Immigration (Again)

The illegal aliens that flood the United States’ borders every day are becoming a great concern for the nation as a whole. The transparency of the borders, and the virtually unmitigated traffic that flows between them, poses security risks in a time where the United States can ill-afford lapses in oversight. In an increasingly hostile world, the federal government, more so than ever, needs to be able to know with confidence the ambitions and purposes of foreign nationals within our vast country.

That is not to assume that all illegal immigrants infiltrate our borders in order to cause havoc and undermine our system of governance. In reality, many aliens cross the borders to find work and better economic opportunities than are afforded to them in their own country. However, they are classified as “illegal” for a reason.

Immigration has been a central staple of the United States since its inception. There is no denying that immigrants built this country, fostered its system of representative government and nurtured it to the super-power status of today. But those immigrants pursued all those means through legal avenues and did not try to bend or break the rules established by the citizenry of that nation. They knew that doing so would weaken the deeply held principle of the United States being a nation of laws, meant to be upheld and respected so that society runs effectively and with due fairness.

Illegal immigrants don’t just show disrespect for the legal processes and institutions, but, as previously mentioned, also pose a security risk for the nation. That is not to say that all immigrants are hell bent on destroying the United States, but the notion that someone can enter the United States undetected and undocumented leaves one to question how the federal government could effectively protect the citizenry from outside threats if they don’t even know who comes in and out of the country on a routine basis.

Exacerbating this problem in the contemporary political structure is the judicial system. Article I, Section 8 of the U.S. Constitution states that Congress shall have the power “to establish an uniform Rule of Naturalization.” Therefore, the authority to decide immigration issues is clearly and distinctly enumerated to the legislative branch.

The meddling of the court into such issues as whether illegal immigrants can obtain the same social benefits as legalized citizens is outside the purview of the court, and just further confounds the national debate on sound immigration policy.

The court has adjudicated that illegal immigrants are essentially granted the same status as legalized citizens in a wide array of circumstances, and in doing so, become virtually indistinguishable from individuals who played by the rules and respected the legal institutions of this country. Furthermore, it also displays the power grab that has been going on for some time in the federal judiciary. Instead of allowing the intent of the legislative branch to shine through, and the mandate of our Constitution to dictate government setup, the judiciary has given itself the initiative to inculcate social policy based on the justices’ personal policy preferences.

Although illegal aliens usually have good intentions, they need to be held accountable and respect the legal foundations of the U.S. government. Doing so will restore integrity to the status of legalized citizens and diminish the security risks associated with undocumented aliens.