The Black Republican

In the Wall Street Journal, Jason L. Riley makes the case that President Bush should ignore the cries of "nativists". He opens up with the definition of "spin", according to William Safire's New Political Dictionary. Here's one to counter him: nativism, according to Webster's is: "a policy of favoring native inhabitants as opposed to immigrants, or the revival or perpetuation of an indigenous culture especially in opposition to acculturation."

I think we can safely say that in most cases, "nativist" is a racial pejorative - as it should be. Those who would close off the borders of a country of immigrants to any new immigrants, especially based on any racist arguments, deserve to be referred to with pejoratives. But I know a lot of conservatives who speak about immigration reform starkly in terms of enforcement of existing immigration law. It's hard to argue with the notion that people who violated the law should be invited to stay in the country without paying some penalty.

Yet - and here's where too many conservatives part with me - the President has not proposed that we do any such thing. His program would require those in the country illegally to pay a fine.

Undocumented workers now here will be required to pay a one-time fee to register for the temporary worker program. Those who seek to join the program from abroad, and have complied with our immigration laws, will not have to pay any fee. All participants will be issued a temporary worker card that will allow them to travel back and forth between their home and the United States without fear of being denied re-entry into our country....

Some temporary workers will make the decision to pursue American citizenship. Those who make this choice will be allowed to apply in the normal way. They will not be given unfair advantage over people who have followed legal procedures from the start. I oppose amnesty, placing undocumented workers on the automatic path to citizenship. Granting amnesty encourages the violation of our laws, and perpetuates illegal immigration. America is a welcoming country, but citizenship must not be the automatic reward for violating the laws of America.

Be wary of those who cry endlessly for border enforcement by trashing the President on the grounds that he wants to let illegals remain in the country under "amnesty". Unless you're one of the harshest of the law-and-order advocates, you should recognize the concept that a fine is a penalty, and that not all offenders of all crimes must serve jail time. If your beef is that you believe all illegal immigrants should be returned to their native country before they can participate, say so. But don't hoist any of this "amnesty" garbage on me, and don't tell me that having a paper trail on documented guest workers will not give us better control of the border. It will allow the Border Patrol to stop concentrating on waves of Mexicans who outnumber them 100 to 1, and concentrate on ALL undocumented immigrants, including those who may be entering the country to harm us.

I don't think Mr. Riley recognizes enough that President Bush doesn't ignore all those who have questions and concerns about border security, and those who merely misunderstand that he isn't trying to offer amnesty to illegals. As we learned in the recent election, Americans have to know what it is that we're supporting, not just what it is that we're against. Another American sums up the immigration issue this way:

We will be free only so long as the borders of the United States are open to immigration and trade, closed to invasion and corruption, and securely defended by policies maintaining our national sovereignty and traditional identity.

America must support immigrants and their desire for a better life in this great country of ours. But it must not be at the expense of our security or our sovereignty, or the sanctity of our laws and our traditions. That is the stance of The Black Republican.