the Centrist

While the politicians play politics with illegal immigration there are but three aspects needed to solve this dilemma. First, stop the influx, second provide a permanent worker visa … no amnesty … and third review their registration in an ongoing fashion and severely fine those who hire illegally. But let’s at least be honest with ourselves, not only have they contributed to society via their hard work, they have also been detrimental to our society through the costs of social programs. The age old argument that Americans ‘won’t do that type of work’ has been debunked by several studies. But common sense tells us that statement simply is not true … when is the last time you had a sigmoid-o-scope, your teeth or feet cleaned, gone to a funeral home for final arrangements, or had your plumbing done by an illegal alien? I maintain these are amongst the ‘dirtiest and most difficult’ jobs in America. Yet there is no shortage of citizens wishing to go into those fields. That is because Americans have fought long and hard for fair wages. And to borrow from the first Clinton run, “it is about wages stupid”.

But before we can cure this problem we must treat it as the emergency it is … and that is precisely what neither side of the aisle has been willing to do. While serving in dentistry I had several occasions to be involved with something called triage. Triage is simply determining, in an emergency situation, those needing the most urgent care. With an excess of 11 million illegals in our society we must consider the problem at our southern border in terms of triage. America must decide, in medical terms, what it can do to stop the bleeding, before it decides if the patient is a candidate for a transplant. So first we must prevent the influx.

I understand the plight of these people. I have witnessed it firsthand as a legal alien missionary dentist on two occasions. I, along with a staff of three, Agnes Recco, Marilyn Landers, and Julie Nesbitt, were able to accomplish dentistry on families living in tarpaper and cardboard homes with no running water or sewage. These people were clean, neat, and grateful for our services. But perhaps the most disturbing observation was not the abject poverty … I was prepared for that … what was most disturbing to me was the contrast in living conditions observed by merely crossing the borders. On one side we saw wealth and commerce … even in America’s most run down neighborhoods … while on the other we witnessed utter poverty and human misery.

Their plight has been echoed by demonstrators over the past few weeks. Many have been quoted as saying something to the effect of: “if the nation you live in cannot provide work and sustenance for your family, then it is your obligation to find a nation that can”. While my heart tells me that is true and I would feel the same way if I had to ‘walk a mile in their shoes’, I can remember my grandparents (all four) telling me about the scary trip they took from Italy to America … how they had to wait in lines, be assigned new names, leave their heritage, learn a new language, labor in factories and coal mines, and be subjected to bigotry and prejudice … how both parents had to drop out of school to provide for their families … all in an effort to become American citizens … legally. They argued in their broken English that my parents were not allowed to teach us Italian … they wanted no sign of a debilitating accent for their children and grandchildren. While both sets of grandparents routinely butchered the English language and my parents spoke fluent Italian, neither my mother nor father had a hint of an accent. My grandparents labored for a cause and a dream … to become American citizens. When my uncles were asked to fight against Italy in World War II, none hesitated. They had no allegiance to any nation, save America. Can that be said for the demonstrators we have witnessed over the past week? I have seen far more Mexican flags than American carried by those people. This has also been revealed in soccer games between America and Mexico … the illegal worker’s loyalty remains with their native land. While my grandparents became Americans in merely one generation … through existing laws and naturalization … I wonder how long it will take illegal aliens, coddled by political correctness and bilingualism, to be assimilated into American society. There is no doubt that immigration is not only important to America but has been responsible for the fabric of America. But, I think I can speak for both my deceased parents and grandparents as they might have asked: “what’s wrong with waiting your turn and obeying the laws as they exist … after all … we did.”