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Immigration Crisis

Same topic, opposing views

By Tim Baldwin & Joe Carbonari

By Tim Baldwin

A nation without secured borders is no nation at all. This experience-proven maxim has been, however, attacked in recent years. Now, children entering the U.S. illegally are the focus of the immigration discussion. Reality is, the recent illegal-children situation does not change the rule of law and the sound policy that we must enforce our immigration laws.

It is ludicrous to argue that Americans have the responsibility to care for illegal immigrants – children or not – when the government’s failure to enforce immigration laws incentivized this immigration problem. American families, many of which are already struggling to support their children, are being forced to support illegal activity. Meanwhile, opportunistic politicians benefit.

Americans are told that failing to support these illegal immigrants is somehow a breach of humanitarian duty. This is an insult to the hardworking American who must support himself and his family and who is required to obey the law and will be punished (many times harshly) for breaking it.

Montana Code Annotated states, “A person may not take advantage of the person’s own wrong.” (§1-3-208, MCA). This is indeed an undeniable universal maxim. I say this maxim should apply equally to public officials who helped cause our immigration problems and to those who enter America illegally.


 

By Joe Carbonari

Lo siento mucho. I feel for you. We feel for you, but we’re going to send you back – back to Honduras, to Guatemala, to Nicaragua, even though you’re on your own, high school age at best. Lo siento mucho.

We expect about 70,000 unaccompanied children at our border by the end of this fiscal year. Things are bad, very bad, back in their own countries. Violence is rife, opportunities slim. Corruption and gangs abound. In 2008 we passed a law saying these kids would be given the benefit of a hearing to see that they weren’t going to become the victims of some form of human trafficking, persecution, or other special risk if we returned them.

In effect this means that they have at least a year to connect with friends, family or whatever in the U.S. before they eventually have a hearing, to which only about half show up. About 6,500 cases were heard last year, about 4,000 deportations resulted, about 1,600 kids actually left.

This represents about 20 percent of the total immigration issue. We are a land of opportunity, of security, of decency, of hope. In dealing with those that want to come here we need to maintain our sense of decency while at the same time protecting our own legitimate self-interests. It will take compromise. It will take leadership. It should begin now.