Recently, immigration enforcement in East Tennessee generated headlines. The scenes were tragic and heart-wrenching as families were being torn apart.
Unfortunately, instead of encouraging legal immigration to this country to prevent these scenes from playing out again in the future, progressive special interest groups used the immigration raids as an opportunity to defend and justify illegal immigration.
This is incredibly sad and speaks volumes about just how far we have gotten from the time when virtually everyone agreed that those seeking to come to this country should come to this country the right way. After all, we are a nation of immigrants, but also a nation of laws.
Of course, we can certainly change our immigration laws to make them even more generous, but it must be done through the legislative bodies to ensure that the American people have had a chance to weigh in on the process.
The current immigration system has certainly changed since my family moved to this country from Cuba seeking political asylum in the 1960’s. I’m grateful that my parents made that difficult choice to come to this country. I can only imagine how agonizing the decision-making process was for them, as they weighed the risks of leaving everything behind, including their families and loved ones, to flee and start again from scratch.
Today, all parents are familiar at some level with weighing the costs of our choices and how they will affect the entire family. We pray for wisdom and do our best. We ask ourselves whether taking a new job makes sense and if it’s worthwhile to move our entire family if it means transferring our children to a new school. We wonder if it is worth the risk of starting a new business, or making a certain investment, or even returning to school if it means that we may be able to get a new, better-paying job.
Outside the United States, parents are weighing decisions too. In Latin America, there are some who are deciding whether it is worth risking their children’s lives to immigrate to this country illegally. They must be asking themselves if it is worth taking their young children on a treacherous journey through Mexico, and then coming to grips with the real possibility of breaking up the family if they are detained in the United States for disregarding our nation’s laws.
Sadly, many parents in Latin America are saying yes, it is worth the risk and the possible consequences that come from this decision.
While some choose to ignore this reality, Latinos for Tennessee will continue to affirm the positive benefits of immigration, but we are also going to underscore the importance of the rule of law. Both are indispensable to the character of our nation.
It’s worth noting that many other countries don’t have the same respect for the rule of law that we do here in the United States. Ours is the world’s oldest constitution; in contrast, Latin American countries have had a difficult time maintaining constitutions, creating fertile ground for dictatorships and autocracies. We have the responsibility to communicate why the rule of law is crucial to our democracy and to our identity as the land of freedom and opportunity.
Part of this means that parents need to take responsibility for their actions. This includes Latin American families thinking about moving to the United States illegally.
Of course, this doesn’t mean that Congress does not have a responsibility to enact meaningful immigration reform. Unfortunately, Democrats in Congress haven’t shown signs of wanting to cooperate with Republicans to craft meaningful and permanent immigration reforms that both respect the rule of law and affirm legal immigration.
In my role as the Executive Director of Latinos for Tennessee, I see how critical it is to discuss and explain and communicate the principles that make our nation exceptional. Our group will continue to affirm and promote faith, family, freedom and fiscal responsibility to our growing Latino community in Tennessee.
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Raul Lopez is executive director for Latinos for Tennessee, an organization committed to promoting faith, family, freedom and fiscal responsibility to the Latino community living in Tennessee.
Before the tidal wave of immigration during the past 30 years, about 95 percent of the people in the United States were born here. So we are not a nation of immigrants, and certainly not more than any other country is or has been.
The massive legal immigration we get now is unsustainable for us as a nation. Illegal migration must be stopped, and the legal numbers must be drastically cut by law and policy.
Don’t be shocked to see progressives taking the side of law breakers instead of the interest of protecting the legal citizens of the country. The liberals are so hungry for votes they put American lives in jeopardy. They use the power of empathy for illegals playing on the heart strings of the hypocritical hollywood wannabes, seeking attention and camera time, gulping down every glass of koolaide it serves them, unaware of the poison mixed within. Show me your concern for the million of unborn babies you rip out of the womb and destroy every year and I might believe you actually have compassion for others. Otherwise shut the hypocrisy up.
I am sick and tired of the worn out claim that America is a nation of immigrants. Just how many generations have to be born here to stop hearing this nonsense. I am no more an immigrant than I am a Martian. It is way past time to shut down this liberal motto.