What worries me is that all three of the remaining presidential
candidates - Senators John S. McCain III (R-AZ), Barack H. Obama (D-IL)
and Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-NY) - support a general amnesty for
illegal immigrants. And this amnesty is without any prior successful
closure of the U.S.-Mexican Border that would halt further waves of
immigrants. McCain pays lip-service to border security and assimilation
on his campaign website. He states, "A secure border will contribute to
addressing our immigration problem most effectively if we also:
recognize the importance of a flexible labor market to keep employers in
business and our economy on top, and recognize the importance of
assimilation of our immigrant population, which includes learning
English, American history and civics, and respecting the values of a
democratic society." Obama's website is similar, listing border
security as his main priority, followed by "bring[ing] people out of the
shadows" to become citizens. Clinton uses much more flowery language
but essentially posits the same message.
It should be noted that illegal immigrants do not live in the shadows.
They attend American schools, use our hospital emergency rooms as though
they were a general practitioner's office and work in specific
businesses. If the Federal Government wanted to enforce our current
immigration laws, which are sufficient to solve the problem, it could.
But there is no willpower to do so.
I suspect that the reason for the drop in attendance at the rallies is
not a new burst of patriotism for America among prior attendees but
because the issue is not as pressing. What we need to do is return the
debate to the topic of assimilation, of learning to speak English, of
the value of becoming a citizen, and of pride in a country that provides
immigrants from around the world with more opportunities for success
than any other country on earth. The latter will be the most difficult.
Immigrants need to assimilate to American culture but if we are to
demand that they do we must first restore a proper sense of patriotism
among American citizens. How can we demand that foreigners respect our
country when our own elites so vehemently criticize and disdain
everything connected to American history, culture, ideals, governance
and traditions?
A return to assimilation and a coherent culture will not begin until we
put our own house in order. We cannot expect others to respect us when
many Americans themselves are ashamed of their country.