My dog woke me up fairly early for a Sunday morning.  For what, I don’t know, as she didn’t want out.  Since I couldn’t get back to sleep I got up and started moving around (while my dog took up residence in my spot on the bed and went back to sleep; maybe that’s what she really wanted.. ).

I turned on the TV on Fox 4 and caught the last few minutes of a local show called Insights.  This morning’s topic was the new anti-illegal city ordinances that were just passed in Farmer’s Branch.  The panel included the city councilman who proposed the ordinances, the mayor, the police chief, an anti-illegal activist, Domingo Garcia (LULAC), and some other pro-illegal activist.

The first thing I need to say is that calling people who support enforcing the law racist and saying that they’re engaging in “ethnic cleansing” (Garcia) doesn’t do much to advance the so-called debate.  What I found laughable is that after the ethnic cleansing remark Garcia said he wanted to work with the council and city to resolve the issue. 

At this point, though, being called a racist is getting kind of old-hat.  It doesn’t have the same effect when it’s abused and misused to attempt to smear anyone who wants to enforce the laws.  Kind of like the boy who cried wolf, the race card effect is (thankfully) dying out from overuse.  Or at least with me.  I know I’m not a racist, so I know that anyone who calls me one is full of crap and doesn’t deserve any further attention.

Anyhow, I have sympathy for people who want to come here to work and I’d even support some sort of guest-worker program.  But amnesty for law-breakers is unacceptable to me and there needs to be at least a passing acknowledgement of this fact from the opposition, rather than jumping up and down and screaming “Racist!”  If you support an open-border program, at least have the decency to say so, instead of hiding behind the convenient euphemism of calling them “undocumented” immigrants.  It makes it sound like they just forgot to fill out some paperwork.

But what got my anger meter pegged at 11 this morning was the other pro-illegal activist on the show (unfortunately I didn’t catch her name).  She said something to the effect that, “being undocumented doesn’t mean they’re criminals.”  WHISKEY.  TANGO.  FOXTROT.  Over?

Let’s examine that statement for a second…  Hmm…  doesn’t federal law have something to say on this topic?  Let’s see… how about Title 8, Section 1325 of the U.S. Code.

Section 1325.  Improper entry by alien

    (a) Improper time or place; avoidance of examination or inspection;
      misrepresentation and concealment of facts
      Any alien who (1) enters or attempts to enter the United States
    at any time or place other than as designated by immigration
    officers, or (2) eludes examination or inspection by immigration
    officers, or (3) attempts to enter or obtains entry to the United
    States by a willfully false or misleading representation or the
    willful concealment of a material fact, shall, for the first
    commission of any such offense, be fined under title 18 or
    imprisoned not more than 6 months, or both, and, for a subsequent
    commission of any such offense, be fined under title 18, or
    imprisoned not more than 2 years, or both.   Emphasis added
    (b) Improper time or place; civil penalties
      Any alien who is apprehended while entering (or attempting to
    enter) the United States at a time or place other than as
    designated by immigration officers shall be subject to a civil
    penalty of -
        (1) at least $50 and not more than $250 for each such entry (or
      attempted entry); or
        (2) twice the amount specified in paragraph (1) in the case of
      an alien who has been previously subject to a civil penalty under
      this subsection.

    Civil penalties under this subsection are in addition to, and not
    in lieu of, any criminal or other civil penalties that may be
    imposed.
    (c) Marriage fraud
      Any individual who knowingly enters into a marriage for the
    purpose of evading any provision of the immigration laws shall be
    imprisoned for not more than 5 years, or fined not more than
    $250,000, or both.
    (d) Immigration-related entrepreneurship fraud
      Any individual who knowingly establishes a commercial enterprise
    for the purpose of evading any provision of the immigration laws
    shall be imprisoned for not more than 5 years, fined in accordance
    with title 18, or both.

Further, if someone who is here illegally has obtained a driver’s license or a social security number, doesn’t that also constitute fraud?  Let’s stop pretending that this whole situation is just some little paperwork omission.  The flaunting of federal and state laws has an overall corrosive effect on society and the laws in general and it’s irrelevant that we’ve ignored it for so long.  Just because nothing has been done in the past is no reason not to do something now.

If you support legalizing the ones who are already here, fine.  I can at least understand that as a position.  But let’s lose the racist bullshit.  It wins you no friends and just makes me more stubborn and intransigent about my position.