MORE ON ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION

As some of you may know I wrote a column recently concerning an accident which occurred in southern Minnesota. That accident happened last month involving a woman who t-boned a school bus killing four kids. It was widely speculated that the woman was an illegal alien and was reported as such. It has subsequently been learned that she was indeed here illegally and was using stolen identity. She has since been arrested by the FBI for identity theft and faces numerous state charges including four counts of manslaughter. The column was published in the paper on March 7.

A response was published last week written by what appears to be one of the very apologists I wrote about. It included the words I would have expected from them. I was indeed taken to task. My purpose in writing this blog is not to defend myself from this person or anyone who might take exception to what I say. It is instead to further the discussion of illegal immigration.

A friend sent me the following excerpt of a speech delivered some time ago. It is as follows:

Theodore Roosevelt's ideas on Immigrants and being an AMERICAN in 1907.

"In the first place, we should insist that if the immigrant who comes here in good faith becomes an American and assimilates himself to us, he shall be treated on an exact equality with everyone else, for it is an outrage to discriminate against any such man because of creed, or birthplace, or origin. But this is predicated upon the person's becoming in every facet an American, and nothing but an American...There can be no divided allegiance here. Any man who says he is an American, but something else also, isn't an American at all. We have room for but one flag, the American flag... We have room for but one language here, and that is the English language... and we have room for but one sole loyalty and that is a loyalty to the American people."

Theodore Roosevelt 1907

I did go to Snopes.com and verified this excerpt.

I cannot add anything to what he said. It seems clear to me.

One of the criticisms I received was my observation that the woman who caused the accident spoke only Spanish. The critic did not seem to believe that English was such a great language and that our insistence on its use was not neighborly. It appears that Roosevelt would have taken exception.

He also opined that we should welcome anyone to our shores who comes legally or illegally to improve their standard of living. Again I think the critic is in the minority.

We face a very real problem in this country with the rapid influx of people from all over the world. Most seem to be undereducated, under medicated, desperately poor, and completely unprepared to live in a free society. They appear to congregate in areas of the country where they think they can blend in. But, they continue to speak their native tongue. They bring to our shores the very problems and issues from which they just escaped. If they choose to be here and be Americans, there are ways to do that, but it doesn’t start by coming here illegally.

The sooner we as a country get a handle on this problem the sooner the quality of life improves for both American citizens and the immigrants who come here legally. Let’s face it, if those people coming here would do so legally, they wouldn’t have to hide. They could get driver’s licenses and they could get insurance. They also wouldn’t have to steal identification. Imagine how their life would improve.

I will continue to offer opinions on this matter and welcome your response.

Ron Scarbro March 15, 2008