(This piece is in response to an article featured in my local college newspaper. It infuriated me on belief, so in turn here is my rebuttal to her asinine article.)
Since the 2016 election, we’ve seen the immigration debate become the hot button issue for most political pundits. Both sides of the isle are entrenched in their beliefs and won’t back down. The left will talk about how it is the humanitarian thing to do while saying that the countries that these people come from are complete paradises. The right will respond to blatant moralizing and condescension with facts and figures that prove the reality of illegal immigration.
Ms. Dukes sites a study about stating that immigrants commit less crime than the native population, ignoring the basic concept of “per capita.” The native population commits more crime due to the simple fact that there are more natives than immigrants. The study also cited only relates to legal immigrants, not illegals. But let’s talk about the crime stats and the fiscal problems with illegal immigration. The GAO published a study in 2011 that revealed the true crime spree that illegal immigrants are on. There were an estimated 10.8 million illegals in 2011, which is up to 12.5 million based on FAIR’s most recent findings for 2017. There were 351,000 inmates of illegal status incarcerated between federal and state levels. This figure could be even hire as it doesn’t include convicted illegals for who the state governments didn’t submit a SCAAP request, immigration detainees, and prisoners whose birth country couldn’t be determined. Criminal aliens also accounted for 27% of the inmate population from 2001-2004. Based on the sample from GAO, the average illegal has been arrested at least 7 times, with a majority being convicted for immigration or drug offenses. The federal government reimburses the state governments for trials of illegals though the SCAAP, which is estimated to have cost 1.6 billion annually from 2004-2009. FAIR published a report detailing the exact cost illegals have on economy, even going as far to break it down by state. FAIR estimates that illegals cost the federal and state governments over 134 billion annually, while the illegals put in around 18 billion in taxes. This leaves the American taxpayer in debt for 116 billion dollars every single year. That number is increasing as more illegals arrive to continue to eat benefits. Each of the illegal 2.2 million illegals in Virginia cost an average of $4,893. The cost of these illegals broken down to each citizen is $264, which may be “peanuts” to some on the left but can be extremely beneficial to the average citizen. One of the studies Ms. Dukes cites says that it could cost anywhere between 400 to 600 billion, but that number can easily be recouped from the 116 billion mentioned previously. Also, how many Americans are we going let be killed by illegals and their reckless and illegal actions. I’m tired of hearing about the Edwin Jacksons and Kate Steinles, killed by people who shouldn’t have been here in the first place. Deaths completely preventable had this country given a damn about fixing the illegal immigration problem.
Ms. Dukes says that the ICE hotline is fascistic, but in reality, it’s another criminal hotline. At the end of the day these people have committed a federal crime and no amount of polished language can change that fact. Bringing up DACA is a moot point after the State of the Union address where Trump announced a path to amnesty for 1.8 million illegals, including all the DACA recipients, that’s if the Democrats will give him the funding for his wall and other provisions. Also on DACA, these people had years to apply for actual citizenship, but chose not to, so they could continue living outside the system.
Both parties have an incentive to keep illegal immigration going, with Democrats tallying up the votes and Republicans getting cheaper and cheaper labor for their business investors. But countries like Mexico also have a stake in this as well. With the corruption of the Mexican government in full view, one would have expected a revolution years ago against the patricians that are thoroughly screwing over the little guy. The border acts as a pressure release valve for the corrupt government, who can kick the revolutionary can down the road as all of the people who would fight in it illegally come into the US to live in what amount to elevated poverty. While all revolutions are spearheaded by the upper class, it’s the plebeians who will do the fighting when they’re backs are against the wall and it’s a reform or fight situation. Trump’s wall and mass deportation would go a long way to speeding that process up. Ms. Dukes says that it is the moral thing to make Blacksburg a sanctuary city, but, it’s the exact opposite. Amnesty, sanctuary cities, and guest worker programs haven’t stopped the uptick in brutal cartel violence and corruption. It is up to Mexico and its South American neighbors to sort the issues out for themselves. These countries have some of the vastest resources on the planet, rich culture ripe for tourism, and a wide variety of ecological potential. There is absolutely zero excuse why these countries are as poor as they are, especially Mexico with its central location. I wouldn’t mind a version of NAFTA with a country that was with a country in the top 20 of the UN human development chart instead of 77th. These people have a right to make their countries as great as ours!
There are a myriad of reasons why becoming a sanctuary city would be a detriment to Blacksburg or any city in general. Ms. Dukes says that no one should be treated less because of their immigration status, and she’s quite correct in that regard, but that’s overlooking the fact that these people are criminals. She brings up law enforcement members going after green card holders, but without a citation, so I cannot verify that claim. Your claims that things are the moral thing to do and that we have no position to criticize due to how are country was founded is ridiculous and isn’t an argument. There are proven costs of illegal immigration on both the US and their home countries. I’m all for cutting some the tenuous process to become a citizen because that is the conservative position on cutting bureaucratic waste. A tighter immigration system and a border wall would go a long way to fixing these fiscal and social issues caused by illegal immigration. Sanctuary cities and emotions aren’t going to fix the issue.
Citations:
https://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-11-187
http://www.nationalreview.com/article/455549/crime-illegal-immigration
https://fairus.org/issue/publications-resources/fiscal-burden-illegal-immigration-united-states-taxpayers
https://fairus.org/issue/illegal-immigration/how-many-illegal-immigrants-are-in-us
https://fairus.org/issue/illegal-immigration/daca-myth-what-americans-need-know
Free Speech Over Feelings 