Bolling’s Op-Ed On Immigration

9 July, 2007. 389 words.

Much of Virginia Lt. Governor Bill Bolling’s recent op-ed on immigration makes sense. There’s a couple of things I disagree with, though.

I’d change the order of his immigration reform steps (assuming they were meant to be applied sequentially). His order was (paraphrased): 1) Build fence, 2) Improve immigration system, 3) Deny illegals social services, 4) Hold employers accountable, 5) Enforce existing laws.

My order would be: 1) Hold employers accountable, 2) Improve immigration system, 3) Deny illegals social services, 4) Enforce existing laws, 5) Build fence (if it’s even still needed).

I also couldn’t help noticing some wishy-washiness in his “enforce the existing laws” views, and I’m surprised that Virginia conservatives, who otherwise gave Bolling’s piece a good review, didn’t notice it. He wants to deport illegals, but he admits that “we may not be able to deport all of the 12 million-20 million illegals who are in our country today, but we can remove those we encounter along the way.”

So the lecherous traitor supports amnesty! (For the irony-challenged, this paragraph is a joke intended to simulate the logic I often hear in the “amnesty” labeling debate.) If you’re not going to deport all of the illegals, then some of them will inevitably end up with citizenship, and that’s amnesty, plain and simple.

But seriously, if you know you can’t deport all 12+ million, how do you decide what the cut-off point is? How do you determine who is more or less worthy of deportment? Where exactly is “the way?” Will somebody be actively looking for illegals or is Bolling just talking about illegals who happen to get speeding tickets? To me, those are rather large logistical problems that should not be glossed over.

One other thing the Lt. Governor wrote raised an eyebrow: “We want everyone to enjoy the American Dream, but the American Dream must be earned — it cannot be stolen.”

I disagree with that wording. People who are born citizens have not done anything to “earn” their American Dream, and in fact some American citizens aren’t living what I’d consider to be a very “dreamy” life (sometimes by choice, but also sometimes not). So if American Dreams must really be earned, then the cost is something beyond citizenship papers. Perhaps he should have said, “the chance for the American Dream must be earned.”

Related