“Immigration reform” is all the buzz lately, and has been discussed for what seems like most of my life, but even more so very recently. Politicians are constantly talking about it, news stations are running stories, and activist groups are buying billboards and running video ads. There is lots of talk, but little to no action.
Meanwhile, while everyone is talking and pontificating, our country continues to see an influx of illegal immigrants. While many, heck, I’ll even give you “most” of those illegal immigrants are good, hardworking people looking for a better life, not all of them are. We already have enough problems with crime in here in this country without having to import more criminals, but that is exactly what we are doing by allowing the influx to continue unchecked.
What does some dumb street cop know about illegal immigrants? Well, a lot actually, since I deal with them on a weekly if not daily basis. Like I said before, most of them are good folks, but not all of them are. The problem this country has is that it is impossible to tell the good from the bad by just looking at them, which is why we need to prevent their entry until they can be checked.
The illegal immigrant population in our jails continues to grow. And do not confuse that growth to mean they are there for being illegals, they are there for committing other crimes. You see, being an illegal immigrant in the State of California is not a crime we can arrest you for. The only way you end up in a CA jail is by committing a felony. That is not new, but what is new is the Obama administration’s orders to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to not deport those individuals any longer.
Sheriff Scott Jones of Sacramento, CA just released a video letter in which he specifically addresses President Obama, and calls on him to secure our borders. Sheriff Jones, two weeks prior to the release of this video, had the unwelcome, unwanted job of burying one of his own deputies, Deputy Danny Oliver, who was killed by an illegal immigrant with a significant criminal history, who had been deported several times in the past, who should have never been in this county, but was here anyway.
But hey, they are just hardworking people looking for a better life, who are here illegally, and committing felonies. Why should that be reason to remove them from the country they entered illegally?
I’ll tell you why, because criminals become emboldened when they know nothing will happen to them. They amass arms and go on violent rampages, killing two cops and shooting others. They carjack innocent victims, they shoot innocent people in the face. People like that are the reason that blanket amnesty is absolutely the wrong move. People like that make this country unsafe. People like that are the reason we need to stop the flow of unchecked illegal immigrants across our borders. People like that are the reason that we need to build a wall on our southern border, the border that most of those criminals stream across.
It has been announced that Thursday night, President Obama will release his plans for executive action on “immigration reform” in a prime-time TV speech. Sadly, it is expected that his plans will include the very blanket amnesty that I oppose, amnesty that does nothing to make us safer, and does not look to address preventing further influx of illegal immigrants. While movement on this issue is important, movement in the wrong direction is dangerous.
I stand with Sheriff Jones on this issue. Mr. President, build this wall! Stop the unchecked flow of illegal immigrants, which currently includes violent criminals. This is the first, most important step in any sort of immigration reform. Without preventing the illegal entry of more immigrants, any and all other reforms, including amnesty, are worthless, and amount to nothing more than political grandstanding. Once the borders are secure, then and only then should we discuss what changes should be made to our immigration policies.