David Huntwork

Myths (and Truths) of the Illegal Immigration Invasion
Preparedness: Hoping for the best, but preparing for the worst
Wikileaks War
The Rise of the Tea Party
Why I Signed The Manhattan Declaration
Boycott The One
Into a Twisted Future with Gary Wolf
We Shall Not Go Quietly Into The Night
Dancing Under the Ugandan Skies - A Book Review
The 99 Most Memorable, Interesting and Outrageous Political Quotes of 2008
Obama's Natural Born Problem
The Giggle Monster Lost His Giggle (A children's story)
Victory at any Price
The History of the Huntwork Clan
Palin and those "scary" Christians
Our "Little Barracuda"
Civility at Saddleback
The Top Ten Reasons Obama Should Not Be President
The Coming Fascist State
You're to Blame for Everything
Hillary's Close Call
The Jerry Springer Party
Christianity, Obama, Identity Politics and Liberation Theology
Tis the Season to be PC
I Am NOT An Animal
The Sad Saga of Amanda Marcotte
The Left attempts to define Political Correctness
In Defense of Blackwater and the Modern Day Merc
Some Thoughts on the Senate Sleepover and the Iraq War
The Salt Lake Shooter and Sudden Jihad Syndrome
Successes and Setbacks in the "Long War"
The Rise of the Anti-Jihadists
The Little Boy and the Magic Snowman (A Children's Story)
Exploiting Children in the Name of Climate Change
Workshop of the Second Self: A Book Review
The Mystery of 9-11, Dr. Graham and Jamal Khan
2996: A tribute to the victims of 9-11
Myths (and Truths) of the Illegal Immigration Invasion
Out of Control Teacher Reinstated after Anti-US Rant
Alternating Worlds: A Book Review
Defending Christmas
The Execution of Terri Schiavo
The Saga of SpongeBob SquarePants
Civility at Saddleback
Embedded Reporters: A Bad Idea
Death of a Monster: Yasser Arafat
Immigrations Unarmed Invasion
Post 47 and RAthERGATE
September 11th: Lives Lost and Lessons Learned
An Alliance of Evil
The Holy Land - A Book Review
The Nature of the Enemy
The Embracer: A Book Review
Final Battle of the Culture Wars
They Say Trevor Made a Mockery of MLK Day
Did You Lie to Your Kids at Christmas?
The Twists and Turns of the Jessica Lynch Story
Valley of the Dry Bones
Rush and Race
What's Wrong with the Caucasion Club?
The Seductive Temptress
A Just War
Living the Bill of Rights
The Institutionalism of Liberalism
Triumph of the Bush Doctrine
New Alliances for a New Century
The Real Reason for the Iraq War
The Family Historian
There Once Was A Little Brown Bug (A Children's Story)
Happy Birthday Ronald Reagan
The U.N. Agenda
Powell the Pacifist


Now that the Mexican flags have once again been neatly folded and tucked away in the sock drawer, and civilization has successfully weathered a 'Day without Immigrants,' maybe the time has come for us to actually have a rational dialogue on illegal immigration. Preferably in English if you don't mind.

A variety of myths and misconceptions have been purposefully propagated by those who would like us to see illegal aliens as mere 'undocumented workers' who have every right to the privileges once reserved for actual citizens of the United States. Immigration 'activists' use bumper sticker slogans and simplistic sound bites repeated over and over in an attempt to win the hearts and minds of the American people. We are all descended from immigrants one way or another, but to muddy the stream of thought with the assertion that there is little difference between an illegal and a legal immigrant is a smart tactical, if dishonest, move and one that sows confusion in those attempting to make sense of this national debate.

I'd like to address just a few of the myths that have been spread about illegal immigration:

  • Illegal immigrants are only doing work Americans won't do.

    The truth is that illegals are taking good jobs, or what used to be good paying jobs, from Americans. Ask anyone who used to work in the construction, hotel or restaurant industries and they'll tell you quite a different story than what is being portrayed. Are there some jobs that Americans in general are not as willing to do? Yes. Do these require twelve to eighteen million illegal immigrants, and millions of more legal immigrants, to fill? Of course not.

    One could even make the argument that there is no such thing as low income jobs filled by illegal immigrants. They are really subsidized income jobs with the US taxpayer picking up the tab. The scope of the societal costs from such a poorly paid and sometimes exploited workforce is overwhelming. You, the taxpayer, pay tens of billions for entitlements to these tens of millions and their families. This includes food stamps, public housing, Medicaid, Social Security, Supplemental Security Income, Earned Income Tax Credit, public schooling, the WIC program, food stamps, and Temporary Assistance to Needy Families.

    Removing illegal immigrants from the work force would only raise wages, relieve an overwhelming economic burden on the welfare, correctional, medical and educational systems, lower the unemployment rate, and force a few people to clean their own pools or mow their own grass until they could find an enterprising teenager to do it for them. To act as if our national economy could not survive without an additional three million 'undocumented workers' a year is simply ridiculous and a red herring argument at best. For those who make the arguments that open borders are 'needed' the question is really on their shoulders as to how many millions of illegal immigrants do they think we really need. I've yet to receive a straight answer to that question.

  • Building The Wall across the southern border is morally equivalent to the Berlin Wall built by communist totalitarians.

    Perhaps the silliest argument I've heard yet, but one stated with all seriousness on the Senate floor by Colorado's own Senator Ken Salazar and shamelessly alluded to by those who cringe at the idea of a secure border. Never mind that one wall was built to keep people in and the other would be built to keep people out. One kept people from escaping to freedom, the other would be built to protect a free people from those who seek to break its laws and violate its national borders. We all know that good fences make good neighbors. Sovereignty begins at the border and a country is not a nation if anyone, at anytime, can come in whenever they feel like it.

  • We have a responsibility to let in anyone who wants to immigrate.

    Not everyone can come here. If we let everyone come, they would. The American people have no moral responsibility to perpetually take in untold millions of people just because they would rather live here than in their country of birth. We are the most generous and compassionate nation the world has ever seen but that doesn't mean everyone is guaranteed the right to live in this country just because they want to. Nor does it mean that the American standard of living has to be compromised due to the underdevelopment and corruption of other countries.

    We are a nation of laws that should be respected, not circumvented and violated at will. It is Mexico's responsibility to reform its corrupt government and palsied economy. That won't happen unless Mexico quits using the US as a dumping ground for its poor, its desperate, and its criminal element. Illegal immigration is the safety valve used by the Mexican government to prevent true reform from social pressure at home. It has also become the second biggest source of income for Mexico as millions of immigrants (both legal and illegal) send tens of billions of American dollars back home to their family and friends. Billions of dollars that otherwise would have stayed in American communities are siphoned off to keep afloat a crippled economy and an unbelievable culture of corruption.

  • Illegal immigration is not related to national security.

    The proponents and defenders of illegal immigration advocate what is effect an open borders philosophy. If anyone can stroll across the border due to lax or inadequate enforcement then so can drug runners, violent gang members, sexual predators, common criminals as well as the next terrorist waiting to strike. These are all intertwined when it comes to 'national security.' Whether it is keeping your child safe from the drug pusher, your wife safe from a violent predator or your state capitol safe from the evil intent of a terrorist armed with a dirty bomb, the security of the average American is as an important element of 'national security' as protecting a national monument. A secure border is absolutely essential to national security and the safety of the American people.

  • This is 'their land,' stolen from Mexico, and the concepts of borders and national citizenship are inherently racist.

    The implication seems to be that we should all somehow transport ourselves back to pre-1492 borders. It is a far more racist argument than any I've heard from those seeking to stem the illegal immigrant invasion. The crowds waving Mexican flags may wish to re-fight the Mexican-American war, create the nation of Aztlan, and give a good many of us a one way ticket off the continent but such arguments tend to backfire badly with the American public and are only accepted by white apologists and the occasional guilt-ridden college professor. Attempting to deal with modern realities and the modern concept of nation-states should not be an insurmountable intellectual achievement. It is not racist to state that any nation should not allow ten thousand people a day to violate its borders.

    The pinnacle of Western Civilization has the right, and the obligation, to defend its borders, language and culture from those who refuse any attempt at assimilation. It is hypocrisy to despise the very entity you seek entry, support and sustenance from. Hyphenated Americanism is a seductive ideology but one that creates a vicious Balkanization that is even now rearing its ugly head across the fruited plain.

    Like the Roman Empire, we have let our borders be overrun even as our society self destructs from the inside. The leaders of the two major political parties have sold their soul for cheap labor on the one hand and cheap votes on the other.

Many voices of reason are finally being heard in the immigration debate. Colorado Congressman Tom Tancredo is no longer a lone voice in the wilderness crying out for something, anything, to be done to stop the illegal invasion. We now see him joined by a host of national figures bringing legitimacy and attention to the issue. Such diverse figures as Frosty Wooldridge, Phyllis Schlafly, Lou Dobbs, Dick Lamb, David Limbaugh, Jim Gilchrist, and Michele Malkin have lent their voice of outrage to stopping illegal immigration and protecting America's borders. They have been joined by a slim majority of the House of Representatives, a host of other voices in TV, radio and print, as well as by a growing majority of average Americans who are completely and totally fed up.

An unbelievable one-eighth of the Mexican population (and a significant number from other countries) has already immigrated to the United States. Several million more will attempt to cross the border this year. At what point is it correct to say that "enough is enough"? It is a national disgrace that the leaders of both political parties have lacked the courage and vision to take the steps necessary to define and protect our borders.

There is no excuse for the travesty that is unfolding on a daily basis. An estimated 1.2 million illegal aliens will be apprehended storming US borders this year alone. For every one caught another two or three will escape capture. The question is not just what needs to be done but why has it not been done already. Balkanization, national bankruptcy and cultural suicide are not my idea of the American dream.

The message the American people must send is simple, but profound:

No amnesty for illegals, and secure the borders.

How much should we be willing to spend? As much as it takes. Some ask if it be really be done. The answer is absolutely. One only has to have the will to use the resources available to correct the problem.

It is difficult to watch a nation, a people, and a culture slit its own throat. The marching protestors may have waved the Mexican flag with pride, but it the American flag, and the people it represents, who have been trampled beneath their feet.

"Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. We didn't pass it to our children in the bloodstream. It must be fought for, protected, and handed on for them to do the same, or one day we will spend our sunset years telling our children and our children's children what it was once like in the United States where men were free."

- President Ronald Reagan

 ”I will not cede more power to the state. I will not willingly cede more power to anyone, not to the state, not to General Motors, not to the CIO. I will hoard my power like a miser, resisting every effort to drain it away from me. I will then use my power, as I see fit. I mean to live my life an obedient man, but obedient to God, subservient to the wisdom of my ancestors; never to the authority of political truths arrived at yesterday at the voting booth. That is a program of sorts, is it not? It is certainly program enough to keep conservatives busy, and Liberals at bay. And the nation free.”

—William F. Buckley Jr.

"Liberals want to regulate just about everything: where we live, what fuels we use, what car we drive, whether we can drive or be forced to use government mass transit, where we send our kids to school, what doctor we see, and even to what extent we express our approval or disapproval of others’ lifestyles. It’s hard to find something liberals don’t want to regulate. Is that a world you want to live in?” 
 

"At such a time in history, we who are free must proclaim anew our faith. This faith is the abiding creed of our fathers. It is our faith in the deathless dignity of man, governed by eternal moral and natural laws. This faith defines our full view of life. It establishes, beyond debate, those gifts of the Creator that are man’s inalienable rights, and that make all men equal in His sight. "

Dwight D. Eisenhower

"And if we elect a government that subverts or weakens or ends our war against terrorism, we can count on this: We will soon face enemies that will make 9/11 look like stubbing our toe, and they will attack us with the confidence and determination that come from knowing that we don’t have the will to sustain a war all the way to the end."

- Orson Scott Card

"In response to skyrocketing gas prices, liberals say, practically in unison, 'We can’t drill our way out of this crisis.”' What does that mean? This is like telling a starving man, 'You can’t eat your way out of being hungry!'  'You can’t water your way out of drought!' 'You can’t sleep your way out of tiredness!' 'You can’t drink yourself out of dehydration!' Seriously, what does it mean? Finding more oil isn’t going to increase the supply of oil? It is the typical Democratic strategy to babble meaningless slogans, as if they have a plan. Their plan is: the permanent twilight of the human race. "

-Ann Coulter

"If ye love wealth better than liberty, the tranquility of servitude better than the animating contest of freedom, go home from us in peace. We ask not your counsels or your arms. Crouch down and lick the hands which feed you. May your chains set lightly upon you, and may posterity forget that you were our countrymen."
 
-Samuel Adams