Today’s news cycle is like playing an endless game of “Hot Potato.” The media takes a topic like gun control right after a shooting and talks about it for a week or two until the potato is cold. At that point, they put it down and find the next “hot potato” issue. In a few months, something will happen and the same issues are reheated as the current “hot potato.”
The latest of these topics has been the issue at the southern border. A heavy flow of migrants and a border patrol that is understaffed and underfunded has led to a true humanitarian and security crisis. Even leading Democrats, who said there was no crisis, or were calling the crisis at the border “manufactured by President Trump,” are now admitting that there really is a crisis. However, some Democrats have given their opinions about the solution for illegal immigration, and their “solutions” cut right at a root of what makes America a sovereign nation.
That solution was given during the 2nd day of the Democratic Presidential primary debate, when 8 out of the 10 candidates raised their hands and said they would push for illegal entry into the U.S. to be treated as a “civil offence” instead of as a crime.
Decriminalization would essentially lower the penalty of illegal border crossing to a fine and would prevent people from being detained for illegally crossing the border. Senator Kamala Harris (D-CA) seemed to suggest that she didn’t think an individual should ever be deported solely for crossing the border illegally.
This stance towards illegal immigration may appear kind and merciful. I honestly believe a majority of illegal immigrants are looking for a better life and want to be a part of the amazing opportunities that are found in America. However, to let people, no matter how well intentioned, come into our country without following the set rules is actually to attack one of the very cornerstones of what made this nation a land opportunities. That cornerstone is the rule of law in America.
John Adams said that he wanted to establish “a government of laws and not of men.” This makes total sense since a nation that is of men and not laws is quickly reduced to anarchy. Our Constitution, in Article 1, Section 8, gives Congress the power, “To establish an uniform Rule of Naturalization.” These laws set the guidelines for how one should immigrate to this country and certainly are accepting of most who come through that set process. The fact is that it should be expected that someone who wishes to enter a country will follow the laws of that said country, including how they should enter.
When it comes to immigration, America is a very generous country.
In an article on NBC News from July of last year, Daniella Silva stated that approximately 700,000 – 750,000 immigrants are naturalized as citizens each year. That number does not include the hundreds of thousands more who receive work visas or other forms of temporary legal stay. America has no obligation to accept people from the outside, but we realize it is beneficial to the U.S. as a whole and we are certainly more welcoming to immigrants, especially illegal immigrants, than most other nations in the world.
America truly is a special place. Under our Constitution we experience unequaled liberty and personal opportunity, and this liberty and prosperity drives many to seek a better life in America. However, in this generous and prosperous country, is it too much to make sure we are able to control who comes in and to require people to follow the rules when they seek to enter?
Isaac Hadam is an 18 year old who writes and speaks about the U.S. Constitution. He is the Vice-President of the Constitutional Awareness Pact, has written for the Conway Daily Sun, and is a contributing writer to the Weirs Times. For more info please visit www.constitutionalawarenesspact.webs.com.
