• Home Delivery
• Customer Services
• Contact Us

Print | Email |

Illegal immigrants cause real harm to U.S. citizens

While acknowledging that the recession makes the political battle more difficult, President Obama has pledged to create a path to citizenship for the estimated 12 million illegal aliens — the majority of whom are from Mexico — currently residing in the country.

Indeed, Obama’s Secretary of Homeland Security, Janet Napolitano, has even bizarrely claimed that illegal immigration, itself, is “not a crime” and that the “real evildoers” are “employers who ... hire illegal labor.”

Napolitano is wrong on both counts.

U.S. immigration law states that any alien who enters or attempts to enter the United States at any time or place other than as designated by immigration officers shall, for the first commission of any such offense, be fined under Title 18 or imprisoned not more than six months, or both. As for “evil” Americans who employ these criminals, the problem which Napolitano neatly sidesteps is that the vast majority of illegal aliens also compound their disregard of U.S. immigration law by using fake documents that are often difficult, if not impossible, for employers to spot without help from the federal government.

Illegal aliens routinely use phony birth certificates, Social Security cards and other documentation that victimize Americans — many of them newborns and young children. A Center for Immigration Studies report debunks three common misconceptions: that illegal aliens are “undocumented”; the transgressions committed by illegal aliens to obtain jobs are minor; and illegal-alien document fraud and identity theft are victimless crimes.

The CIS report quotes experts who say that approximately 75 percent of working-age illegal aliens use fraudulent Social Security cards to obtain employment. The overwhelming majority (98 percent) of these Social Security number thieves use their own names with stolen numbers.

Obviously, when illegal aliens use Social Security numbers or other documents belonging to American citizens, the damage can be substantial. The true owners risk being saddled with the illegal aliens’ credit, arrests and medical records. Victims may be denied jobs, unemployment insurance, Social Security payments and Medicaid benefits. It can easily cost victims hundreds of hours and thousands of dollars to undo the damage and recover their names and lives.

The CIS report makes clear that the average working-age illegal alien has not only broken the law by stealing into this country, but is likely guilty of multiple counts of identity theft.

Before President Obama starts making promises of citizenship to illegal aliens — especially during these tough economic times — the true extent of the damage these illegals have perpetrated on America needs to be publicized.

Any real immigration reform must first recognize the immense harm illegal aliens have caused by committing identity fraud. At a minimum, those who have committed these and associated crimes should have to face justice and, to the extent possible, compensate their victims, at least economically, although there is no adequate recompense for the emotional torment these acts cause.

It is the current ability of undocumented aliens to blend into the work world that sustains illegal immigration. Absent the ability to secure gainful employment, illegal aliens would have no choice but to return to their country of origin.

Deportation of illegal aliens would undoubtedly be expensive, but then, the American taxpayer is currently funding a costly web of social services such as schools, clinics, hospitals, unemployment services and other social safety net agencies.

Weighed against these costs, it’s entirely possible that deportation would begin to look a great deal more attractive.

Illegal immigration is a criminal act and shouldn’t be tolerated simply because enforcing the law against it is costly. As the Center for Immigration Studies report shows, looking the other way is even more expensive.

Any government’s first, and greatest, responsibility begins with protecting its own territorial integrity, its own borders, no matter what the price.

Discuss This Story

Be the first to comment: Sign In or Create Profile .

Enter Username Enter Password

It's time to get tough, but Obama doesn't want to offend anyone, especially all those voters. I'm sorry, but something has to be done. It just won't be the entitlement and free stuff party.

Gregory Hammond | 7/27/2009 - 11:50 PM - (Suggest Removal )

Home | Login | Local News | Obits | Sports | Business | Opinions | Blogs | Classifieds| Business Profiles

Web Feeds/RSS | Contact Us | Customer Service | Privacy Statement | Common Questions | E-Edition | Subscriptions | Site Map

© 2009 Kingsport Publishing Corporation - Part of The GoTriCities Network