Where is the Justice?

Posted by Larry Miller on July 19, 2010 under Why | Be the First to Comment

This morning as I was leaving church I saw a woman wearing a beautiful orange sari. For those not familiar with the term, this colorful garment is the garb of many women in India. I struck up a conversation and found that she had been in the US for about two years. After getting some recommendations for some good Indian restaurants the conversation turned to the fact that she was looking forward to the arrival of her family – parents and sister, if I remember correctly – this summer.

I asked if they were coming to stay, or visiting. She said, “Oh no, it’s too expensive and complicated for them to stay here.” Now, not having met these people, I have no idea if they would even want to remain in our country, but the unfairness of the immigration situation in our country struck me at a personal level that went beyond the theoretical and academic discussions we tend to have about the subject.

Somehow, I was struck by the absurdity of erecting almost prohibitive barriers to people who will respect our laws and our people while many want to welcome with open arms those who disrespect our people, their property and our laws. We hear all sorts of claims of the unfairness of forcing employers to check on the legality of people in their employ or landlords required to do similar checks… or the necessity of proving legal status to receive social services which are nothing more than wealth transfer vehicles. Yet, where is the fairness or justice in confiscating the resources of Americans who obey the laws and giving them to those who don’t.

For those of us who have been paying attention, “comprehensive immigration reform” is nothing more than a scheme to enslave more (not even) citizens to the government transfer payments and lock them into the party that promises to maintain, and even increase, them. The immigration reform that would actually benefit our country would remove some of the obstacles for productive professionals from other countries and make sure everyone else would contribute to the well being of our nation.

Those who site the specious statistics that, on balance, we benefit from illegal immigration are obviously viewing them through a different lens than the average American who is footing the bill. We can easily see the increase in the number of Democratic voters the current administration seeks to gain by legalizing millions of law breakers. As far as Republicans who are aiding in this national suicide, I can see two possible reasons, and there may be more. The first is that they are in the pockets of businesses that benefit from cheap labor… those that are just as despicable as those who take American jobs and send them overseas. The second is that they don’t have the courage to stand up for want the citizens instinctively know is right. Which is worse, corruption or cowardice, I’m not sure.

In any case, the injustice of this situation and many others that come to mind, brought to memory something one of founders told us years ago. Thomas Jefferson advised, “When injustice becomes law, Resistance becomes duty.” Duty is an old fashioned concept to many who have been infected by the “me” culture, but unless we do our duty, what will we tell our enslaved grandchildren?