In a recent editorial, the New York Times scolded Americans for "holding another nation of immigrants in bondage." Who are these people the Times wants to set free to lower wages, and crowd emergency rooms and classrooms? They are illegal immigrants who voluntarily sneak across the border or overstay their visa.
Yes, we are a nation of immigrants. We are also a nation of laws. The continued conflation of legal and illegal immigrants adds fuel to the fire. As the Federation for American Immigration Reform notes in a new report, "Guide to State and Local Action to Deterring Illegal Immigration":
The opponents of state and local law enforcement efforts attempt to confuse the issue by ignoring the difference between legal immigration and illegal immigration. In addition to the difference in legal status and entitlements of legal residents compared to illegal residents, the two categories of foreign residents differ greatly in their impact on a community. It is a disservice to legal immigrants to lump them together with immigration lawbreakers.
The paper of record decried stepped up enforcement by ICE. The raid on a meatpacking plant in Iowa did not trigger a national outcry because ICE is doing what Americans have long demanded: Enforce existing law.
While "national figures" fiddle, the debate over illegal immigration has shifted from the U.S. Capitol to state capitols. In the first quarter of 2008 alone, more than 1,100 bills were introduced in 44 states. Last week, South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford signed legislation requiring all employers verify the legal status of their employees.
Sanford told Lou Dobbs:
The best and most effective law is a federal law. For whatever reason, Washington has been at an absolute impasse. States have taken action into their own hands and that’s what this bill represents…
There are a lot of people who profit from the existing system the way that it is...
The bigger principle at play here is that at the end of the day, we are a nation of laws, not men.
States’ determination to uphold the rule of law is bubbling up to Washington.
It’s taken more than seven years but the White House announced yesterday that President Bush has signed an executive order requiring federal contractors verify that their employees are in the country legally and the validity of Social Security numbers:
I find, therefore, that adherence to the general policy of contracting only with providers that do not knowingly employ unauthorized alien workers and that have agreed to utilize an electronic employment verification system designated by the Secretary of Homeland Security to confirm the employment eligibility of their workforce will promote economy and efficiency in Federal procurement.
Finally!
