From Michigan Liberal
By Jim Ramelis

Doing nothing about immigration and border security is taking a position on the
issue. Those that don’t want tightened border security or any type of sane
comprehensive immigration policy are in effect saying: “Yes. I want the
borders wide open, the profits of agri-business, construction industries, and
others that hire undocumented workers are more important than a good solid
border that screens both for security and health concerns. Support for no reform
says “It is a good thing when the wages of American workers are suppressed by
workers coming across the borders and working for less than minimum wage.”
Failure of immigration reform means the status quo is maintained and that is
just fine with many special interests. It means when an undocumented worker is
sickened by the poison that is sprayed on our crops he or she goes to a hospital
Emergency Room, where you and I pay the bill, and is eligible for no workmen’s
compensation or help of any kind. No politician is going to formally announce he
is for any of these issues but they have to smoke screen the subject. No action
on immigration is the smokescreen.

I am not saying I was for this last immigration bill. It stunk. I am for
securing the borders and a sane solution that is fair, humane, and enforces the
law is a good start. If they would have got the “guest worker” part of the
last bill through, it too would have hurt the American worker while putting the
“guest worker” in a virtual slave like status.

No matter where one comes down on this issue or the political spectrum, I think
almost all of us can agree that even if they won’t come to any conclusion
about what to do with the immigrants already here, then for God’s sake do
something about the border. Using first aid terms, stop the bleeding, apply
emergency life saving first aid, and we will take care of everything else later.
But as the title of this article suggests there are those that don’t want to
apply emergency first aid and don’t want to stop the bleeding. Business as
usual is profits of the few come before the common good and the American Worker.
Doing nothing about the border is taking a position about it.