By all means, let us make them comfortable while they are unlawfully residing here. We should give them plenty of space to demonstrate in the streets of our cities claiming they are the future of our country. Let us accommodate them with sanctuary cities so they can rest peacefully at night. Let us provide their children with free use of our schools so they can rest assured they will get an education. We should do everything we can to support them while they are working here and usually avoiding the payment of taxes for the privilege of doing so. We should look the other way when they decide to further disobey other laws and Americans are harmed in the process. Let us make sure that law enforcement agencies are not burdened by inquiring about the legal status of any person of interest they may handle. We should also throw in some free taxpayer supported health care for them and their families, and provide the extra incentive of legal citizenship status for their children that are born here. After all, what is the attraction of America if it can not provide for others at the expense of its own citizens?

Americans have not demanded enough action with this issue because they are busy justifying its existence, or because they will be labeled as a racist or a person against immigration overall if they object. Why should this be the case for only wanting the laws of our nation to be enforced equally among everybody? Being repeatedly painted with these obtuse accusations from the asinine crowd does not make them any truer. Our Government has also contributed to the problem by choosing to embark on a course of apathy and absolute incompetence fearing that doing anything will stir up controversy. Allowing for this chaotic environment to exist has its disadvantages for the illegal immigrants as well by permitting their own exploitation. However, it has been endlessly shown that illegal immigrants have a much stronger determination to come here illegally than the United States does to prevent it or to deport the guilty that are here. Until this reality changes, it is likely to consistently be met with indifference from both our public and politicians. It will also continue to be minimized with the pathetic argument that successfully deporting illegal immigrants is not feasible. It has nothing to do with this deception, it is more about not having the desire, the will, or the courage to do what is right.

You have to wonder what is wrong with our values here in the United States. Why is it acceptable to not concern ourselves about whether or not our laws are enforced? How can the whole concept of a sanctuary city even exist and the leaders of that city are not removed or arrested? Since when is it all right to decide on an individual basis which laws will be obeyed and which will not. It is astounding that so much debate on illegal immigration completely disregards the fact that the law has been broken as if that is acceptable as long as it is justified in one’s own mind. It is a bad policy to have laws written and their disobedience is sanctified by turning a blind eye to the enforcement of those laws. Will it be long before we think we should give sanctuary to robbery suspects, what about refuge for other crimes like assault? Yes, I know the thinking; that is total hyperbole – right? Why should these be any different, the law is the law, and it should be enforced and not ignored.

The United States needs to resolve this issue and not reward those who migrated here illegally. An essential aspect of the solution must include steep penalties to the employers encouraging illegal immigration by employing them for their own benefit. These penalties should be heavy from the beginning and strongly escalate for each subsequent violation. Immigration should be encouraged and accomplished through proper legal channels, which is the expectation of everyone including those that have been waiting on immigration application approvals. I do not blame others for wanting to come here to make a better life, but it is not acceptable for them to violate our laws in doing so, and we certainly should not allow it. Stated in what should be a simple and obvious manner, illegal is illegal, and no perceived justification to the contrary should be tolerated.

…”the people are responsible for the character of their Congress. If that body be ignorant, reckless, and corrupt, it is because the people tolerate ignorance, recklessness, and corruption. If it be intelligent, brave, and pure, it is because the people demand these high qualities to represent them in the national legislature. . . If the next centennial does not find us a great nation . . . it will be because those who represent the enterprise, the culture, and the morality of the nation do not aid in controlling the political forces.” -James Garfield, July 1877

Such eloquent words from James Garfield a few years before he became the President of the United States, they are as prescient today as the day they were spoken; it certainly illustrates the point that we get the Government we deserve. In America, we seem to be missing the fact that our politicians are a mirror image of our collective society. A collective that is a mix of the politically active members of our society (informed or not) as well as ones that choose to remain indifferent. If the active members elect a reckless and immoral Government while the indifferent members remain uninvolved, they too are choosing this same Government through toleration. Simply stated, our Government and its policy are forged by a minority of active members operating within the span of tolerance of the inactive members, until that tolerance yields and they become engaged. Regardless of whether members of society choose to be involved or uninvolved, concerned or indifferent, it is a choice that each is making about the Government that will represent them, thus producing our warranted outcome as a whole.

This can be a painful admission to many citizens in our nation that feel the Government does not represent their values even though they are very informed and active on the political scene. Government can never be better than the collective average of all its citizens. The question to answer becomes what is this collective average of our values as Americans and how each individual’s values compare to it. If you are an individual that has a higher set of values than the collective average, you will likely meet constant frustration trying to understand or bring about change with little success. This will continue unless a faction of uninvolved, like-minded people can be urged into participating to bring about change. On the other hand, if you happen to fall within the collective average or below, you will likely think that everything is wonderful and right in America and nothing should change.

Considering this view that our Government is a mirror image of its people, and we contemplate such Government, then what can we deduce about the character of Americans collectively?