America's porous borders are hardly an obstacle for those intent on entry, regardless of motive. It is self-evident that monitoring the borders and regulating entry is not among the higher priorities of our politicians and the bulk of our population. Despite the fact that it is an erosion of sovereignty, certain lawmakers and lobbyists have committed to a policy that weakens control of the access process at our borders. This allows unregulated participation in the benefits of residing in America without concomitant responsibilities. The concern for criminals or terrorists entering the country in the general illegal flow of aliens is obviously also not a high priority, otherwise urgent steps would be taken to close the corridors of vulnerability. Apparently the only way we will discover if weapons of mass destruction have been smuggled across our borders will be by a surprise disaster.
It is estimated that as many as twelve million illegal aliens, now referred to in order to be politically correct as immigrants, are in the continental United States. According to the media, several hundred illegals are apprehended weekly. This reporting is an attempt to convince the susceptible that the forces of law and order are still functioning. The disparity in the number of persons entering and those captured and deported, most to rapidly return, is enormous. This presents convincing evidence that the system is not working. There is a rumor that some elderly members of Congress dream of the regulated era of entry at Ellis Island with nostalgia. Granted that we face what seems like endless demanding problems, foreign and domestic, but the potential threat that hostile aliens present requires much more attention from our beleaguered government.
Since it is preposterous to imagine that our constabulary will round up millions of illegals, which is far beyond our allocated resources and political will, the conclusion is inescapable. We must establish a process that will quickly and efficiently legitimize millions of illegal aliens. Emergency efforts must be utilized to screen millions of hard working people and prepare them for citizenship. They should be encouraged to become Americans and participate in what still could become a great society. They could be educated to cooperate in identifying dangerous individuals or groups who will threaten our nation. The alternative is alien residents forming alien communities, isolated from the mainstream of American life, further conducing to the fragmentation of our society.
This large population group of newly hatched citizens must be allowed the same opportunities of ethnic immigrant groups past, to succeed or fail in the new country. Their children have to learn English as a first language, which will facilitate their participation in our society. Accepting them speaking Spanish at home, at school, in the workplace and in various transactions of the electronic age, further isolates them from the mainstream of the life around them. It also tolerates the establishment of alien enclaves, often in slums, that may or may not assimilate in the next generation.
The twentieth century saw a great population surge from the countryside to the cities. It is estimated that by 2020 almost half the people of the world will live in cities. If we don't want America to be a nation of festering ghettos, barely containing alien and non-english speaking dwellers who have no investment in the American way of life, we must institute a policy that compels the children of immigrants to learn English, not by fear of the bayonet, but by peer pressure from other youth, the same way children of immigrants past became part of our future.
The threat to national security increases daily, as the world learns, courtesy of CNN and other media, how porous our borders are. If we legitimize millions of aliens currently living under the constant danger of discovery, disruption of their fragile constructed existence and expulsion or incarceration, we not only remove an alien sea for enemies to shelter in, but we also enlist citizens who will share a mutual concern for our future.
It is possible that weapons of mass destruction have already crossed our borders and are in the possession of hostile extremists, determined to destroy our way of life. It is distressing that there may not be an emergency program under development to detect weapons of mass destruction already in the United States, which should have the highest national priority. It is even more disturbing that we leave our borders on land and sea open to the introduction of weapons of mass destruction. Protection of the homeland is a complicated and sophisticated task, but that protection must begin at home. Our vaunted technology is not defeating insurgents in Iraq. It is our soldiers and marines who may help impose a negotiated solution to a seemingly impossible situation. Our technological efforts should be focused on homeland security, before we suffer irreparable harm.
