Illegal immigration is way out of control
http://www.lancastereaglegazette.com/article/20090705/OPINION02/907050323/1014/OPINION
IT is unclear when immigration to America first started or who started it. The most accepted argument is that migratory tribes from northeast Asia crossed into what is now Alaska and settled in a warmer climate. What is clear is that small groups of Vikings migrated to North America about 1,000 years ago and the great European migration started about five hundred years ago.
Advertisement
During the colonial era most immigrants came from northern Europe and later from all of Western Europe and finally, Eastern Europe as well. During the mid-19th century immigration reached annual levels in the 300,000s, then shrank during the Civil War era only to jump back again after the war.
Following the Immigration Act of 1903, the annual rate rose to levels of around 1 million, with a marked drop-off during World War I. The level remained low following the War, until the Immigration Amnesty Act of 1990 when the level of nearly 1 million per year resumed.
This level has been maintained ever since. The majority of this immigration came from Europe: the same civilization as the U.S.
Recently, a surge in Mexican immigration developed, by a civilization different from the U.S. From 1820 to 1997 - 178 years - 2,808,613 legal Mexican immigrants entered the U.S. Then, from 1998 to 2007, there were 4,419,394 legal entries. Something else also happened: Millions of Mexicans marched across the border in illegal entry.
The various states have developed data on the number of illegal immigrants in each state generating a moderately reliable estimate of about 11.6 million: California, Texas and Florida having the largest populations.
Of this total, just less than 6.6 million are from Mexico: compared to the 4. 4 million legal Mexican entries in the past decade. It is estimated that about half a million continue to illegally enter each year. The situation is out of control.
The most significant problem of illegal immigrants is their failure to assimilate into the American culture. Because they are illegal, they are forced to live in the shadows of American life. They tend to socially huddle together with other illegals, failing to assimilate and prolonging the use of their native language.
To accommodate this shortfall, many businesses now post advertisements and store directions in both English and Spanish. In Lancaster, large chain stores have Spanish instructions on their front door. Its long-term continued use creates the high likelihood of the U.S. becoming a bi-lingual country. Bilingualism has created extreme problems in Canada, fostering separatism, particularly in the Province of Quebec.
The issue was best described a century ago by President Theodore Roosevelt:
In the first place, we should insist that if the immigrant who comes here in good faith becomes an American and assimilates himself to us, he shall be treated on an exact equality with everyone else, for it is an outrage to discriminate against any such man because of creed, or birthplace, or origin.
But, this is predicated upon the person’s becoming in every facet an American, and nothing but an American … There can be no divided allegiance here. Any man who says he is an American, but something else also, isn’t an American at all. We have room for but one flag, the American Flag … We have room for but one language here, and that is the English language … And we have room for but one sole loyalty and that is loyalty for the American people.
This situation requires action by Congress, lest it engulf the country. There appear two very different courses of action:
# Allowing the illegals to assimilate into the American culture by changing their status to some form of legality, or
# Imposing huge fines on employers - say $10,000 - for each day that an illegal is employed. Without jobs, they will self-deport back to Mexico.
Both courses have problems of implementation and enforcement. The issues should be debated in town halls, state legislatures and the Congress because action must be taken. A few states - Florida, Texas, New Mexico, Arizona and California - have most of the illegals and thus will bear the brunt of whatever action is taken. Their concerns must be given heavy weight in the decisions which must be made.
- Dick Scamehorn, a longtime Lancaster resident, is Ohio University’s Executive-in-Residence Emeritus and former President of Diamond Power.
Tags: 19th Century, 6 Million, Advertise, Advertisement, Alaska, Allow, Also, Arte, Asia, Avi, Bac, Best, Bir, Canada, Chai, Colo, Congress, Cultur, Culture, Deb, Debate, Decade, Decisions, Dia, Diam, Diamond, Dic, Dow, Ears, Ers, Europe, Ever, Face, Facet, Failure, From, Gia, Good, Groups, Have, Hey, Ing, Ins, Job, Jobs, Lace, Led, Less, Lim, Lse, Made, Maine, Mall, Mate, Med, Mer, North America, Order, Pear, People, Quality, Rant, Rim, Rio, Rns, Rose, Sha, Shad, Sit, Spa, Start, Stern, Store, Take, Ted, That, Then, There, They, This, Ups, Wh, What, When, Will, With, World War I, Ya