Strange Way to Show Gratitude

Written May 11, 2007  Someone must say this out loud. There were no mass political protests in Mexico City, nor in the capitals of some Eastern European countries. But, tens of thousands of people marched in Chicago, Los Angeles, and Washington, D.C. on behalf of folks who are breaking our country's immigration and typically employment and driving laws. The majority of my constituents now recognize that they are paying for the failure of our federal elected officials to enforce the immigration laws of this country and the misguided misappropriation of incentives by state elected officials for those breaking the law. On average, it costs $10,000 to educate one child for one year in Illinois public schools. If an illegal immigrant family has four kids, it costs taxpayers $40,000 per year. Thirteen years of this cost, from kindergarten through senior year of high school, adds up to a staggering $520,000 family benefit. Despite my "No" vote, some area legislators successfully voted to extend a 2/3rds discount on tuition paid by in-state illegal immigrants to our public universities. In effect, it now costs three times more for a legal citizen of Des Moines, Iowa, or anywhere else in the U.S., to attend the University of Illinois than it does for an illegal immigrant from another country. Additionally, according to the Associated Press, 58% of the new enrollments in Governor Blagojevich's "All Kids" Healthcare Program are not legal residents of this state. Recently, the Illinois House, with support of at least two area representatives passed legal driving privileges for illegal immigrants who currently flount immigration, employment, traffic and insurance laws. It is incredibly naïve, or downright dishonest, to expect our constituents to believe that this legal inconsistency was passed so illegal immigrants can be "tracked" better. The response to this enormous give-away is not gratitude, but protest. As Americans, we are generous, patient people, but once we understand what is really happening, many people resent having their good nature taken advantage of. John F. Kennedy said, "Our nation is founded on the principle that observance of the law is the eternal safeguard of liberty, and defiance of the law is the surest road to tyranny...For no man however prominent and powerful, and no mob however unruly and boisterous, is entitled to defy a court of law." It is a matter of human dignity to treat others as you would expect to be treated. I cannot go to a foreign country and break their laws with impunity. In our country, if some are good enough and trusted enough to follow the law, then all must be trusted to be good and morally strong enough to follow the law. Otherwise, we will create a caste system in the United States, that has not existed since the evil of slavery, where the American value of "equality" before God and man's law has no meaning. Not only will we have social discord, we will have the strong preying upon the weak. Some on the Republican side drag their feet on enforcing the law and implementing appropriate reform because they think illegal immigrants represent "cheap labor" that will work subserviently. The rest of us pick up the true cost. Others on the Democrat side resist meaningful enforcement and pander to the basic instincts of desperate people because they anticipate "easy votes". The majority of law-abiding citizens are taunted with the slogan, "Today we march, tomorrow we vote." Those who disrespect the current law are perhaps giving us fair warning of what lies ahead. I enjoy living and raising my family in Aurora because we all represent a true cross-section of our country with 35% Hispanic, 25% African-American, and then the rest of us. We experience the process of real integration and assimilation every day. The more someone reminds me that they're different from me, the more I consider our differences. The more I see neighbors sweat when they work like I do, worry about paying their bills like I do, and laugh when their children play, the more I recognize and appreciate our natural common bond. Respect for and adherence to the law is social adhesive. Finally, the most recent objection to immigration law enforcement is "Don't divide families". It is certainly true that our children benefit, or suffer, from the decisions that we make as parents. I worry about the example that is being given to impressionable youths, and the lessons that are being taught that may be applied in the future to violent crime and drug use, when children realize that their parents can pick and choose what laws are to be followed. Children should not be used as shields to justify illegal actions and decisions. American Hispanics, native and immigrant (both legal and illegal), are at a crossroad. They are deciding individually and as a group whether America for them is a land of earned opportunity or a land of demanded entitlement.