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IMMIGRATION IS NOT A RIGHT.

The underlying issue concerning the present debate on immigration in the U.S. is based on the legal limitation placed upon how many people from each country can legally enter the United States each year. Mainly because of proximity to the United States and poor conditions at home, many more Mexican citizens than citizens from any other nation illegally enter this country.

Having lived in Arizona almost all of my life, I have known and interacted with Hispanics for a very long time. I even lived in Las Vegas New Mexico for several years, a town that is about 90% Hispanic. Hispanics are wonderful people, generally hard working and gentle. I have friends and relatives who are Hispanic. I don’t appreciate being labeled a bigot. The current immigration debate, in my mind, is not about prejudice as much as it is about the rule of law.

Laws were instituted in our society for the protection of the country and the people who live within its borders. It’s a tough argument to say that laws are irrelevant or should be disobeyed. Even though more people every day seem to disrespect the law, I would guess that most people still at least are willing to admit that laws are necessary. Many countries, including Mexico, have a spotty history when it comes to importance of law. For years, people in Mexico have been able to ignore the law by paying bribes. Since its founding America has honored the concept of law. One of the reasons the U.S. is doing so well is because we are a nation of laws. One of the reasons Mexico is doing so poorly is because of lack of respect for the law.

What should be done about a law you don’t agree with? One should first work to change the law, rather than advocating disobedience. Disobedience is a last resort, only to be used when all other measures fail. Our society generally functions, however, such that a law which is supported by the majority of the people will stand, even if a significant minority disagrees. On moral issues such as racial discrimination, the majority may be wrong, so eventually disobedience might be the only solution. I do not think that this is a racial issue however. We have had immigration laws for a very long time. Most, if not all countries also have these laws. Why should people from one country have significant advantage over others who want to come to the U.S.?

When I was in high school, we studied debate and what constituted debate techniques which were often used, but deemed not proper. Name calling was at the top of the list. While it is undoubtedly true that there are prejudiced people on both sides of this issue, it is a mistake to make that the center of the discussion. It’s an emotional argument that distracts from the basic facts, and it is not a fact that people who support tough immigration law are all prejudiced. They are probably not even a significant minority.

There seems to be a group of people whose main desire is to allow anyone from Mexico who wants to, to enter this country, legally or illegally. Whenever an issue comes up about immigration, they are always right there, supporting illegal immigration, like it was some kind of right. The Mexican government also seems to always support illegal immigration to the United States, although their own immigration laws and methods of enforcement are much tougher than ours. Try going to Mexico without the proper papers and see how long it takes to end up in jail. At any rate these people should choose the tactic of trying to change immigration laws for Mexican nationals, rather than encouraging them to break the law. The beginning of that road (that is disobedience) is far different than the end of it. Look at countries where the law is not respected. The end of the road is anarchy and lawlessness. It’s not a nice place to live.

Elmer Grubbs

A semi-rational conservative