I support legal immigration, and this article is not intended to speak against legal immigrants or legal immigration.



When Jesus was handed a coin with Ceasar's head on it, he said to "Render unto Ceasar what is Ceasar's, and render unto God what is God's."

Jesus was telling us that we had to respect the authority of government officials, as well as render unto the government what belongs to the government.

We are to pay our taxes and respect the laws of this country.

This is at the core of the debate over whether or not to allow illegal immigrants to stay and whether or not we should stop the flow of illegal immigrants over our border.

This should be a non issue since it is against the laws of the United States to cross the border illegally.

However, there are some people, and some Christians who may very well be well meaning, who have absolutely no idea how much damage they are causing by saying we should allow these people to stay.

First, there is the issue of the law.

If illegal immigrants will break the law to get into this country, what other laws will they break? What's worse, aren't we creating a double standard by saying that we will convict some people of certain crimes but not others?

Lawbreakers, regardless of the crime, must be punished. This is the only way that we can keep order in this country and preserve our sovereignty. By doing nothing, we are saying that it is ok to enter this country illegally, and ultimately, to break the laws of this country.

Not only are we setting a bad precedent legally, but we are teaching our children that it is ok to break the law if what you think you are doing is ok.

There is also the issue of security.

9/11 should have taught us that there are those who seek to harm us and will stop at nothing to destroy us. By not controlling our borders, it is only a matter of time before a crisis far more serious than 9/11 will happen.

All of the terrorists on 9/11 were illegal immigrants eventhough many immigrated here legally. When their visas expired, they should have been immediately escorted to the border. 9/11 would have never happened.

Second is the issue of disease and medical care.

Millions of Americans have no medical insurance. We aren't even taking care of our own people, yet, illegals get billions of dollars in free medical care here because they don't declare their income and draw welfare benefits, as well as Medicaid and Social Security Disability.

The amount of welfare benefits, as well as free education and healthcare these people receive far exceeds what the underground economy generates, which is about $9 billion.

In the spring issue of the "Journal of American Physicians and Surgeons", Madeline Pelner Cosman wrote that 84 California hospitals are closing because of the burden of illegal immigrants on the healthcare system.

She also writes that a number of infectious diseases that had been previously irradicated in the United States are now on the rise. These diseases include: drug-resistant tuberculosis, malaria, leprosy, plague, polio, dengue, and Chagas disease.

http://www.jpands.org/vol10no1/cosman.pdf

Third is the issue of education.

Again, although the underground economy generates only about $9 billion, the states spend about $12 billion per year educating illegal immigrants. When you factor in anchor babies, these costs soar to over $28 billion.

Because of the drain posed by illegal immigrants in higher education institutions, this will also mean less money to educate American citizens and legal immigrants at the college level.

Fourth is the issue of "anchor babies".

Anchor babies are babies that on born on US soil to illegal immigrants. They are given citizenship under the 14th Amendment.

The problem here is that this law was created to give equal rights and equal citizenship to former black slaves after the end of the Civil War. It was never intended to give citizenship to illegal immigrants.

Not even American citizens born on foreign soil are given this privilege. As the mother of a daughter born overseas, I had to prove my identity, the father's identity, and surrender my passport to the US consulate before the American government would even issue a birth certificate for my daughter. Both my exhusband and I are native born American citizens, and not even our daughter was automatically entitled to American citizenship.

Fifth is the issue of wages and jobs.

We've been told for years that illegal immigrants do menial jobs that no one wants. If this is true, then why are thousands of American construction workers out of work?

20 years ago, workers in the chicken plants here in Georgia were all American. Now they have been replaced by illegal immigrants.

Because employers don't have to pay unemployment insurance, worker's compensation, and don't observe laws that are written to protect American workers, wages in these industries, and others,l have been driven down. Thousands of Americans who might otherwise have had an opportunity at these jobs no longer have that opportunity.

According to the Pew Hispanic Center, illegal immigrants aren't risking their lives to come to the United States to find jobs. They are coming here to find better jobs, jobs in the same industries they worked in before but pay more money. This explodes the myth that they are risking their lives to come here to find work.

"Greed, not need".

In Matthew 15, Jesus criticized the Pharisees for tithing and not caring for their parents first. They weren't taking care of of their own families.

It's time for us to care for our own family, our own citizens. When we spend money on these illegal immigrants, we are neglecting our own people.

The bottom line is that illegal immigrants are not immigrants but invaders. They are not here to assimilate themselves into our society, learn our language, or become American citizens under our flag. They are here to rape our country of its resources and they are stealing billions of dollars each year in benefits that rightfully belong to American citizens and legal immigrants who pay taxes and observe the law. When we support illegal immigrants, we are aiding and abetting criminals, which is a crime.

As Christians, we are obligated to stand up for what is right. Call Congress and the Senate and tell them to vote no against any bills that would legalize illegal immigrants, as well as vote in favor of strong legislation that would secure our borders. You should also contact your state legislature about bills that would deny benefits to illegal immigrants. Insist on stiff penalties for employers who employ illegal immigrants.

Finally, call, or write, the White House. The only way to protect our way of life, our health, and our faith is to scream long enough and loud enough until these people hear us.

As we celebrate Memorial Day, let us not forget the hundreds of thousands of military service members who have given their lives to preserve our right to "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness". Their deaths should not be in vain.