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Long before he picked up an Oscar nomination and even before The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, Will Smith formed one of half of the rap-pop duo, D.J. Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince. Their most famous song, and the one song that launched Will Smith into stardom, was “Parents Just Don’t Understand”, a song chronicling one teenager’s angst with the level of control parents wield over their children. When I think of our elected officials response to the immigration problem, I think of this song, because our elected officials, like parents, just don’t understand.
For the past two years, radical, extremist organizations like L.U.L.A.C. and La Raza have pushed our Federal government to ease restrictions on the criminals who have immigrated to this great country-illegally. Last spring, they took to the streets, waving their native flags, shouting in Spanish, giving you, me and every other American the middle finger. Their leaders used fiery rhetoric to try and garner sympathy for a band of villains who supposedly lived “in the shadows” of American society. In the end, these illegal rallies accomplished little, except for forging an unholy alliance between “Big Business”, who saw an opportunity to flood the country with cheap labor, and the political opportunists on the far Left who saw an opportunity to flood the ballot box with millions of illegal voters.
Instead of simply securing the borders and enforcing the laws currently on the books, our elected officials felt it would be easier to first grant amnesty to those who are here illegally and then institute a system that would allow tens of millions of more illegal aliens to enter our nation, costing the taxpayers millions and compromising our national security. Legal American citizens flooded the Senate office building with phone calls and letters, demanding that they vote against any new immigration legislation, yet the Bush administration sent out damage control teams to conservative talk radio shows to claim that a majority of Americans supported the bill, and in doing so supported amnesty.
In the mean time, local governments, those most closely in-tune with the electorate, decided they would send Washington politicians a message. Several cities, across the United States, passed ordinances providing real solutions to the illegal immigration problem. In the D/FW area, Farmers Branch passed legislation that would make it illegal for illegal immigrants to rent housing and declaring English the official language. The Latino extremists were outraged and demanded that public be allowed to decide the matter. The Farmers Branch city council obliged and put the matter on a ballot. In May, citizens of Farmers Branch overwhelmingly supported the measure, yet the extremists were still unconvinced and bitched and moaned in front of a Federal judge, a Clinton appointee, until the emasculated judge finally relented and put a temporary moratorium on the legislation taking affect.
The latest example of an elected official, snubbing his nose at the electorate, comes from right here in the great city of Dallas. Newly elected mayor, Tom Leppert, announced last week that he supports recommendation from the pro-illegal immigration caucus for the city of Dallas to form an office of immigrant affairs, which according to the referenced Dallas Morning News article, would be “…dedicated to assimilating immigrants, legal and illegal, into the city of Dallas.” The News article implies that the taxpayer-funded office would seek to connect “the foreign-born to social service agencies in the city.”
Dallas, the city whose government refused to use taxpayer dollars to fund the Dallas Cowboys’ new stadium, a facility that would have created millions of dollars in revenue for the city, would rather use taxpayer dollars to fund an office that would encourage criminals to drain our revenue. Can someone please explain that one to me?
Leppert, like every other elected official, knows what American citizens think about illegal immigration; the poll numbers speak volumes. Yet, Mr. Leppert’s connections to the construction industry speak louder. Like many other corporate “yes-men”, Leppert sees these criminals as nothing more than dollar signs and wishes to exploit their services by any means necessary.
I’ve never been one to criticize a policy without offering an alternate solution. While Leppert’s plan seems deceptive and vague, I aim to offer a plan that will benefit not only Dallas residents, but also all American citizens.
Personally, I like the idea of a municipal office set up for the purpose of dealing with immigration issues, although for different reasons than Tom Leppert and the pro-illegal immigration caucus.
I say establish an office of immigration services, but instead of relying on taxpayer money, charge a fee for all immigrants and allow service organizations to fund the program in exchange for their services. Every immigrant would be required to register with the city office, which would conduct a standard background check on the applicant (i.e. criminal background check, employment history, family history, medical history). The applicant must prove that he or she is in the United State legally and working towards citizenship. The office would then seek to help the prospective American citizen assimilate naturally into American society.
One of the largest problems associated with illegal immigration is that illegal immigrants do not have insurance of any kind. Every day, American citizens must deal with illegals who can’t drive, have wrecks and don’t have the insurance to cover their mistakes. Likewise, area hospitals suffer financial strains when illegals show up seeking free treatment. The Dallas Office for Naturalization and Assimilation of Prospective Americans would require immigrants to purchase auto and health insurance from the city. Insurance companies would bid with the city for the right for this business, helping to fund the office.
Many illegals enter this country with little or no formal education and with little or no knowledge of the English language. The Dallas program would require all immigrants to participate in an educational program with a local community college, who like the insurance company won through a bidding process, in which the immigrant would take courses in English, government and American history.
Additionally, the office would work to remove the restraints from our law enforcement officials and allow them to ENFORCE all immigration laws on the books. This includes, but is not limited to, asking about immigration status, conducting raids on businesses known for hiring illegals and deporting any person found to be in this country illegally–regardless of circumstance. Businesses found employing illegals would face hefty fines as would property owners found renting to illegal aliens.
It takes more than mere ideas, democracy requires action. We must organize and act and with that I would like to announce the formation of Keep Dallas Legal, an organization devoted to the enforcement of immigration laws in the city of Dallas. We believe that Dallas is an American city, built by hard working American citizens for American citizens, governed by officials elected by American citizens. When these elected officials place the desires of non-citizens above the needs of American citizens, we feel that we must take political action through letter writing campaigns, phone banks, voter drives and other forms of political activism