IF EVERYTHING WAS LEGAL

The late comedian, Dave Gardner, once said that if we made everything legal, we wouldn’t have any crime. It appears Colorado and Washington State have taken him to heart at least when it comes to marijuana. But the funny weed is a subject for another day. This column will deal with illegal immigration.

The popular way of identifying these aliens is now to call them “undocumented workers.” That’s like calling a drug dealer an “unlicensed pharmacist.” Crime is crime and refusing to call it by its name doesn’t change the fact that it is a crime.

Both political parties seem bent on racing to see which can figure out a way to grant these illegal trespassers legitimacy. Both sides believing they would get their votes. Maybe we should consider what else is at stake.

Every single illegal who has a job and is paid with an actual paycheck is working with a stolen Social Security number and phony identification. Many, of course, are paid “under the table” with no record of either their employment or their pay.  In many states most are driving on our streets with no driver’s license. They also have no auto insurance. Here in Georgia, where there are an estimated one hundred thousand-plus illegals, in order to get a driver’s license or even to renew, one must provide a birth certificate or a passport, and a legitimate Social Security card. I wonder, as I look out at the many lawn maintenance people driving pickup trucks who cannot speak English, where did they get their license? Just asking.

Now let us consider the other side of the coin. Who benefits from the presence of  illegal aliens. Well, being the skeptic that I am, I follow the money. Imagine how much money is being saved by farmers and food producers who knowingly hire illegals and underpay them. Consider if you will, how much money is saved by packing houses who knowingly hire employees who cannot object to mistreatment or low wages. What about the money that politicians are paid to insure that this never ending stream of low paid workers continues? Do you suppose the Social Security Administration feels bad about collecting all those millions from known phony SSNs knowing they will never have to pay any of it out? There is no doubt illegal aliens generate big bucks for some at the expense of others.

What do these non-citizens cost the rest of us? Literally millions in welfare, health care, public education, and law enforcement. We spend millions at the “border” attempting to catch them only to have them turn around and try again and again. That has become a joke.

The saddest part of all this is that we could end this situation in days if we had the will. It is as simple as requiring all employers and welfare granters to verify the legal identity of everyone they come in contact with and refuse employment or  benefits to any illegal. With no jobs, no welfare, no free medical care, and no free schooling, these millions of illegals would quickly deport themselves. It is clear the reason we don’t was stated in the above money following paragraphs. Too many people get too much money to even consider “fixing” the situation.

So the political parties race to make the previously illegal act of trespassing into our country legal. That way it wouldn’t be a crime. Then, after that, we could make everything legal and empty the prisons. The entire judicial system would be free to just take the rest of their lives off. After all, everything is legal.

Ron Scarbro