Of all the reasons that are being discussed about illegal immigration, the 600 lb guerilla in the room that everyone is aware of but ignoring, is probably the main reason this issue has become so political. It is the reason the Republicans are looking like spineless weenies, and Democrats are falling all over themselves to court lawbreakers. There is only one thing that would cause politicians to well, act like politicians, and that is the vote.
You can just hear them all licking their chops at the potential of getting millions of brand new voters, all registering for their respective parties, ensuring election victories for the next 30 years. The Democrats aren’t waiting for amnesty though. They have already set up voter registration tables in California at the illegal immigrant rallies and have proven that the vote is the only reason they “care” about these “poor, helpless people.” If the Republicans were smart, they would jump on this law flaunting bandwagon and pitch the virtue of their party, and try and get as many new votes as they can before November.
But what if voting wasn’t an issue? What if not one of these illegal aliens could ever vote here in the United States, no matter what their legal status becomes? After all, according to the Democrats it is about them filling jobs that lazy Americans refuse to do. According to the Republicans it is about giving people new opportunities for economic and political freedom. But since they both tip toe around d the voting issue, claiming that is what the other party is hoping to cash in on . . . let’s take it off the table and save both sides the trouble of exposing their true agendas.
Polls have shown that what the majority of people want is a level playing field and consistent laws that apply to everyone. They see people who have gone the legal route to immigration, filed for visas, received worker’s permits or permanent resident status and even applied for and received citizenship. This has taken years for most, and cost thousands of dollars to achieve, and every American applauds this approach to joining our nation of immigrants. Then they see people, who the minute they step through that hole in the fence, have broken a law, yet want to move to the front of the line, basically thumbing their noses at our la ws, and those who abided by them.
The solution to accommodate those who have compassion for the lives these illegals leave behind, and those who want to close the borders and send these people back for a variety of reasons, can be obtained through either statute or amendment. The suggested wording would be:
“Any person who enters the United States of America illegally, without visa authority, or overstays their visa authority, shall be permanently disqualified to obtain the right to vote, even if citizenship or amnesty is subsequently obtained. After a period of 15 years of legal residence, the right to vote may be awarded upon indiv idual petition demonstrating compelling and extraordinary circumstances.”
By taking voting off the table, it allows us to depoliticize the issue and discuss it rationally, with the best interests of our national security as the primary goal. It tells felons w ho have served time in jail, as US citizens, and have lost their right to vote, that bad behavior is not going to be tolerated from citizens, and certainly not from foreigners who come to our shores by illegal means. It tells black Americans that the suffering of their ancestors cannot be equated to illegal actions, and just as slaves didn’t receive the right to vote when they were recognized as citizens, then law breakers should not get that benefit either.
There are those who might say we want to create a disenfranchised class. No . . . they created that status for themselves the minute they stepped foot on US soil illegally. No one is saying they can’t leave and come through the front door, apply the way millions of others have and eventually get full citizenship. It is just if they choose to stay here on an amnesty program, work program, or any var iety of other suggestions the politicians are wrangling with . . . they can never have the right to vote.
The only way around it would be if they satisfied the one condition at the end of the amendment which says that after 15 years of legal residence, they have the right to petition the government based on compelling and extraordinary circumstances.” This allows those who are forced to come here for political reasons or have been forced to flee oppressive situations, to plead their case for full citizenship. It can’t just be fore economic hardship.
The other issue that makes this unfair for the rest of the world who would love the opportunity to come to America to seek economic freedom is that just by the nature of geography, they are penalized for not coming from a country that borders America. The only way that non-Mexicans can come into the US is legally and through the system, because they would be thrown in jail, or worse if they breached Mexico’s borders.
Why should one country, that borders the US., and prohibits the illegal breaching of their own border by people trying to get to ours, have a free bite at the apple? These non-bordering aliens have no choice but come through the front door of immigration. Mexico and Canada, virtually control OUR borders as the gatekeepers, and determine who comes and goes through them.
With voting off the table, the politicians will be forced to actually think about what is best for America, not themselves. They will be forced to look at the security threats to the country and realize with every illegal coming over our borders, they have the potential to bring in weapons, drugs, and even deadly viruses that could spread without notice. If the politicians refuse to depoliticize this issue . . . maybe we need to depoliticize them and send them packing in November.
