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Mexico and Immigration . . . Act Now to Prevent Chaos
Take a Vote: Mexican-American Merger?
To Whom It May Concern:
It was known as Seward's Folly. In 1867, when U.S. President Andrew Johnson and his Secretary of State William H. Seward purchased the State of Alaska from the Russians for 2.5 cents an acre.
Newspaper editorialists and others ridiculed Seward and called it Seward's Folly, but in retrospect, his Folly seems like a smart piece of business.
In a similar way, I suggest we merge with Mexico and make them the 51st state.
We are the most generous nation in the world as well as the one with the most immigration.
Rather than have thousands of poverty-stricken Mexicans illegally race across the border daily, when all they seek is a better life for themselves and their families, let's take in the huddled masses, the poor by merging with the entire country.
Let's not, as some TV commentators suggest, treat Mexico as an enemy by putting the Armed Forces on the American-Mexican border to stop illegal immigration, let's be friends and unite.
Let's not fight, let's unite.
We will all be Americans together. Since we already have a State named New Mexico, maybe we'll call it Old Mexico.
Hundreds of years ago, the colonizing European Spanish forced their language and culture on the indigenous Mexican population, committing atrocities in the process. But if we give Mexicans a choice to join America, they will have the opportunity to embrace a new language, English, of their own free will, while also maintaining their cultural identity.
Do you think many of these Mexican immigrants really want to leave their country?
President Vicente Fox of Mexico worked for Coca Cola. He knows the American free enterprise system and what benefits it would produce for the Mexican masses.
We can help the Mexicans improve their infrastructure by building or improving roads, dams, bridges and so forth, and raising the inadequate rate of pay for workers. We can help them get cleaner drinking and bathing water. In return, we will get oil and other natural resources just as we got when we purchased Alaska from the Russians.
Beyond this, in Mexico, there is great weather and land for agriculture. In fact, along the Baja of California the weather is perfect and land is ripe for the development of homes, condos, apartments, and State Parks. This will create a large tourism industry that will benefit the United States.
Who knows, maybe Disney can make another theme park and locate it along the Baja of California. The Disney cruise line ships could dock right next to the Baja theme park.
With my idea, there will be no more abject poverty, no more Mexican women and children begging for money from American tourists like in Tijuana. No more low-paying, backbreaking day labor jobs for men.
Let's make this a win-win situation, especially for the many Mexicans who have to flee their country for a better life for themselves and their families.
I bet that Mexicans would want this just as much as Mexican-Americans would, and I'm sure Americans would welcome the visionary solution as well.
My idea may start out as Mozena's Folly but in the end it will prove as visionary and profitable a piece of business as William Seward‚s purchase of Alaska.
Most importantly, it will help those who are less fortunate have a better life.
The American Dream is for Mexicans too.
Sincerely,
Steve Mozena
Wait a minute?
To Whom It May Concern:
Do you have a minute, Minutemen and everyone?
It's sad to see the thousands of Mexicans, Hondurans, Guatemalans, and El Salvadorans fleeing their countries in search of a better life for themselves and their families.
But it's even sadder to see how so many Americans accuse Mexicans and people from other Central American countries of depleting rather than adding to our economic resources. We are told that they take our money and send it home to their families.
The truth is that immigrants contribute to our economy by taking jobs that employers would otherwise be unable to fill. Cheap immigrant labor leads to lower prices on goods and services for Americans. We need more workers in America, not less.
Both my parents were immigrants: My father was born in Italy, and my mother in Ireland. My wife is an immigrant, too. I know immigrants are hard workers. I witnessed this quality in both my parents and I see it again in my wife.
Some people are worried that too many of the new immigrants, whether legal or illegal, are Hispanic, and this will radically alter the racial and ethnic composition of the nation. If this is so, we need to level the immigration playing field by accepting more immigration from other parts of the world.
There are many indigent countries in the world, the citizens of which would love to immigrate to America. They would be happy to become temporary agricultural, domestic workers or the ilk.
We need to ensure that our immigration policy is sufficiently diversified. There is no reason why we should favor immigration from Central America, over, say, the poorer countries of Eastern Europe, Africa or Asia, just because Central America is closer to our borders.
We already have as part of U.S. immigration law a category called diversity immigrants. Up to 55,000 visas a year are issued to promote immigration from countries that are not currently the principal sources of immigration to the United States. We should consider increasing that number. Let's loosen immigration restrictions for people from those countries.
We also need to encourage immigrants to live in U.S. states other than California, New York and Texas, which at the moment receive the lion's share of new immigrants. In a similar way, if American whites are worried about an ethnic shift in those three big states, they can move there themselves. They can also decide to have more children. Statistically, whites can certainly afford to raise more children.
Let's develop a level playing field for all. Then we won't need all those modern Minutemen patrolling the Mexican border in Arizona.
Sincerely,
Steve Mozena
No Amnesty for Illegals
To Whom It May Concern:
As the illegal immigrants protest by withdrawing their labor for May Day, we Americans must be firm in our policies and our priorities.
There must be no amnesty for those who break our laws, and we need to fix the problem of our porous southern border.
For now, we need to build a wall across the Mexican border. We can tear it down later like the Berlin Wall was torn down, but we need to stop all the illegal aliens pouring into our country.
We tried amnesty for illegal immigrants in the 1986 Immigration Reform and Control Act, during the Reagan Administration, but it didn’t work. It did not reduce the flow of illegal immigrants, and today, twenty years later, there are more illegals in our midst than ever before.
Our generosity was interpreted as a sign of weakness, and illegal immigrants took advantage of us. No more.
Now these people who are here illegally are boycotting their jobs on May Day. They say they want to bring attention to their plight.
What should our response be?
Every employer of an illegal alien who misses his or her job on May Day should feel free to fire that employee, whether maid, farm hand, gardener, nanny, construction worker, or any other occupation.
This should be a lesson to employers also: do not hire illegal aliens. You are breaking the law by doing so.
Just because illegal immigrants are here, in this country, does not mean we owe them any form of U.S. citizenship.
They don't want to learn English. They don't want to fly the American Flag.
If they want to become Americans, let them first show their good faith by learning our language rather than speaking Spanish all the time. And let’s see them flying the American flag, not the Mexican one.
If the United States needs inexpensive labor, there is another way of filling the need. More than 50 percent of the people of the world live below the poverty line. There are many countries that are poorer than Mexico and Central America. We should increase the quotas for legal immigration from countries such as East Timor, Somalia, Sierra Leone, Malawi, Tanzania, Burundi, Republic of the Congo, Comoros, and Eritrea. Ethiopia, Afghanistan, Niger, Yemen, Madagascar, Guinea-Bissau, Zambia, Kiribati, Nigeria, and Mali.
These are the poorest countries in the world. Note that not a single Central American country features in the list.
People from these countries would gladly fill the void left by departing illegal aliens in low-wage jobs such as maids, gardeners, construction workers, fast-food employees, etc.
We don't need the illegal Mexican or Central American immigrants or illegals of any other nationality. We don’t need people who evade our legal system, plant their feet on our soil and then demand their "rights."
We must act firmly and decisively to stop America slipping into dangerous ethnic factionalism.
If the Latinos want to polarize our country, we can stop electing anyone with a Latino surname. We can boycott all Mexican restaurants and related stores. We can give greater powers to local law enforcement agencies to work with the INS to track down and deport illegals.
This is not intended to foster prejudice against all Latinos. Anyone who is here legally and obeys our laws and is willing to assimilate with American culture is welcome. America is a melting pot. It always has been. It is not and should not become a collection of separate ethnic groups all speaking their own language and hanging on to the culture of their homelands while at the same time enjoying all the privileges that accrue to a citizen of the United States of America.
To head off this emerging problem of Latino separatism, we need a moratorium for 15 years on all immigration, legal and illegal, from Mexico and Central America. In the future, when we have regained control of our borders, we can revisit the issue and decide what is best. But for now, we need to stop this immigration absolutely.
We sure don’t want to hear the national anthem sung in Spanish. I support President Bush’s statement against this.
Personally, I say we should make Mexico the 51st State. For Mexico, union with the United States would give it the resources it needs to raise its people out of poverty and to clean up all the corruption.
But that would be up to the people of Mexico. I hope they pressure their politicians and demand a vote on the matter.
In the meantime, Americans need to stand up and be counted. Let’s all say to our spineless politicians:
No amnesty. Enforce our laws. Preserve the unity of our nation. Do the right thing rather than being scared of offending the Latino vote for the mid-term elections in November.
Are you listening, Congress?
Sincerely,
Steve Mozena
Immigration Bill Essentials
To Whom It May Concern:
Illegal immigrants are planning a nationwide boycott of work, school and commerce on May 1st. They say they want to "take back" May Day as a public holiday.
Well, fine. If you don’t want to work or go to school, or buy anything that day, don’t. America will survive without you.
American citizens should organize a "buy America" campaign for May 1, to offset any dip in sales caused by the boycott.
The great Cesar Chavez, who fought valiantly for the rights of migrant farm workers, is a hero to many illegal immigrants, but how many of them know that Chavez was opposed to illegal immigration? In fact, Chavez called for an increase in the Border Patrol and sanctions against employers who hired illegal aliens.
Chavez’s legacy in improving the rights of Hispanic farm workers is being threatened by the current massive influx of 11-12 million illegals.
We should not allow illegal immigrants from south of our borders to put us over a barrel and dictate U.S. government policy. There are many poor people from the entire world who would love to immigrate to the U.S. honestly and legally.
I realize that illegal immigrants come here because they want to feed their families, but all poor people all over the world want to do the same. Why should we reward those who break our laws and turn our backs on others?
I am strongly in favor of improving the working conditions of all American citizens and legal immigrants. Every worker deserves a decent wage and benefits.
But as long as there are illegal immigrants in this country, they will be exploited, as Cesar Chavez well knew.
The harsh truth is that the problem of illegal immigrants will not go away until they do.
It's time for American citizens who are dismayed by these large Mexican-flag waving demonstrations and chanting in Spanish by illegal immigrants in our cities to make some protests of their own.
If there are more demonstrations by illegal immigrants, we should bring in the INS to enforce the law and deport them. This is a time to round up in paddy wagons and buses and deport the illegals. The INS should work with the National Guard and local police to accomplish this.
When the Congress reconvenes, its immigration bill should include the following;
1. Change the longstanding principle that any child born in the United States is automatically classified as a U.S. citizen. This practice means that every child born to any illegal alien currently in this country is a U.S. citizen. This must change. If illegal aliens have children here in the U.S., the child should be declared a citizen of whatever country in which the mother holds citizenship. This will involve a change in Section 1 of the Fourteenth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.
If the parents are not married, and one of them is an American citizen, there should perhaps be a law that obligates that American parent to raise the child without any assistance from government social services. Children of illegal aliens should not enjoy all the privileges enjoyed by a legal citizen born here.
2. Mandate English as the nation's official language. A condition of U.S. citizenship should be proficiency in the English language. There should be no Spanish spoken in U.S. public schools other than foreign language classes. The message should be: learn our language, English, or go home.
3. Put a 10-year moratorium on legal immigration from Mexico and all Central American countries to help thwart illegals. This should include Nicaragua, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras. Stopping this flood of immigration will help us to assimilate the immigrants who are already here legally and help them to become part of the American mainstream.
4. Americans citizens and American employers should not employ illegal immigrants for any work. They must ensure all verify the immigration status of their employees and offer jobs to immigrants only if they have the correct legal documents. This is already the law of the land, and we need to ensure that all new employees complete the necessary I-9 immigration forms to verify their status. U.S. immigration should routinely check businesses for compliance. There should be stiff fines for noncompliance.
5. Unfortunately, the INS and border patrol do not have the manpower to police not only the borders but nationwide. Therefore, all law enforcement agencies should be empowered to arrest for deportation any and all illegal immigrants.
6. 80 percent of the world lives in poverty. If we truly need unskilled or low-skilled labor, we should increase immigration quotas from other indigent countries. This will level the playing field and give all immigrants all over the world, not just those adjacent to our borders, an opportunity to feed, clothe and provide shelter for their families.
7. Unfortunately, for now, I believe a wall should be built across the southern U.S. border. At some point in the future, when the flow of illegals has subsided, like the Berlin Wall it can be torn down.
As always, I believe Mexico should seriously consider becoming the 51st State of the Union. The Mexican people should be allowed to vote on the issue. It appears they like what the United States has to offer, so I think they would vote to unite with us, and there would be clear benefits for both sides. This proposal should be on the agenda for the next meeting between President Bush and Mexican President Vicente Fox.
Unless Congress acts decisively, this problem of illegal immigration will continue to fester and America will be the loser.
Sincerely,
Steve Mozena
Bush Address: Americans are fools?
To Whom It May Concern:
"You may fool all the people some of the time, you can even fool some of the people all of the time, but you cannot fool all of the people all the time," said President Abraham Lincoln.
I thought of Lincoln's words as I watched President Bush's address to the nation about immigration reform.
Who is Bush trying to fool?
He talks of sealing the border by 2008, but that's when his term of office expires. We won't be able to hold him accountable if the plan does not work.
President Bush has no backbone. He and his administration are just passing the problem on to the next administration.
This is not a comprehensive immigration plan. It's an amnesty program by another name.
Amnesty did not work in 1986, and it won't work now.
Our government fooled us once in 1986. Not again.
It's our turn, the U.S. citizens. The border must be sealed first and there must be effective enforcement. A limited number of National Guard troops are not the answer.
We have already tried the amnesty way, now it's time for another solution.
We need to create a physical barrier to illegal immigration by fencing off the border and maybe later constructing a wall. We must do whatever it takes to seal the border.
All the talking should stop right now and the building of the fence should start.
Only then, when the border is effectively sealed off, can we start talking about a guest worker program and a pathway to citizenship. Do it now!
Give me the governmental contract. I'll get the manpower, tools, and equipment to construct the fence along with barbed wire, and the latest surveillance technology.
And it won't take till 2008 to put it up. I'll have it up and running on or before the November 2006 election. It's the only solution to illegal immigration from south of our border.
Then we would need to fine tune the fence and surveillance technology for at least a year to fix the problem areas, which still may exist. Then, when the border is truly secure, we can talk about the 10 million plus illegals that are already in the country. In the meantime, they should be learning to write and to speak English if they want to stay here.
The illegal immigration problem has been going on for over 20 years. We don't need to worry about illegals already here, they aren't going anywhere, but we do need to solve the problem with the hemorrhaging border.
We'd all be fools not to demand a fence rather than President Bush's collection of half-measures, which won't work.
As the saying goes, fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me.
Let's not be fools in this immigration debate. Build the fence now.
Mr. President, we, Americans, are not fools!
Sincerely,
Steve Mozena
The U.S. will merge with Mexico and Canada?
To Whom It May Concern:
I have a scoop.
Inside sources have revealed to me that President Vicente Fox, at his meeting with President Bush this past week in Cancun, Mexico, has agreed in principle that Mexico should become the 51st State of the Union.
The two leaders agreed that this would be the only satisfactory solution to the current immigration crisis, and that both countries would benefit from such a merger. It would enhance trade, security, and tourism, and ensure America's dominance of the global economy into the foreseeable future.
President Fox, according to my sources, is seeking a way to put this proposal to a referendum of the Mexican people. He would like to put it on the ballot in the upcoming national elections.
At the same meeting, Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper confided his belief that Canada would also be better off merging with the United States. He said he would wait and see the results of the Mexican referendum before putting this proposal to the Canadian people. He envisions that each Canadian province and territory -- thirteen in all -- will become a state of the United States.
This is great news! At last we have three visionary leaders who can see the big picture and are not afraid to act with that in mind.
I'm looking forward to taking vacations in the 51st State of the Union, and the 52nd through 64th as well.
God bless the new America, from sea to shining sea -- and from the great Yukon Territory in the north to the Yucatan Peninsula in the south.
Sincerely,
Steve Mozena
Made in America or Mexico?
To Whom It May Concern:
The designation, "Made in America," should be a source of pride for all American citizens. But what does that really mean in the case of illegal immigrants?
Given the current levels of illegal immigration, we need to change the longstanding principle that any child born in the United States is automatically classified as a U.S. citizen.
This practice means that every child born to any of the 11 or 12 million illegal aliens (some estimates put the figure as high as 30 million), currently in this country is a U.S. citizen. This must change. If illegal aliens have children here in the U.S., the child should be declared a citizen of whatever country in which the mother holds citizenship.
If the parents are not married, and one of them is an American citizen, there should perhaps be a law that obligates that American parent to raise the child without any assistance from government social services. Children of illegal aliens should not enjoy all the privileges enjoyed by a legal citizen born here.
After all, the same principle holds true for U.S. military families. A baby born to American parents on an overseas military base is a U.S. citizen, not a citizen of the country in which the child happens to be born. The same principle applies to other situations in which a child is born to American citizens living abroad. As long as the required documentation is presented, the child is guaranteed American citizenship. This is according to the principle of jus sanguinis ("right of blood"), which holds that the country of citizenship of a child is the same as that of his or her parents.
A new law denying citizenship to the children of illegal aliens born in the U.S. would make it easier to deport illegal aliens, which becomes difficult when the child is a U.S. citizen. The INS, considered heartless by some, does not make a practice of deliberately breaking up families. If the child is a U.S. citizen and the parents are illegal immigrants, it puts the INS in a compromising situation to which there is no easy solution.
The change that I propose would not break up families, and would place the responsibility for the child on the parents, not on the U.S. government.
This change in U.S. law would be simple to legislate and would make it much harder for illegal aliens to remain in this country.
It's time to take control of our own borders and say, if you are here illegally, you cannot stay.
With its great prosperity, America is always going to be a magnet for the poor of other nations, but everyone must play by the rules. Our government must have the honesty and integrity to enforce these rules. This will benefit not only legal citizens born or naturalized in America but also all the people from poor nations who wish to immigrate legally to the United States for a better life for themselves and their families.
Sincerely,
Steve Mozena
It's rude! Speak English.
To Whom It May Concern:
It's just rude! We are in the United States. Please speak English.
Especially when you, a foreign-born person, are in the presence of Americans in their own country!
Emily Post, that grand old arbiter of American manners and etiquette, would have had none of this.
You waltz into our country illegally and expect us to allow you to stay, but you will not learn our language. Are we supposed to learn Spanish in order to communicate with you? Why are speaking Spanish anyway? Do you not want Americans to understand what you are saying? Are you speaking your Spanish Secret Code?
My advice to Americans is that we should no longer indulge the Spanish-speaking segment of our society. For example, we should just walk out of any establishment when we hear people begin speaking in Spanish.
Here's an instructive anecdote. An African American man was in a grocery store. Actually, he was half Mexican and half Black, but he looked African American. The people in the store were all Mexicans and when they saw him they started speaking in Spanish, making pejorative statements against blacks. Little did they know that their target also spoke Spanish. He quickly responded in Spanish, pointing out their rudeness.
An acquaintance of mine says that when he hears a foreigner speaking another language in front of him in the U.S. he makes a noise as if he were speaking in tongues. Would it be equally as rude for us to do that as well?
Having large numbers of Spanish speakers is not good for the future of this country.
I see a parallel with the recent history of Quebec. Many French-speaking Canadians were ready to tear Quebec apart and secede from Canada. In the 1970s, separatists in Quebec mounted a bombing campaign to impose their will on the majority. In 1995, they forced a vote on independence and lost by the narrowest of margins, 50.6% to 49.4%.
I see this possibility happening in our country.
Is it so far beyond the imagination that if the number of unassimilated Spanish-speaking Mexican immigrants in the South and Southwest continually rises, there will eventually be a movement for those states to secede from America and join Mexico? It's a strategy of divide and conquer; America is imploding from within.
Those who immigrate here to enjoy the advantages this country offers should at the very least learn our language. It's what immigrants have always done.
It's a matter of good manners. Would you go to a party and speak in a language the host was unable to understand? Of course you wouldn't. You wouldn't need Emily Post to tell you so, either.
So I say to today's immigrants, whether legal or illegal: if you want to join the American party, please speak English.
Sincerely,
Steve Mozena
We owe Illegal Immigrants U.S. Citizenship?
To Whom It May Concern:
As the illegal immigrants protest by withdrawing their labor for May Day, we Americans must be firm in our policies and our priorities.
There must be no amnesty for those who break our laws, and we need to fix the problem of our porous southern border.
For now, we need to build a wall across the Mexican border. We can tear it down later like the Berlin Wall was torn down, but we need to stop all the illegal aliens pouring into our country.
We tried amnesty for illegal immigrants in the 1986 Immigration Reform and Control Act, during the Reagan Administration, but it didn't work. It did not reduce the flow of illegal immigrants, and today, twenty years later, there are more illegals in our midst than ever before.
Our generosity was interpreted as a sign of weakness, and illegal immigrants took advantage of us. No more.
Now these people who are here illegally are boycotting their jobs on May Day. They say they want to bring attention to their plight.
What should our response be?
Every employer of an illegal alien who misses his or her job on May Day should feel free to fire that employee, whether maid, farm hand, gardener, nanny, construction worker, or any other occupation.
This should be a lesson to employers also: do not hire illegal aliens. You are breaking the law by doing so.
Just because illegal immigrants are here, in this country, does not mean we owe them any form of U.S. citizenship.
They don't want to learn English. They don't want to fly the American Flag.
If they want to become Americans, let them first show their good faith by learning our language rather than speaking Spanish all the time. And let's see them flying the American flag, not the Mexican one.
If the United States needs inexpensive labor, there is another way of filling the need. More than 50 percent of the people of the world live below the poverty line. There are many countries that are poorer than Mexico and Central America. We should increase the quotas for legal immigration from countries such as East Timor, Somalia, Sierra Leone, Malawi, Tanzania, Burundi, Republic of the Congo, Comoros, and Eritrea. Ethiopia, Afghanistan, Niger, Yemen, Madagascar, Guinea-Bissau, Zambia, Kiribati, Nigeria, and Mali.
These are the poorest countries in the world. Note that not a single Central American country features in the list.
People from these countries would gladly fill the void left by departing illegal aliens in low-wage jobs such as maids, gardeners, construction workers, fast-food employees, and so forth.
We don't need the illegal Mexican or Central American immigrants or illegals of any other nationality. We don't need people who evade our legal system, plant their feet on our soil and then demand their "rights."
We must act firmly and decisively to stop America slipping into dangerous ethnic factionalism.
If the Latinos want to polarize our country, we can stop electing anyone with a Latino surname. We can boycott all Mexican restaurants and related stores. We can give greater powers to local, state and federal law enforcement agencies to work with the INS to track down and deport illegals.
This is not intended to foster prejudice against all Latinos. Anyone who is here legally and obeys our laws and is willing to assimilate with American culture is welcome. America is a melting pot, not a salad bowl. It always has been. It is not and should not become a collection of separate ethnic groups all speaking their own language and hanging on to the culture of their homelands while at the same time enjoying all the privileges that accrue to a citizen of the United States of America.
To head off this emerging problem of Latino separatism, we need a moratorium for 15 years on all immigration, legal and illegal, from Mexico and Central America. In the future, when we have regained control of our borders, we can revisit the issue and decide what is best. But for now, we need to stop this immigration absolutely.
We sure don't want to hear the national anthem sung in Spanish. I support President Bush's statement against this.
Personally, I say we should make Mexico the 51st State. For Mexico, union with the United States would give it the resources it needs to raise its people out of poverty and to clean up all the corruption.
But that would be up to the people of Mexico. I hope they pressure their politicians and demand a vote on the matter.
In the meantime, Americans need to stand up and be counted. Let's all say to our spineless politicians:
No amnesty. Enforce our laws. Preserve the unity of our nation. Do the right thing rather than being scared of offending the Latino vote for the mid-term elections in November.
Are you listening, Congress?
Sincerely,
Steve Mozena
Concrete Solutions to the Illegal Immigration Challenge?
To Whom It May Concern:
Illegal immigrants are planning a nationwide boycott of work, school and commerce on May 1st. They say they want to "take back" May Day as a public holiday, pointing out that around the world May Day is the commemoration of the social and economic achievements of the labor movement.
Well, fine. If you don't want to work or go to school, or buy anything that day, don't. America will survive without you.
American citizens should organize a "Buy America" campaign for May 1, to offset any dip in sales caused by the boycott.
The great Cesar Chavez, who fought valiantly for the rights of migrant farm workers, is a hero to many illegal immigrants, but how many of them know that Chavez was opposed to illegal immigration? In fact, Chavez called for an increase in the Border Patrol and sanctions against employers who hired illegal aliens.
Chavez's legacy in improving the rights of Hispanic farm workers is being threatened by the current massive influx of 11-12 million illegals.
We should not allow illegal immigrants from south of our borders to put us over a barrel and dictate U.S. government policy. There are many poor people from the entire world who would love to immigrate to the U.S. honestly and legally.
I realize that illegal immigrants come here because they want to feed their families, but all poor people all over the world want to do the same. Why should we reward those who break our laws and turn our backs on others?
I am strongly in favor of improving the working conditions of all American citizens and legal immigrants. Every worker deserves a decent wage and benefits.
But as long as there are illegal immigrants in this country, they will be exploited, as Cesar Chavez well knew.
The harsh truth is that the problem of illegal immigrants will not go away until they do.
We do not need a guest worker program.
Instead, we should allow those who are low skilled, under-educated and poor and who wish to create a better life for themselves and their families to immigrate legally.
This would be better than the current illegal approach. It seems like our current immigration laws make it extremely difficult for people such as these to immigrate here legally. If we as a nation are suffering from labor shortages, and we need nannies, farm hands, landscaping and construction workers, not to mention skilled workers like nurses, it is time to create the legal structures that would allow such people to come here legally.
But the present situation is intolerable.
It's time for American citizens who are dismayed by these large Mexican-flag waving demonstrations and chanting in Spanish by illegal immigrants in our cities to make some protests of their own.
If there are more demonstrations by illegal immigrants, we should bring in the INS to enforce the law and deport them. This is a time to round the illegals up in paddy wagons and buses and deport them. The INS should work with the National Guard and local police to accomplish this.
I suggest the immigration bill currently being prepared by Congress should include some or all of the following:
1. Change the longstanding principle that any child born in the United States is automatically classified as a U.S. citizen. This practice means that every child born to any illegal alien currently in this country is a U.S. citizen. This must change. If illegal aliens have children here in the U.S., the child should be declared a citizen of whatever country in which the mother holds citizenship. This will involve a change in Section 1 of the Fourteenth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.
If the parents are not married, and one of them is an American citizen, there should perhaps be a law that obligates that American parent to raise the child without any assistance from government social services. Children of illegal aliens should not enjoy all the privileges enjoyed by a legal citizen born here.
2. Mandate English as the nation's official language. A condition of U.S. citizenship should be proficiency in the English language. There should be no Spanish spoken in U.S. public schools other than foreign language classes. The message should be: learn our language, English. We must avoid at all costs a situation such as occurred in Quebec. Many French-speaking Canadians were ready to tear Quebec apart and secede from Canada.
3. Put a 15-year moratorium on legal immigration from Mexico and all Central American countries to help thwart illegals. This should include Nicaragua, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras. Stopping this flood of immigration will help us to assimilate the immigrants who are already here legally and help them to become part of the American mainstream. The United States will deport illegal immigrants, but realistically, it cannot deport all the more than 10 million. With our current quota system, we can increase the legal immigration from other impoverished countries, giving other poor people a chance to give themselves and their children a better life.
4. Americans citizens and American employers should not employ illegal immigrants for any work. All employers must verify the immigration status of their employees and offer jobs to immigrants only if they have the correct legal documents. This is already the law of the land, and we need to ensure that all new employees complete the necessary I-9 immigration forms to verify their status. U.S. immigration should routinely check businesses for compliance. There should be stiff fines for noncompliance.
5. The INS and border patrol do not have the manpower to police not only the borders but nationwide. To thwart future illegal immigration challenges, all law enforcement agencies should be empowered to arrest for deportation any and all illegal immigrants.
6. More than 50 percent of the people in the world live below the internationally defined poverty line of less than U.S. $2 a day. If we truly need unskilled or low-skilled labor, we should increase immigration quotas from other indigent countries such as in Africa and Asia. This will level the playing field and give all immigrants all over the world, not just those adjacent to our borders, an opportunity to feed, clothe and provide shelter for their families.
7. For now, I believe a wall should be built across the southern U.S. border along with state-of-the-art surveillance equipment. At some point in the future, when the flow of illegals has subsided, like the Berlin Wall it can be torn down.
8. No illegal immigrant should ever be allowed citizenship or the right to vote. Nor should any illegal immigrant be allowed to immigrate any family members for their lifetime. They broke the law. There should be some consequences.
As always, I believe Mexico should seriously consider becoming the 51st State of the Union. The Mexican people should be allowed to vote on the issue. It appears they like what the United States has to offer, so I think they would vote to unite with us, and there would be clear benefits for both sides, a win-win situation for all.
Like parents who have failed to discipline their children, America has up to now lacked the discipline to solve the illegal immigration problem. Now we must create a pathway for future immigrants, once the proposed moratorium has ended, to come legally from Mexico and Central America.
Unless the U.S. Congress acts decisively and sets partisan politics aside, this problem of illegal immigration will continue to fester and the United States and its citizens will be the losers.
Given the many other challenges facing this country, such as the war on terror, rising gas prices, the skyrocketing cost of health care, a burgeoning national debt, and our country, as we know it will eventually implode on itself unless we act now.
Sincerely,
Steve Mozena
Help Wanted for Future Americans?
To Whom It May Concern:
Attention World Citizens: This is letter to all my fellow world citizens who live in poverty or on low incomes. I have posted it on my web sites. You may cut and paste and post this letter anywhere you wish. You may reprint it in your newspapers and print it on flyers. You may display it in stores or workplaces. Put it anywhere you think people will read it.
Dear Future Americans:
Do you seek a better life for yourself and your family?
Would you like to work and earn good wages -- enough to provide food and shelter for your family?
There are many jobs available in the United States.
Would you like to immigrate to the United States?
My fellow Americans and our businesses have a "Help Wanted" sign out for the kind of labor that you would be able to provide.
Jobs are available such as maid, construction worker, gardener, field worker, nanny, restaurant worker, and many others.
To the best of your ability, please write me a brief letter stating you would love to come to America and work and bring up your family.
You would also need to say that you agree to observe all the laws of this country.
If you're from any of the poorest countries in the world and want to immigrate to the United States, I want to hear from you. The poorest countries include East Timor, Somalia, Sierra Leone, Malawi, Tanzania, Burundi, Republic of the Congo, Comoros, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Afghanistan, Niger, Yemen, Madagascar, Guinea-Bissau, Zambia, Kiribati, Nigeria, and Mali.
Beyond those countries, if you want to immigrate here to the United States to do those kinds of jobs, I want to hear from you as well.
I know for some of you even a stamp would be expensive, so in the letter make a list of all your family and friends who want to immigrate to the United States as well.
Mail the letters now to this address:
When I receive your letters, I'll make sure the U.S. government and the national media know about your wishes.
Then, maybe the U.S. government will show its humanity and compassion and open the gates wider, increasing the quotas, to legally admit non-skilled or low-skilled immigrants from all over the world, especially you and your loved ones.
Sincerely,
Steve Mozena
Please, speak English, not Spanish.
To Whom It May Concern:
When I saw Senator Ted Kennedy cheering on a crowd of illegal immigrants, I thought to myself, Here's one lawbreaker -- remember Chappaquidick? -- Speaking to many lawbreakers.
What is the crux of the problem concerning illegal immigration from Mexico and Central America, beside the fact that it is illegal?
I think it's the unwillingness of illegal Mexicans and Central Americans to assimilate to American values and learn the English language.
The problem is compounded when elected officials like Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa make statements such as this to a crowd of protesting illegal immigrants: "We wave these American flags because we say to the Americans that we clean your toilets, we clean your hotels and we take care of your children and we now ask you to help us take care of our children as well."
First of all, it's offensive to think that Mexican or Central Americans are the only ones who clean toilets. Rich, middle class, and poor people who are non-Hispanic clean toilets, too. I remember the first time I went to work at my Dad's business. He took me to the Men's room, and said I must learn to respect all jobs. Then he pointed to the toilet and asked me to clean it, which I did. I was proud of the work I did and valued the lesson learned.
But the real issue with Villaraigosa's speech is his blatant identification with illegal Latino immigrants. Non-Hispanic citizens and legal Hispanic immigrants should be greatly offended by his use of the word "we" in this context. I advise voters to reject Villaraigosa at the next election for fostering the kind of ethnic factionalism that we can well do without in America.
It also appears that Villaraigosa wants to bring the Los Angeles Unified School District under the control of the mayor's office. I see a warning sign in this. Does the mayor plan to mandate the speaking of Spanish in all LAUSD schools to cater to the illegal immigrants?
We want a mayor who will represent all the people, not just the Latinos. It seems that power has corrupted Villaraigosa, who apparently wants to show favoritism to Latinos, and illegal ones at that. The voters of Los Angeles need not give him any more power for him to abuse.
We need a solution to the problem of illegal immigrants who insist on speaking Spanish rather than learning English. We need a mayor who does not pander to sectional interests.
Sure, in American history there have often been first-generation ethnic groups who spoke their language in their immigrant communities, but in almost all cases, the second and third generations of those immigrants learned English. Soon they regarded English as their native tongue.
It seems that illegal Mexican and Central American immigrants think it's their right to speak Spanish while in an English-speaking country, and that the government should accommodate them by creating dual language programs in schools and printing government social services documents in Spanish as well as English. This practice should be stopped.
These illegal immigrants should understand that they are in a very tolerant country.
Do the illegal Mexicans or Central Americans really think there is any country other than America, and including their own, that would allow huge demonstrations on the streets of its cities by people who are in the country illegally?
Sure, some of these demonstrators are waving American flags, but listen to the chanting -- it's all in Spanish, not English.
This is not good for the future of this country.
I see a parallel with the recent history of Quebec. Many French-speaking Canadians were ready to tear Quebec apart and secede from Canada. In the 1970s, separatists in Quebec mounted a bombing campaign to impose their will on the majority. In 1995, they forced a vote on independence and lost by the narrowest of margins, 50.6% to 49.4%.
I see this possibility happening in our country.
Is it so far beyond the imagination that if the number of unassimilated Spanish-speaking Mexican immigrants in the South and Southwest continually rises, there will eventually be a movement for those states to secede from America and join Mexico? It's a strategy of divide and conquer; America is imploding from within.
We look at Osama bin Laden as a terrorist who is determined to destroy our country, and, yet at the same time we are allowing are country to be destroyed by illegal immigrants, who are a threat to our language and our values.
At the very least, this country will find itself divided into different ethnic enclaves, each speaking different languages. This is not the ideal of America. Unity has been the secret of the American success story. We are the United States of America, not the Disunited States.
Communication is difficult in any language.
But it becomes more complicated when there are different languages involved. I see more acute social divisions and hostilities emerging between Hispanics and non-Hispanics such as Whites, Blacks and Asian Americans if this trend toward speaking Spanish rather than English continues.
Congress should take action now and mandate English as the nation's official language. A condition of U.S. citizenship should be proficiency in the English language.
This does not mean that we should become a parochial country, asserting the superiority of English over other languages. I believe that all the major languages of the world should be offered as electives in primary, secondary, middle, junior high, high school and college.
But all students should be mandated to learn to speak and write English here in the United States.
And the classes they take should be rigorous, with high standards, not some rinky-dink, "pass anyone" class.
This is not the case at present.
Ridiculous though it may seem, many of our American colleges now allow non-English-speaking, non-English-writing students to obtain a degree, even a Ph.D. This is absolutely wrong. No one should be allowed to obtain an undergraduate degree, a master's degree or a Ph.D. if they are unable to speak or write in the English language from a United States college or university.
Sure, in the United States, we have all the Korean, Filipino, Indian, Spanish, and Chinese TV channels, just to name five, and that's fine, but these immigrant groups should also learn to speak English.
Even my father, who immigrated from Italy, learned the language. There was a lot of prejudice back then. He related a story to me about how some boys tied him to a tree and threw sticks and stones at him as they made fun of how he spoke. My father was an F-student in his first year in school. Then from the following year in grade school through high school, he became a straight-A student, even being able to skip several grades. He then went off to serve his new country in World War II. He was an American and was proud of it.
I wish the illegal immigrants from Mexico or Central America would have more pride in their own country. Any Mexican and Central American who leave their country are doing it a disservice. If they love their native country, I suggest they work to make it better. They shouldn't always look north, to the United States, for their salvation.
Remember, centuries ago, the conquering European Spanish forced their language on the indigenous populations of Mexico and Central America.
At least today's Mexicans and Central Americans have a choice about whether to come to the United States. They are all welcome to come here, legally, but only if they are willing to abide by our laws and learn to speak our English language.
Really, is that too much to ask for?
Sincerely,
Steve Mozena
The Only Real Solution to Solving Illegal Immigration?
To Whom It May Concern:
Now all the demonstrations by illegal immigrants are over, at least temporarily, everyone in America must have a good idea of the scale of the problem we face.
We need to set aside the emotions stirred up on both sides and take a levelheaded look at the situation.
First and foremost, we need to secure our southern border by erecting a barbed-wire fence, ditches on each side of the fence, and 24-hour surveillance. Obviously, the project will cost money, but it has to be done, and done now.
Opponents say this will be like the Berlin Wall. But the comparison is wrong. First, a fence is not a wall. Second, the purpose is very different. The Berlin Wall was built to keep people from escaping from communist East Germany. Our border fence is not designed to stop people from leaving the United States; it will be there to stop them coming in illegally.
Let's stop the illegal flow of immigrants before we even consider any guest worker program, amnesty or any other solution for the illegal immigrants already here.
Until this first step is taken, everything else is smoke and mirrors. There's no substance to it. It's not addressing the real problem.
We are facing a problem of Katrina-like proportions right now. This is a crisis that demands immediate action before the situation gets any worse.
I say to our politicians, act now, or we will all pay later.
Sincerely,
Steve Mozena
Mexico is a wonderful Country?
To Whom It May Concern:
No doubt about it, Mexico is a wonderful country.
Americans have adopted segments of Mexican culture and food as their own, like salsa, and spicy Mexican cuisine.
In a spirit of appreciation for the contributions of our brothers and sisters from south of the border, I'd like to suggest that we adopt one more idea from Mexico: the MEXICAN immigration laws.
They are the toughest on the continent.
Unlike in the United States, in Mexico, it's a felony to be an illegal alien, with imprisonment of up to two years for anyone who is caught.
Every year, Mexico deports more illegal aliens than the United States does.
In Mexico, anyone who aids in illegal immigration is imprisoned, and federal, local and municipal police must cooperate with federal immigration authorities and help to arrest illegal immigrants.
Deported foreigners who try to re-enter Mexico without authorization can be imprisoned for up to 10 years.
If the United States were to adopt even half the laws about illegal immigrants that operate in Mexico, we would make a big dent in the problem.
As it is, we are giving in to pressure from illegal immigrants and a foreign government, Mexico, to treat illegals leniently when this is contrary to the practice in Mexico itself. I think the word here is hypocrisy.
I repeat, let's show Mexico how much we appreciate it by adopting its immigration laws.
Thanks for the inspiration, neighbor!
Sincerely,
Steve Mozena
The Indispensable Illegal Immigrant poem
To Whom It May Concern:
Are the illegal immigrants as indispensable as they claim they are with their protest parades? Nope.
Let me sum it with a poem, adapted from Saxon White Kessinger's poem "The Indispensable Man," which I've retitled "The Indispensable Illegal Immigrant":
Sometime when illegal immigrants are feeling important,
Sometime when their ego's in bloom,
Sometimes when they take it for granted,
They are the best qualified in the room.
Sometimes when illegal immigrants feel
that their going would leave an unfillable hole,
Just follow these simple instructions
And see how this will humble their soul.
Take a bucket and fill it with water,
Put their hand in it up to their wrist,
Pull it out and the hole that's remaining
Is a measure of how they'll be missed.
They can splash all they wish when they enter,
They may stir up the water galore,
But stop, and they'll find that in no time
It looks quite the same as before.
There is a moral in this for America today. Illegal immigrants are not indispensable. If they were all sent back tomorrow America would still be America and the economy would quickly find ways of overcoming the temporary shortage of labor -- legally.
Let's all remember my adaptation of Kessinger's poem when our politicians tackle the weighty issue of immigration reform.
Maybe they will have the courage to do what's right for Americans, not for their own prospects at the next election, or for the welfare of illegal immigrants.
If the U.S. politicians, whose egos always seem to be in bloom, do not act with courage and vision, we should all remind them that they are not indispensable, either.
Sincerely,
Steve Mozena
Are illegal Mexicans and Central Americans hypocrites?
To Whom It May Concern:
Isn't it amazing to think how Mexican-born illegal aliens will stand up against our U.S. government and its people, trying to erode our national sovereignty and implode our country, yet they don't have the guts to go back to Mexico and fight the corruption of their own government.
Are they afraid that if they did so there might be another incident like the infamous massacre of pro-democracy demonstrators in China's Tiananmen Square in 1989?
They protest in this country because they well know that the American government would never act in such a way.
The hypocritical illegal Mexicans and Central Americans are guilty of a double standard.
Fix your own country with protests and boycotts, instead of wrecking ours.
Sincerely,
Steve Mozena
No traffic jams on Los Angeles Freeways?
To Whom It May Concern:
One bright note regarding the Illegal Immigrant Boycott: All day I have been enjoying driving on the empty freeways here in Los Angeles. Just like a holiday.
Please, more of this, and even better, maybe next gas prices may drop from the falling demand.
We wish!
Sincerely,
Steve Mozena
Who are we really?
To Whom It May Concern:
Who are we, really?
It seems that many of the 12 million illegal immigrants in this country are faking their way through the system with forged documents such as drivers' licenses and social security numbers.
Thousands of them are guilty of identity theft, of stealing the name of some other living person and using it to acquire documents that enable them to stay in this country and work. Along with their illegal status, that's a double crime.
According to experts, victims of immigrant-based identity theft can expect to have their Social Security number used about thirty times. It just gets passed around among groups of illegal immigrants, with devastating consequences for the innocent victim, usually a U.S. citizen who then sees his or her credit rating destroyed as well as their Social Security benefits.
Identity theft is no joke. I know. I suffered from it, and so did a cousin of mine.
In one instance, the criminal had opened a telephone account in my name in Southern California. He left his $900-plus bill unpaid and I was stuck with it.
I protested, but Verizon/GTE shut down my phone service. I was compelled to pay the bill. Later, I took Verizon/GTE to small claims court and won.
Another problem with illegal immigrants having forged documentation is that they may well be able to vote.
The voter rolls are chaotic. I know this because a voter registration card for someone with a Latina surname was mailed to my home. This person is unknown to me and has never lived here.
What effect may this illegal voting already have had on our elections?
Now these people who have no right at all even to be in the country are trying to take away our identity as a nation by singing the national anthem in Spanish and speaking Spanish.
We should be firm. No amnesty. Stop the flow of illegals at the border first. Then we will figure out how to deal with all of the illegals.
Let's call on all legitimate American citizens not to use labor or other services provided by illegal immigrants. Let's show them that we can get along without them just fine, and they would be better off going back to Mexico and Central America voluntarily.
Sincerely,
Steve Mozena
How about a Nation of Law Enforcement?
To Whom It May Concern:
The May Day protests by illegal immigrants showed how broken the immigration system is.
We are a nation of laws, it is said.
But how about being a nation of law enforcement as well?
We've got plenty of laws about illegal immigration on the books right now.
How much better off would we be if we enforced those laws?
We need to allow all law enforcement agencies, local, state and federal, to enforce the immigration laws. Realistically, the Border Patrol and the INS can't do it. They do not have the manpower.
We need to enforce the laws that fine employers who hire illegal aliens.
We need to enforce the laws requiring a valid license and insurance to drive a car.
It's time to take our laws seriously.
We fine restaurants that allow people to smoke, but we can't fine Tyson Foods for hiring illegal aliens?
Who says so?
We can fine people $1,000 for littering in almost any U.S. county, but we have a hard time requiring people to show proof of citizenship before they vote?
How can this be?
We must demand of our politicians that they make the tough decisions on illegal immigration, and we must demand that the laws of the land are enforced.
Sincerely,
Steve Mozena
Is it all about money?
To Whom It May Concern:
"It's all about the money" . . . or "those who live by the bottom line, die by the bottom line."
So, Tyson Foods and ConAgra Foods had to close up shop today and restaurants like McDonald's had to operate with limited staff because their low-pay employees didn't show up for work due to the immigration protests.
I wonder how much money, profits, these companies will be losing from this one-day shut down?
Hopefully, the money they're saving on payroll will offset their losses from being closed one day.
If they don't, maybe management will have to rethink the whole "hire low-paid workers to increase profits" idea.
I believe the phrase is "penny wise, pound foolish".
Sincerely,
Steve Mozena
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