Minutemen Influence Gaining
Written by Sam on April 27th, 2006I think this is yet another lesson to the Republican Congress that they just can’t pander to their base and then once they get in, forget about them. The result of this issue dealing with illegal immigration, in my opinion, will be the deciding factor this year as to how the Republicans do in November. While I don’t think it is realistic to go out and deport 12 million people all of a sudden, I do believe that this idea of a guest worker program as well as potential amnesty for these criminals in our country is not going to fly with the American public.
I think the best way to deal with this problem is: 1. Secure the border, 2. Cut off the jobs. Heavily, and I mean heavily, fine employers who are caught employing these people illegally. 3. Cut off the public dole to illegals. When the well dries up a lot of them will go back on their own. In concurrence to all of this, deport anyone who is found to be illegal at any time, such as a traffic stop, for instance. It is not impossible to fix this problem, not at all. It is simply reluctance on behalf of our politicians in Washington D.C. and quite frankly, I think Bush should be impeached for doing nothing about this problem in a post 9-11 world.
Minuteman organizers say this spring’s marches have proved to be an unexpected recruitment tool for Americans who feel uneasy about the burgeoning immigration movement but may have considered the organization a pack of gun-toting vigilantes.
“We’re not trying to be more mainstream — mainstream has found us,” said Stephen Eichler, the group’s executive director. “They’re saying, ‘These guys actually have teeth, they don’t all chew tobacco, they don’t all have a gun rack in the back of their truck.’ They’re saying, `They believe what I believe,’ and they’re joining us.”
Lisonbee, a registered Republican, said only one issue matters to her now.
“My vote will go to the candidate who’s the toughest on immigration, whether they’re Democrat or Republican,” she said from her home in Orem, Utah. “Before, we were pretty much the types of people who would call our congressmen and not take to the streets. But that’s all changed now.”
The Minuteman Project first gained attention last year when Orange County resident and former tax accountant Jim Gilchrist helped lead its first 30-day patrol of the border in Arizona. The group has added mainstream political tools, including a network of local chapters and e-mail lobbying campaigns.
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I’m not ready to say he should be impeached, but I’m awfully thankful for the Minutemen. (BTW, here’s an interesting Allen article. Use “beenbugged” and “republic” to log in and get the story if you’re not registered.
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The problem is even deeper than simply saying, “illegals are taking jobs that Americans won’t do.” This statement is in a way true, but one must take a look at the factors behind the situation. The increasing welfare state-ism of our nation has led to this attitude of Americans not wanting to do the grunt work, when they know that there are other channels to getting money (i.e. welfare system). We have created this problem as a precursor to the illegal immigration problem, so now the ramifications of the first are actually a huge cause behind the motivation for the second. Until we pare back the welfare state programs and essentially demand that some people find work for themselves, rather than depend on the government, the illegal immigration program will remain a Catch-22 situation. Of course Americans don’t want to do these jobs, because the class of people who would be employed in such jobs have other legal alternatives that they will use rather than working on a construction site.
I agree with what Sam is saying, in reference to first and foremost securing the boarders, then forcing businesses to stop hiring illegals, thus drying up the well of opportunity for illegals to take advantage of. However, once this is done, the original problem that we created will remain and until it is fixed, will indeed cause labor problems in this country. A more holistic approach to this problem is what is needed.
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“However, if we deport all these people, big business and big agriculture is going to have to raise wages quite a bit to employ Americans.”
That would seem to be the case, but there is a third option: innovation. Technology that increases efficiancies. Detroit would still be doing hand welds for cars if the Japanese hadn’t forced them to invest in robots. Low wages or inflation aren’t the only options.