Time to Act

Who would have thunk it that I would not only have read a book penned by Patrick Buchanan but also agree with him? But as I have said over and over, you can't make an intelligent argument if you don't know what you are talking about. Plus, reading evrything and anything opens your mind up and reinforces your opinions.

Two weeks ago the Senate voted down the immigration bill and helped reinforce president Bush's lame duck status. They made the right decision and maybe, just maybe a few headed Buchanan's warning. For those of you who care about our country and what crimes illegal immigrants are perpetuating then read this book. If there are those out there who are reading my blog and believe that I have a thing or two to say, go read this book. And for those of you who may not agree with Buchanan on most issues but are willing to hear him out, go read this book.

Here are three points that I would like to make about the book. First, it seems that whenever you talk about not wanting to support illegal immigration you are almost immediatley branded a racist-because you are talking about brown people; you are immediately targeted as a xenophobe; and you are targeted as anti-immigrant because we are, afterall, all immigrants. But the one that gets me the most is the canard that illegal immigrants do work that Americans wont do and according to Vincente Fox not even black people want to do. Buchanan quotes from a study done by Harvard economist George Borjas in which Borajas states that "cheap immigrant labor has reduced by 7.4 percent the wages of American workers performing low-skill jobs." He goes on to quote New York Times writer Paul Krugman as saying, "Americans are hurt fby immigration. Because Mexican immigrants have much less education than the average U.S worker, they increase the supply of less-skilled labor, driving down the wages of the worst-paid Americans." And who are some of these Americans? blacks, Hispanics, and working-class white Americans without high school diplomas.

Second, years ago I stated to friends that a lot of illegal immigrants are criminals and are adding to our criminal justice system. The retort was, Americans are criminals too. Buchanan offers some facts by way of Heather MacDonald who covers a lot of gang activity and other problems presented by illegal immigrants in California. The facts state that 95 percent of all outstanding warrants for homocide, which total 1,200 to 1,500 target illegal aliens; Two-thirds of the 17,000 outstanding fugitive felony warrants in Los Angeles are for illegal aliens; and Some 12,000 of the 20,000 strong 18th Street Gang that operates across Southern California are illegal aliens. The addition of illegal alien criminals to our justice system doesn't mean we look the other way it means we do something about it.

Third, the cost to our social services system is ushc that hospitals are going out of business. Buchanan tells us thet according to the Center for Immigration Studies, "22 percent of all births in California are to illegal aliens. As these 'anchor babies' are citizens by birth, they instantly begin to draw a lifetime of the benefits we provided all American children and their parents. Thus, social welfare costs continue to soar, though our native-born population has been close to stable for years."

If there are those out there who believe that illegals are just immigrants and they are here to make a living think again. The Mexican economy maybe be doing well but we are slowing but surely rotting under this weight. Maybe Buchanan's words will move people to do the work necessary to not only secure our borders but secure our country.