It estimated that there are about 11.6 million illegal immigrants currently in the United States, roughly 3 million alone in California. By definition they have broken at least one law to get here, and once here some continue to break the law, you only need to look here to verify this http://www.wnd.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=52198. And here where in 2006 a study showed “Twelve Americans are murdered every day by illegal aliens, according to statistics released by Rep. Steve King, R-Iowa. If those numbers are correct, it translates to 4,380 Americans murdered annually by illegal aliens. That's 21,900 since Sept. 11, 2001.” (http://www.wnd.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=53103). So I ask my liberal friends how long do we stand idly by, when everyday 12 Americans are killed at the hands of illegal immigrants? As if the cost of life is not enough it is estimated that households headed by illegal aliens imposed more than $26.3 billion in costs on the federal government in 2002 and paid only $16 billion in taxes, creating a net fiscal deficit of almost $10.4 billion, or $2,700 per illegal household and among the largest costs are Medicaid ($2.5 billion); treatment for the uninsured ($2.2 billion); food assistance programs such as food stamps, WIC, and free school lunches ($1.9 billion); the federal prison and court systems ($1.6 billion); and federal aid to schools ($1.4 billion). Those numbers can only be higher now than they were in 2002 when that study was done by the Center for Immigration Studies. Why are we extending benefits to people intended only for citizens of this country? I have no issue with free school lunch program for the children of America who truly need it, I do however have a problem with $1,900,000,000.00 being spent on free school lunches for people who are criminal aliens (I am sorry but an illegal alien is a criminal by definition). And as recently as this week attorneys for two unnamed Western Michigan couples were to file a class action lawsuit in federal court, claiming the Kent County clerk is violating their civil rights by not granting marriage licenses to illegal immigrants who don't have a Social Security number. How does this not get laughed out of court? If they are not citizens by definition they have no standing to sue! Just another waste of taxpayer time and money.


Obama has stated that he wants to grant illegals amnesty (no surprise since he has an Aunt here illegally living in gov’t subsidized housing), and a free passage to citizenship, without taking in to consideration they broke the law to get here, some have continued to do so once they “put down roots”, and have been a drain on local and federal budgets. As Reagan once said “They say the world has gotten too complicated for easy answers. I disagree, there are no easy answers but there are simple answers.” . For starters amnesty should be taken off the table entirely. I am not saying close the metaphorical gates and path to the American dream, I simply ask it be done the right way, let’s enforce current immigration and naturalization laws.

The second part to the problem exemplifies what Reagan was referring to, the answer is simple but not easy…...b/c to solve the immigration problem we must help make Mexico a place Mexicans actually want to live (same for Haiti and other Latin American countries). This is by no means meant to disparage those nationalities, but we will always have an immigration problem unless we solve that issue. Mexico currently is a beautiful but violent and dangerous place, you need look no further than Ciudad Juarez to see this. Much the way the United States rebuilt Europe in the 1940’s-50’s under the Marshall Plan, we may need to do a similar thing with Mexico and the other Latin American countries. We must solve the problem, not put our finger in one hole in the damn just to watch it spring a leak somewhere else. We must encourage, and perhaps at the beginning even “fund” fiscal policies that allow for local governments to build infrastructure, good schools, hospitals, and to put in place honest/transparent gov’t officials/police forces (maybe that’s an oxymoron haha). We must enable and empower them to eliminate massive criminal enterprises that bring civil unrest, and horrific violence upon their citizen body. Amnesty is not the answer, and neither is deportation (not that I am against deportation, my point is they will just find another way back in). As a staunch fiscal conservative it may surprise you that I am in favor of offering to help fund these undertakings, but above all else I'm a pragmatist. Better to spend a several billion over the next several years solving the problem, than to lose 20 billion per year indefinitely and still have the problem.

I say "Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free", just do it legally and don't ask for a free ride upon arrival.