One of my best friends, a few years back, went on a mission trip with one of the missions that our church supports in Honduras. He fell in love and made several trips back to visit a young lady who was helping with the mission’s work. Talk about long-distance love!
They decided that they would spend the rest of each other’s lives together. She started the process to obtain her visa to enter the U.S. She and her husband were married in November 2019 and she continues the legal process to obtain her green card.
This process became more complex during the COVID-19 epidemic. It took her many months to complete because of lockdowns, complications, and the virus.
She’s not the only one, I know, but illegal immigrants are flooding across our southern border at the rate of many thousands per month. My friends married in the same month that U.S. Customs and Border Protection agency handled 51,857 illegal immigration encounters.
Our border is in crisis. It’s not a secret. If you doubt it, just read the reports of my Townhall colleague. The problem has been exacerbated by federal inaction at all levels. We are always interested in hearing about a good-faith effort, particularly a bipartisan one.
My colleague explains only two major components of this bill.
My colleague wrote that there is no funding for the construction of the border wall. It’s already bad enough. But, another proposal in the bill could create a ripple effect that could be disastrous.
My colleague wrote that the bill would allow two million beneficiaries of Obama’s unconstitutional Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program to become citizens. This provision conceals the fact that after these two million have completed the process, they can sponsor extended family members. That means that, while two million might be close to seven million, I am being conservative with that estimate.
Two million illegal immigrants brought to this country as children should be granted blanket forgiveness. This ripple effect could have more than tripled that number. Is that really a good idea from either side?
My colleague shared a perceptive analogy during a conversation.
He explained that this amnesty bill was similar to the following: “If some squatters bring in a child into the house they are squatting in, and the child gets comfortable, then the kid gets the house!” This ripple effect could allow the entire family to make their home in a house that they don’t own any rights to.
The Washington Post reports that there is a compromise: “It allows Republicans to remove migrants from the country faster, continues restrictions on asylum applications for the next 12 months, and more border security.”
It’s all great, but it doesn’t account for the millions upon millions of illegal immigrants who suddenly become legal. This will allow millions to break the law to move ahead of those who have been waiting for the legal immigration process. These people have already crossed the border once and will be able to do so again. This is not true.
People love to boast about the fact that this country is a “nation of immigrants.” But, we are also a nation based on laws. These laws must be respected. An immigrant who wants to be part of this “nation” of immigrants must adhere to our laws. This starts with legal entry to the country.
A policy on immigration starts with the enforcement of existing immigration laws before trying to enact new ones. A bill such as the one Tillis or Sinema propose is worse than no immigration legislation at all. It is impossible to believe that it will get enough support to pass.
