The Border Issue is Tragic, But Still Illegal
What is happening in the Northern Triangle is tragic. The fact that the families feel they have no other choice but to send their children on a journey over thousands of miles, alone, across several nations, is heartbreaking. However, it was a choice, and that choice included breaking the law. The thousands of Central American citizens that are amassing on the U.S. southern border are attempting to cross into this country illegally. They are circumventing the law, and straining an already overloaded system.
Yesterday, President Obama held a press conference in Texas addressing what he calls a “humanitarian issue on the border.” His speech addressed several things, the first being that he plans to do “the right thing by the children,” although he did not elaborate on what that is exactly. While he did not say when or how the children would be returned, he did say “it is unlikely that they will stay.” Second, he made a point of explaining that that the immigrants are entering mainly through “one sector of the Rio Grande Valley,” that they are being apprehended and detained, and that there are “more agents on the border than ever before.” The third aspect of his speech dealt with Congress. He made it abundantly clear that Congress holds the cards right now, by explaining that his office has petitioned Congress for funding in order to carry out the necessary actions needed to resolve the current border issue. He went as far as saying that if Congress had acted on immigration last year, or the year before (SB 744—an 1198 page immigration reform bill—has yet to be introduced in the House), this border crisis could have been avoided. Essentially, he laid the bulk of the issue on the door of partisan politics, specifically Republican politics.
What is interesting is that proponents of allowing these immigrants to stay often quote a portion of the poem inscribed at the base of the Statue of Liberty: “Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,” and state that America has a history of an open door policy. In making this comment, individuals skew the issue. The poem, as eloquent and patriotic as it is, was written to commemorate the dedication of the statue of liberty, not as a policy on immigration. The majority of the immigrants that would see the “beacon of liberty” on their path to freedom were immigrating here legally. They came by boat and were required to stop and register at Ellis Island.
The issue is not about not wanting immigrants; the issue is the hundreds of thousands of people attempting to come illegally. As much are we are a country of immigrants, we are also a country of laws. In debates like this, it is tempting to look around the world and see how other nations handle issues of immigration and border security and compare, but we don’t need to compare, and we don’t need to play the blame game. We need to follow the laws and the Constitution of the United States. Congress and the President have a responsibility to uphold the laws of this land and to work for the good of her citizens. That is the oath they took.
