In 1986, Ronald Reagan’s congress passed the Immigration Reform and Control Act. The act legalized almost three million illegal immigrants. President Reagan said, in his farewell address, “anyone from any corner of the Earth can come to live in America and become an American.” He saw the “constant renewal” brought by new people as a key source of America’s strength and greatness.
Despite the border control provisions of the 1986 act, illegal immigration increased during the Reagan administration.
George W. Bush advocated a “path to citizenship” for illegal immigrants with roots in this country. He advocated for a temporary worker program for jobs Americans were reluctant to do. His proposals failed in the GOP-controlled congress. They also defeated his border control proposals, and the illegal immigration rate doubled during his administration.
Bill Clinton’s administration increased the number of border patrol officers by more than 50% and substantially increased border control resources. They expanded the categories of offenses that made even a legal permanent resident eligible for deportation. His administration deported a then-record number of people, tripling the previous rate. Possibly more important, they vigorously enforced sanctions against employers who hired undocumented immigrants. No one would sneak across the border if they could not get work.
Barack Obama, as I have mentioned, deported over two million people.
The point of this history is that immigration enforcement is not a partisan issue. There was a bi-partisan Immigration bill about to be passed near the end of the unfortunate Biden administration. Stan Wheeler, in his Thursday letter, writes, “It certainly would be nice if Democrats and Republicans could meet in the middle and try to do what’s best for our country.” They have. Often.
Mr. Wheeler also writes, “A logical person would think that since they came into our country illegally…why waste time and money…just go ahead and deport them and try to save US taxpayers some money.” This ignores our laws, of course, but more to the point, it punishes people who have committed no crime and who are lawful residents. Without any process they can have no recourse. Further, once we establish detention without process for anyone, we invite detention without process for ANYONE, even ourselves.
The people of the cities invaded by DHS – yes, invaded: Operation Midway Blitz, for heaven’s sake – oppose enforcement without process (warrantless home invasions, for example), enforcement without oversight (ICE officers now claim immunity), enforcement without discrimination (if you’re brown, you’re down). Their opposition is non-violent. It is largely vocal and documentary. It arises from an attitude that was articulated by the President Reagan himself.
Mr. Wheeler writes, “The common denominator in these ICE shootings…is that the people shot are not complying with instructions from officers.” Many faces have met the hoods of police cars for failure to comply quickly enough. Law enforcement officers everywhere are jealous of their authority. Show disrespect at your peril. But a bruised forehead, or even a broken nose are a long way from ten bullets in the back, or seven holes from five shots. Non-violent resistance to law enforcement has never been a capital crime in this country, at least not for white people like Goode and Pretti.
Mr. Wheeler writes that I need to take into account the total numbers of populations. I wrote about crime rates, a variable independent of the size of populations, as are percentages. I admit to having been sloppy when I wrote that for every Jalloh, there would be two similar crimes by citizens. Based on Mr. Wheeler’s data, for every Jalloh, there would be more than ten similar crimes by citizens.
I heard a complaint by a contractor, perhaps on Between the Headlines (which everyone should be listening to), that since he refused to hire undocumented immigrants, he could not compete for city contracts against contractors who do so. There are laws against hiring illegals. The very best way to reduce illegal immigration is to strictly enforce those laws. No work, no migrants. Of course, we will pay a lot more for food service, hotel service, roof repair, wine and green vegetables, greens fees…
Bill Gillmore
Columbus
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