America: The reality show
by Andrew Leigh
Townhall.com
May 23, 2006
We carefully screen every foreigner who steps off an airplane. We X-ray their luggage, make them step through a metal detector, scrutinize their paperwork, grill them on their purpose here, and so on.
If a visitor seems ill or comes from a country with epidemic problems, he may also receive a health screening. Once a visitor runs that gauntlet successfully, then, and only then, he gains admittance to this great nation -- a privilege to non-citizens, not a right.
Sure, some use forged documents; some still manage to smuggle in things they shouldn't. Some visitors overstay their visas. But at least our authorities have a fighting chance to catch the cheats and the scofflaws, the criminals and the terrorists.
Imagine, now, if we had a separate entrance at the airport for anyone who wanted to avoid the screening process. To make things interesting let's make it a really long corridor, so it takes a whole day to pass through. We'll cover the floor with sand and some cacti and scatter around a few scorpions and rattlesnakes. We'll also heat it to scorching temperatures of 115 degrees or more.
Why would somebody choose this path instead of the regular entrance? Because at the end of it there is no metal detector, no security personnel demanding to see your visa, no scrutiny at all. In fact, you can lug whatever you want through this corridor -- illegal drugs, guns, even WMDs.
Such a two-track system would be nuts, wouldn't it? The American public wouldn't stand for it. They'd insist that everybody go through the same entrance, everybody endure the same level of scrutiny.
And yet that is exactly how entry into U.S. works. Foreigners entering via our airports pass through a fairly rigorous screening process (intensified, and properly so, since 9/11).
Not so on our geographic border. Thousands of illegals freely walk across it every day, without so much as a glance from any authority. On the border it's like 9/11 never happened.
Welcome to America's most popular reality show: Border Crossing! Make it across the desert, and you too can win a job, free medical care, and citizenship for your unborn child! Do you have what it takes?
Once an illegal immigrant reaches an American city he's home-free. We make it surprisingly easy to live and work as an illegal here, probably easier than anywhere else in the world. In many states local authorities are prohibited by law from even asking anyone his or her immigration status. Employers can't either, as some have been sued for discrimination for doing just that.
There are laws on the books making it illegal to hire an "undocumented worker," but we all know (and more important, illegals know) they're a joke. Recent "round-up-the-usual-suspects" antics don't fool anybody.
What if an illegal gets sick? An ambulance will pick him up (at no charge) and drop him off at an ER, where he will receive the finest medical care in the world, courtesy of the American taxpayer.
We're not talking about patching somebody up and sending them on their way. Illegal immigrants receive billions of dollars worth of long-term, state-of-the-art treatment for cancer, heart disease, and other chronic ailments -- absolutely free care that some middle class citizens can only dream of.
Pregnant and "undocumented"? You're in luck. Just stroll into any American hospital and not only will you get the best possible care free of charge, your bouncing new baby will be a citizen, instantly conferring on you and the rest of your family virtually all of the same rights and access to the welfare state that any other citizen would enjoy.
As of this writing, the Senate is debating what to do about immigration. It looks like they're determined to boost participation in the border "reality show," as the policies under consideration will exponentially swell the ranks of immigrants -- according to some experts, by about 100-200 million in the next two decades.
Why not focus on border control first, then discuss making nice with illegals already here? No one seems to have a serious reply to this question. Instead, like a squid squirting black ink at its pursuers, they toss out platitudes like "We need a comprehensive solution" and "We can't deport everybody."
Aside from a few crackpots, virtually nobody who wants to curb immigration is calling for rounding up illegals by the truckload. Presenting mass forced deportation as the only alternative to an amnesty -- oops, I mean a guest worker program and a "path to citizenship" -- is a false dichotomy.
The more practical answer lies in attrition. By doing a better job of enforcing existing laws, by banning accommodations such as allowing illegals to get legal IDs and to open bank accounts, by cracking down on employers using the same vigor and techniques that the IRS employs to achieve near-universal participation in the tax system, we will make America a less hospitable environment for illegals. Tighten the screws and over time, many will get discouraged and leave of their own accord.
Instead, Bush's proposal and the Senate bill as they stand now would do precisely the opposite, laying down a red carpet for illegals. Rather than jail or deport them, we'll make them citizens.
Just became a citizen under the Senate's plan? Here's Johnny Olsen to tell you what you've won: The Earned Income Tax Credit! Section 8 housing! Unemployment insurance! Medicare and Medicaid! Social Security benefits! Food stamps! Affirmative action! The right to bring all of your relatives into the States! (In reality, many immigrants, illegal or not, already have access to many of these programs and more -- public schools, anybody? -- all the more reason to clamp down.)
Not only that, but you get the most precious right of them all -- the right to vote, and thus the power to elect politicians who will ensure that these programs are generously funded and expanded. (And you wonder why the Democrats like the Senate bill.)
So what should we do? I have four words for our politicians -- it's the wall, stupid. Just as, post-9/11, we no longer balk at tougher security measures in our airports, we need to get serious about the Mexico-U.S. border, which is where the majority of illegals enter.
The Senate bill is an abject surrender of Neville Chamberlain-like proportions, an open invitation to anybody with two legs to waltz right into the U.S. (I'm waiting for the lawsuits arguing that the border discriminates against disabled illegals because they can't walk across it.)
To those who think a wall is "mean-spirited," remember that hundreds die crossing the desert every year. Think of the wall as a humanitarian act. A decade ago we built a border wall near San Diego and apprehensions there dropped by 95%.
Can we erect a perfect barrier? No. Will some illegals still pass through? Yes. But the same is true of airport security. It doesn't mean we shouldn't try. After all, border security shouldn't be a reality show.
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