Illegal Immigration Reform Is Not About Racism

A recent study revealed that illegal immigration is currently costing the state of California $9 billion per year. This annual cost to tax payers is in addition to many other problems caused by illegal immigration. (For a detailed list of the problems, please read my article at the main Lest Darkness Fall web site.)

For those out there who think my anti-illegal immigration stance is racist, anti-Mexican, etc., this is not the case. During a recent trip to Costa Rica I found that Costa Ricans are facing the same problems with illegal immigrants. This year's issue #48 of the Costa Rican newspaper "Tiempos del Mundo" has a front page cover story about how coyotes are smuggling in criminals, weapons and drugs in addition to the groups of illegal immigrants from Peru, Ecuador, Columbia and China. Costa Rican bus drivers and tour guides are grumbling about how poor illegal Nicaraguan immigrants are overwhelming their social services as they pour into the country seeking jobs picking coffee beans. Costa Rica, much like the US, doesn't have a government that really makes an effort to curb illegal immigration.

To me, the similarities of the Costa Rican and U.S. illegal immigration problems really drive home the idea that illegal immigration is universally harmful to the country absorbing the illegals. If a country already has a thriving economy, functioning social services, public education and accessible health care, an influx of poor, uneducated immigrants will harm that country. It doesn't matter where the illegals are coming from or what their ethnic background is as this issue has nothing to do with racism.

America is no longer at a state where the majority of our nation is completely uninhabited. We are no longer desperate for people to come here and build railroads, create industries and tame our lands in order to create an infrastructure. It is time to actively work on stopping illegal immigration before it makes our nation more like the dysfunctional third world countries that the illegal immigrants are coming from.

Jail employers who import illegal immigrants, deny illegals free public services and periodically perform interior sweeps and deport any illegal immigrants that are found. These three things would go a long way towards solving the problem as they would take away the incentive to come here illegally.