Around Here By Leo Coughlin The illegal alien problem presents us with a human tragedy of immense proportions, a tragedy created by our own government. The first responsibility of a government is to safeguard its country's borders. Our government has not done that. It is not the illegal aliens fault that we have a tragedy that grows larger every day. Of course the poor and dispossessed want to be here in the land of opportunity. And most of them are hard working. Would that all segments of society be that way. When reasonable laws are passed, life becomes so much simpler by just obeying them. The so-called "complexities" of immigration escape me. To become a resident of the United States - and perhaps a citizen in the future - there are laws, rules and regulations. If they are followed, an immigrant's goals are met. Accordingly, anyone in the United States illegally should be deported, immediately, without fuss and fury. It will take time, but it must begin. This is step one in beginning to solve the problem. Let's begin with fundamentals. Of course, it is the government's first responsibility to safeguard the nation's borders. Secondly, our society needs to safeguard itself through the process of citizenship. When an illegal alien woman can enter this country unlawfully, give birth in the U.S., and then claim some sort of status because the child is, by law, a citizen, that is wrong. The remedy is to amend the 14th Amendment to the Constitution. The opening - and critically defining words - of the 14th Amendment are - "All persons born or naturalized in the United States and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the state wherein they reside." It should be amended to say this - inserting words immediately after the word "born" - those words to be "of a person legally in the United States"; so the opening of the 14th Amendment then reads "All person naturalized or born of a person legally in the United States and subject . . . .etc." The change in the 14th Amendment is crucial. It is the loosely worded version now extant that saddles we the people with the care and maintenance of someone who should not have citizenship in the first place. Where did the idea ever come from that the United States was open to one and all - come, prosper, send money back to the folks where you came from, use the resources and wealth of America and claim a perfect, non-contested right to do so? Stop and think on what ideas and principles this nation was founded upon. Do you believe that Washington, Madison, Adams, Franklin and that whole crew envisioned a nation made up of the polyglot detritus of humanity? You bet they didn't. That is why, over the years, Congress crafted very careful and restricting laws on who got in and who didn't get in. There were times when certain identifiable groups were absolutely denied entry and citizenship. There were times when the numbers of identifiable groups were severely restricted. Why? To control this society and to protect its borders. Now we have a president and members of Congress who boldly sit around and conspire ways to break the laws of the United States, imperil its worthy citizenship, and fleece we taxpayers of our wealth. Have we gone totally nuts in this country? When I registered to vote, a portion of the Constitution of the United States was put before me. That is, I had to demonstrated that I could read English. English, de facto, has been the official language of this country. Now, in some jurisdictions, ballots are printed in several languages. This should not be. English should be made the official language by constitutional amendment and a price should be put on citizenship - obtain it legally and fairly. It is time, by all that is holy, that we citizens took back our country. Return to Home Page Return to Current Edition Contact us