Guest Editorial
BY SCOTT HABERMAN | OCTOBER 30, 2013
Definition of DESERVE
intransitive verb: to be worthy, fit, or suitable for some reward or requital
The word "deserve" has been tossed around like a football at University of Phoenix Stadium. Deserve, the definition is clear, to be worthy of merit or reward. Or, on the flip side, to be suitable for requital or rebuke. Just what do people deserve in the United States as it pertains to our illegal immigrant population? There are an estimated 11 million to 20 million people living illegally in this country. The majority are from the south of our southern border but can be from any country on earth. Recently there have been protests in front of the ICE offices in Phoenix by people demanding that deportations stop and immigration reform be passed. The protesters are quick to say that they deserve concessions and changes in our legal system. President Obama gave so called “Dreamers” a deferred action program that stopped any deportations. The immigrants want that program expanded to include all illegals in the country.
In my estimation, here is what illegal immigrants deserve …
1. The respect offered to any human being living in the United States.
2. They deserve to be governed under the laws of the United States of America since they are here.
3. They deserve to apply, if they wish, for United States citizenship in the proper way prior to coming into the United States fraudulently.
4. "Dreamers" deserve to approach their parents and ask them why they did not enter the United States in a legal manner. The parents deserve to give their children an explanation.
5. Illegal immigrants deserve to be detained and arrested if it is discovered they are not United States Citizens and without visas, passports, or other documentation that shows they have been approved by our nation to be in the country.
6. Illegal immigrants deserve to be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law for other legal violations including, but not limited to, identity theft, murder, manslaughter, or child abuse.
7. Illegal immigrants deserve to apply for Citizenship but do not deserve to change our nation’s laws for their own benefit. (Only the President can do that)
What illegal immigrants don’t deserve:
1. Special treatment or accolades for getting good grades or being good kids. It’s expected from America’s youth. The fact that you were born in another country does not make good behavior cause for amnesty. Being a hard worker is not grounds for amnesty. Last time I checked, hard work is also expected.
2. To vote in elections.
3. Free medical care or welfare.
4. Drive a motor vehicle in the United States without the proper license and insurance.
5. Food stamps.
6. Social Security.
President Reagan signed an Amnesty Bill in 1986. It was supposed to secure our borders and stem the flow of illegal immigrants, guns, and drugs. If the Federal Government would have made good on it’s word of 1986, the nation would not be faced with this present crisis. Families are hurting, families are affected, children feel alienated, but it is not because our immigration system is broken. It is because our federal government has failed the American public and immigrants have little fear of the consequences of their actions. The answer? Currently, our Federal government wants to wave the Federal “Magic Wand” and say all is forgiven rather than take responsibility and address the issue like grown men and women. I might add that this is the same “Magic Wand” that is used to increase our national debt to levels unknown in human history. We are told that it is impractical to deport those here illegally. It is also impractical to think that every law we have will be enforced without some failures. Those failures don’t mean that you stop enforcing laws. The American public deserves to be safe. The American public deserves to know that the borders surrounding their country are secure from not only immigrants, but drug dealers, gun runners, and terrorists. The American public deserves an administration and Congress that confronts the tough questions and works diligently to come up with common sense solutions. The American public does not deserve to be scolded, threatened, or bullied by any group of people who begin their demands for equality and justice as law breakers.
