May 4th.They will be starting with the Hagel-Martinez bipartisan compromise bill that failed disastrously last month, as reported here on Vdare.Com.
If our US Senate comes back and passes the Hagel-Martinez "compromise" bill, we are cooked as a nation and I don't care which party you belong to.
Are you listening, America?
Donald A. Collins [email him], is a freelance writer living in Washington DC and a former long time member of the board of FAIR, the Federation for American Immigration Reform. His views are his own.
