Secure our borders from illegal aliens or country will fail

www.greatfallstribune.com January 22, 2012 By Dorie Cameron

Illegal immigration has been a controversial topic in the news for awhile now. Some people want all illegal aliens deported, some say to leave them alone, and others want a large wall to be built along the border.

Today, 500,000 illegal aliens from Mexico sneak across the border into the United States each year. .

What happens to them after they arrive here? They don't often get deported. Instead they live among us, dodging the law, yet taking advantage of everything we have to offer.

Many suggest that the noble act of sacrificing everything and taking the risk to provide a better life justifies the act, and that our land of opportunity should be available to anyone and everyone. This thinking is flawed in its practical application.

A nation that does not enforce its borders and laws will fall. Many civilizations have collapsed because they have not properly protected their borders, including Rome. Let's not make that same mistake.

There are those out there who say "roll out the welcome mat for legal aliens, we're perfectly fine with them! Why do you think we established Ellis Island?"

It's true that many legitimate immigrants from around the world play positive roles in this fine nation. However, illegal aliens drain more resources than the taxes they pay and are tarnishing the image of those who came here legally.

In response to those who make it personal and tug at the heartstrings of Americans by suggesting that our land of opportunity is a blessing to be shared with illegal aliens, I propose this perspective.

Imagine sitting in your home, when you hear a knock at the door. A strange person walks in, uninvited, helps himself to some drinks from the fridge, then asks you to make him some food — all in a strange language. That person decides to stick around, taking your paycheck, eating your food, refusing to speak in a way you can understand. All he does all day is watch TV and mess up your stuff. How do you feel? This is your own home!

Normally, you could have the police just arrest this man, but since this house represents America and the government is practically letting the strange guy stick around in your house, what are you to do?

I have lived in three border States for the majority of my short life, California, Arizona and Texas, and have seen firsthand the effects of illegal immigration. In my experience, most of the illegal aliens haven't even bothered to learn English. Not assimilating leads to anti-American attitudes and corrodes the fabric of our culture.

Illegal aliens do not separate from their home country. This was most apparent when I lived in California and watched protests that boasted anti-American sentiments. Protesters toted Mexican flags and desecrated the American flag. The protesters included illegal aliens, and they demanded the same rights as U.S. citizens, at the same time suggesting that Mexico should get its land back from California.

In a time when the world seems particularly dangerous because of the threat of terrorism, national security should always be at the forefront of our concerns. Having an open border is unnerving. How are we supposed to feel safe when we have no idea who is coming in and what their intentions are? Much crime has been linked to illegal aliens, not only drugs and violence, but also identity theft.

Other problems include overcrowded jails and prisons, voter fraud, and a negative impact on American education, which I witnessed up close while attending school in California for four years.

When illegal aliens are given rights it devalues the rights of American citizens. What is it going to mean to a regular immigrant who worked hard to get his family into America if all those other guys just entered for free? It just won't seem quite as worth it.

What exactly are we supposed to do about this? There is no point in deporting every single illegal alien now, considering how many there are in America today.

We can instead try to sort through those who are here and determine the best course of action. An absolute part of the solution is to legitimately enforce the border, build a higher, thicker wall, stick in some more border officers and discontinue incentives that draw people across the border.

To encourage legal immigration, it perhaps would be best to get rid of the time-consuming and expensive bureaucracy that our government is so fond of. Streamlining the process and making it more efficient and cost effective would promote legal citizenship. Those who are in the United States illegally should certainly not be given preference over those who are going through the immigration process legally.

Dorie Cameron is a seventh-grader at North Middle School and a member of the Tribune's Teen Panel.