From: J. Stuart Cundiff
Columbus
There’s been a lot of furor over immigration recently. Let me present two scenarios.
1) On a given morning, a man and his wife, lamenting over their poverty and lack of funds, decide to commit a crime. They drive about 10 miles up the road and spy an enclosed area, surrounded by a chain-link fence, topped by barbed wire. Looking inside they see several expensive items. The fence has “No Trespassing-Private Property” and “Keep Out” signs posted conspicuously. They breach the fence, take several items, load them into their vehicle and drive away. Not being able to afford a babysitter while the crime is being committed, their children, asleep in the back seat, accompany them. The couple is eventually identified and the police, armed with a warrant, go to their home, find the stolen items and arrest the two.
The children are placed in the care of Child Protective Services and eventually into a foster home. The couple is tried, found guilty and sentenced to jail. Their children remain in foster care. There are no protests, no demonstrations, no public outcry. They broke the law and received their just punishment.
2) On a given morning a man and his wife, lamenting over their poverty and lack of funds, decide to commit a crime. They, accompanied by their two minor children, travel a thousand miles and come to the border between their country and the United States. The border is clearly marked with “Keep Out” and “Entry Forbidden” signs. Ignoring the signs the family bypasses the fence and enters the U.S.
They make their way into the interior of the country, find lodging and eventually enroll their children in school. Both the man and his spouse take “day jobs,” being paid cash at the end of the day and not paying income taxes or Social Security. If any of the family need medical attention they go to a clinic that is free or low cost, paying cash because they have no insurance. Sometimes they will avail themselves of amenities provided to low-income families by taxpayer money (i.e. rental assistance, school lunch and breakfast programs, and food subsidies). The couple is eventually identified as illegal immigrants, taken into custody and their children are separated from them and placed into a different facility.
What is the difference between the two scenarios? Actually, nothing. They broke the law and will receive their just punishment: deportation. In the meantime, they have ignored several laws:
- Being paid in cash with no accounting
- Failure to pay taxes
- Failure to pay Social Security
- Receiving aid they are not entitled to
- Having their children educated and fed at taxpayers’ expense
However, there are protests, demonstrations in the street and a general outcry at the injustice. Why? Well-meaning folks are blinded by the fact that children are involved. Put the blame where it belongs: not on the U.S. government but the parents who made the decision to break our nation’s laws and to involve their children in doing so.
