The Paradox of National Sovereignty

Recent initiatives to offer amnesty to millions of illegal immigrants in the USA strike at the very heart of rational policies to ensure a viable future for the American Experiment in representative government rooted in a virtuous citizenry and the rule of law.

The United States has a checkered history on immigration. The Irish were discriminated against in the mid-19th century as they fled the famines in their land. Half a century later, they were an integral part of the American cultural topography.The halycion days of Ellis Island gave way to the xenophobia and anti-Semitism of the the 1920s to 1940s. On the Pacific coast, anti-Chinese laws reflected racism contrary to the spirit of our Constitution. The internment of Japanese-Americans in 1942 was a tragic moment in national paranoia.

In spite of these awful moments, The USA has been and must continue to be a land of opportunity and safety for those willing to abide by her laws and principles.

The situation with Mexico has a convoluted history. The U.S. deliberately provoked a war in 1847 in order to capture the rest of the continent. This aggression has never been forgotten by our neighbors south of the border. There are radical groups in Mexico and the USA that have a long-term strategy to create a new nation in the Southwest. The more pragmatic leaders envision a borderless economic and political arrangement that favors free access for Mexicans to enjoy the economic and social benefits of the U.S. economy. The second largest source of revenue for the Mexican economy is the flow of dollars from north of the border!

Democratic politicians and Republican business leaders want to ignore the long-term sociopolitical problems with our current chaos and enjoy the cheap labor and potential voting blocs created by the current blindness in Washington, D.C.

Proponents of a rational policy are dubbed racists and xenophobes and genuine concerns for American culture and security are ignored.

National sovereignty has been questioned by elites since the end of WWI and the beginning of the League of Nations. "One-world" thinking is not confined to academics, Marxist protestors or U.N. employees. Powerful economic and politcal forces want to see a borderless world and a decline in U.S. hegemony.

I contend that the preservation of national sovereignty through rational immigration policies is the best guarantee of long-term freedom for Americans and the world. Citizenship and intelligent patriotism are important components for long-term stability. Every nation in the world that wants to enhance her distinct place in the global community needs a sane policy. Diversity is not disunity - global cooperation without co-opting freedom is always a goal.

The sane rule of law (and the ability to improve those laws) is a gift to world freedom. Once participation in a society is reduced to mere economics, local and regional fracturing of common ideals is not far behind.

Pragmatically, the murderous drug gangs and the infiltration of Islamofascist terrorists are reasons enough to enforce our borders, regardless of the strictness of immigration policies.

We need to have a real debate on the nature of neighborliness with all countries, especially with Mexico. There are multiple ways to enjoy mutual prosperity without undermining national sovereignty or reverting to past policies.

I challenge the leaders of both parties to show real courage. My liberal friends, are you ready to pay Social Security taxes to your gardeners and maids? Farmers, are you ready for a regulated labor pool, with protection for the workers? High-tech executives, are you discriminating against native-born American workers because you can import an engineer on the cheap? Republican business leaders, are you ready to pay a living wage? Oh, I almost forgot - U.S. citizens, are you willing to pay a bit more for your fruits and vegetables in order to pay for border regulation and better wages to legal guest workers?

We might learn from Australia. Labor is hard to import down-under; therefore, harvesting technology is much more advanced and products are brought to market efficiently without burdening the social structure.

We have important choices to make.