Right and Left Miss Mark on Illegal Aliens

On Wednesday, Mayor Bloomberg's East Side residence — not Gracie Mansion — was the site of a planned protest by NY ICE, New Yorkers for Immigration Control and Enforcement. I spoke with the president of the group, Joanna Marzullo, who told me there were more police than protesters and that they kept the group away from the front of Bloomberg's residence. Ms. Marzullo noted that, "Bloomberg's residence has better protection than our own borders."

The group was approached and harassed by a group of young students who spouted rhetoric about "open borders," but when NY ICE members mentioned the importance of national security, they were called names and given obscene gestures. "Whenever you try and present them with the facts, "Ms. Marzullo said, "They resort to this tactic." Ms. Marzullo is a third generation Hispanic who says we should stop using the term illegal immigrants. "These are illegal aliens. Immigrants go through a legal process," she said.

NY ICE believes that before we can even entertain the issue of amnesty, we should try enforcing existing immigration laws, like employer sanctions for hiring illegals. It insists that Mr. Bloomberg stop allowing NYC to be a "sanctuary city" for illegal aliens.

These sanctuaries are communities that refuse to comply with federal immigration laws. Mayor Bloomberg developed a policy whereby city agencies won't inquire as to a person's immigration status except in the most extraordinary circumstances. This in essence means that the city has nothing to report to the authorities.

This also means that there are quite a few brazen illegal aliens in New York City. The New York Post interviewed and photographed five illegals and published their names and occupations. All of them indicated they had no intention of leaving the country to obtain the proper documents because they did not trust that they would be able to return. Technically these individuals could be rounded up and deported because the so-called immigration reform bill has not passed, but all are apparently unconcerned about enforcement. Why shouldn't they be? New York is a safe zone.

I am getting rather tired of listening to "open border" activists pontificate on this being a nation of immigrants. Let's take a look at what these earlier immigrants endured for the precious right to become an American. Visit Ellis Island for a gander at the waiting lines and read about the indignities they suffered. Many Americanized their names to adapt more completely to their new country. Thanks to the anti-American multiculturalists, however, the new breed of "immigrant" has no compunction to assimilate. Blue states seem to provide more services for less allegiance to this nation.

I am equally weary of listening to right wing commentators concentrating all their condemnation on the Hispanics as if these are the only illegals invading this nation. There are allegedly 25,000 illegal Irish here in New York City. Dare we inquire about one's immigration status in Chinatown? How was it possible for a friend from Krakow visiting my Polish daughter-in-law two years ago to secure a green card within months? Legal immigration is easy for some, impossible for others.

Our immigration system is broken and needs to be fixed, but the very first thing we need to do is secure our borders. That means not only completing the 800-mile fence that Congress voted for, but the diligent scrutinization of the issuance of visas, with an absolute moratorium on those requested from hostile nations. The reason for the border fence is simple-national security. Mexicans may be coming here for jobs and a better life, but there are others whose intentions are not so benign, and they could invade through Mexico.

The issue of the 12 million to 20 million illegal aliens already here can wait until we have adequate enforcement personnel, technological upgrades of computer databases, and the ability to do thorough background checks as rapidly as we do credit checks.

The problem of illegal aliens is not something new or anything that President Bush is responsible for. Nevertheless, if he signs off on the ill-conceived reform package as written, he will be making a huge mistake. I've said from the beginning that this is a very complicated issue, yet from the far right all I hear is, "They're breaking the law, deport them." From the left via Sen. Kennedy, "At last these people will be coming out of the shadows and into the sunshine of America." What about the sunshine of Mexico?

Mexico is an oil-rich nation that guards its own Southern borders judiciously but facilitates the exit of its neediest citizens. It's immoral for Mexico to do so and downright stupid for us to enable this exodus.