IMMIGRATION ISN’T JUST ABOUT MEXICO
by Andrew Zuelke
2007
“In the first place, we should insist that if the immigrant who comes here in good faith becomes an American and assimilates himself to us, he shall be treated on an exact equality with everyone else, for it is an outrage to discriminate against any such man because of creed, or birthplace or origin. But this is predicated upon the person’s becoming in every facet an American and nothing but an American...There can be no divided allegiance here. Any man who says he is an American, but something else also, isn’t an American at all. We have room but for one flag, the American flag...We have room but for one language here, and that is the American language...and we have room for but one sole loyalty and that is a loyalty to the American people.” –Theodore Roosevelt, 1907
One of the arguments that always arises on the issue of immigration is, “Mexicans are singled out for attack and are scapegoats for unemployed, angry, right-wing white Americans.”
There is so much that can be written on our party’s oppositions to illegal immigration and our full support of legal, proportional immigration that it would fill a book, but for this article’s purposes, we’ll focus on Teddy Roosevelt’s speech.
There are, in my very humble opinion, five keys to the survival of this specific civilization (at least five that come to mind): a shared nationality; rule of law not rule of man; a shared language; an ability to defend one’s nation from attack and or conquest; economic solvency.
Now, the last point, economic solvency, is in regards to our national debt and funny paper money. No debtor nation can ever maintain its power. But this would be true of any nation whether they allowed immigration or not, so in true fairness, we’ll discard that point right here, right now to stay on topic.
First, let’s talk about a shared nationality. In particular, a common culture taught in our history books. Should it be uncovered that any part of our history is false or fabricated by facts and evidence, then yes, let’s change it, but our history and culture, good and yes the bad, should be taught and recognized by all.
A nation without a shared national identity will fragment into many sub-cultures. Look across this republic and say to me with a straight face, “Sorry, I don’t see America’s culture fragmenting. I just don’t.” Without all new citizens absorbing into the American culture, you and I will become “visitors” in our own land. This is why anyone who immigrates to America is asked, no, EXPECTED, to forsake and disavow any allegiances to any former nationality. We’re not asking for that assimilation so we can take anything away from one’s culture or to steal their identity, or to be mean and heartless, but because we recognize that America is made up of peoples from many diverse cultures. Without choosing just one to be our distinct culture, explain to me how our nation can retain its cohesiveness? Because we’ve been able to tolerate and endure under the liberal dogma of multi-culturalism so far doesn’t me we can indefinitely. There will be a tipping point eventually.
This also applies to the English language. We don’t ask people to speak English because we are bigots; we ask people to speak English because that happens to be the language our nation WAS BUILT ON! If our nation was founded by German settlers, chances are great that our constitution would have been drafted in German and we would be speaking German now. And we do not single out Mexicans on this point, either. We expect all immigrants, ALL immigrants, regardless of country of origin to learn English, if they don’t know it already, not to speak to us in some Russian dialect, in French or in Portuguese.
In a nation where people cannot understand each other, the odds of national survival drop significantly. “But why English though?” one may ask. “Why do we have to learn YOUR language, selfish Americans? Why can’t you learn ours?” Ummm, well, when it’s your country, we’ll do things your way. This is our country. You’ll do it our way. It’s about us because it’s our country. Every nation on this planet looks out for its best personal interests, not just America. If it makes Americans selfish for wanting to protect our interests, then the United States of America is not the only selfish nation on Earth.
Next point, the rule of law. Americans have chosen to live under laws, not under a tyrant, not under some ‘strong man’ who will run things for us. We decided back during the reign of King George this was unacceptable to us, that freedoms for the individual were paramount.
When you start making exceptions for people, when you decide not to apply laws because your heart is moved with so much compassion for a groups’ plight that it blinds you to the reality of what does actually happen when you do not enforce laws, chaos ensues. This isn’t my theory, my opinion. It is simply a fact. Not enforcing laws does lead to chaos. You cannot look at the confusion, the frustration and the contradictions (the law says this but politicians tell border patrol agents they must do the opposite) and not believe this to be true.
It also creates anger amongst legal immigrants. Those who are fully complying with our confusing and vexing immigration laws (and God bless them for doing so) are thinking, “We’re waiting patiently in line and those who came here illegally are allowed to cut in line ahead of us?” It’s against human nature to be happy about unfairness like that. And millions of Americans are thinking, “If I break the speed limit laws I get a ticket. If I walk onto private property without the owner’s permission, I can be prosecuted for trespassing. Immigrants who come into the country illegally are allowed to stay? I must obey the law but this group called immigrants aren’t made or expected to?”
Finally, nations must have an ability to defend themselves and secure their borders. This point is more than just about immigration, of course. Nations that cannot defend themselves militarily are at the mercy of any rule-of-man tyrant who sees that nation’s prosperity, their mineral wealth, their resources and that tyrant starts thinking to himself, “Well, that nation says they are sovereign, I say that nation is MINE. I don’t recognize their sovereignty. And since that country is demilitarized I don’t see how they can stop me. They can get mad, they can hate me, but what’s that to me as long as I can seize what I want?”
Political boundaries exist only on maps, not in reality. So any nation that lacks the means to defend those artificial borders cannot maintain them. In the case of immigration, when we do not put forward enough resources (border patrol, port authority, coast guard) to secure those borders, immigrants who wish to sneak in, can. They will say, “You say we need permission to cross your border. We say we don’t. And if we know you can’t or won’t stop us, we’ll come and go as we please. You say you have a border. What border? We don’t see a border. Who says we can’t come in?” Anarchy ensues...and it has. If this needs to be explained, I hold out little hope for this nation to be able to ‘long endure’.
Now, for all those who say, “I don’t care what you right wing conservatives say, we don’t believe you. You’re still against immigrants because they are Mexican. You wouldn’t say a word about them if they were white Europeans.”
The Constitution Party of Wisconsin is a rule of law party. There is no ‘racial purity’ plank in our platform, and there never, ever will be! When this party hears that someone has entered our nation in an illegal way (‘illegal’ to the CPoW means someone (a) has obtained either forged or stolen identification papers (b) failed to report himself to proper authorities as to whom he/she is and why they are in our country and (c) he/she remains outside of the law while in our country) it matters not to us what their race or ethnicity is at that point. The word ‘illegal’ is all we need know. We want said person deported, period. Now, all I can do is speak that aloud; it’s up to the open-borders, pro-illegal crowd to decide whether to believe us or not. We’re not going to exhaust ourselves trying to convince close-minded people we’re not racist as they aren’t inclined to listen anyway. Those of us who have called the Constitution Party our political home, we know its heart. It is not one filled with hate, xenophobia or any sort of ill-will for any peoples.
The reason our and millions of America’s main focus is presently on the US Southern border is simple enough: at this point in our nation’s existence, the numerical majority of immigrants to America just happen to be from Mexico! There was a time when that influx was from Ireland. Times change; the ethnic makeup of immigrants change. It always has, always will. If people want to make immigration a racial issue and not a rule of law issue, that’s them. It isn’t the CPoW nor is it the national Constitution Party.
As to Teddy Roosevelt, when he delivered his speech he wasn’t talking about the Mexican people. According to The American Immigration web site, between 1890-1920, immigrants to America were Italians, Russian and Eastern European Jews, Greeks, Slavs and Armenians, not Mexicans. Prior to that, 1830-1890, it was mostly Irish and British. Yet Roosevelt’s words speak to us just a clearly today as they did a century ago. Roosevelt knew back then what Democrats and Republicans of today have forgotten...and forsaken.
Finally, on the issue of immigration, as Christians, we remind ourselves that immigrants are also created in God’s image. When we debate others on this issue, our party always proceeds with full knowledge of this one belief: immigrants are not vermin, not cheap labor to be used and discarded, nor oxen to be worked in the field until they drop, not an undesirable caste...they are human beings! Immigrants are created in God’s image, they feel pain and joy like the rest of us, love their children and want a better life for them and have souls and spirits, just like ourselves.
The CPoW simply believes there is a right way and a wrong way to do everything. We are Christians; we are called to love and help others. So to immigrants we say, “Immigrate to America the right way, the legal way, and until you become a legal, full citizen yourself, we will afford you basic protections as you are guests in our land, but you do not yet have constitutional rights. Citizenship has its privileges.”
Right, Teddy? |
