Our national tenets include two we consider sacrosanct. One, we are a nation of immigrants. Two, we are a nation of laws.
Violating one to the exclusion of the other is like offering an elderly person assistance across the street and then pushing them in front of an oncoming car. Compassionate to the point of death.
For many on the Left, the immigration debate stops at principle number one, as though it precludes the idea of illegal immigration.
They are bound to be as surprised as Santa in the commercial when he meets a walking, talking M&M, exclaiming “they do exist!” before fainting. Democrats should get the smelling salts ready because illegal immigrants really do exist.
There is a plaque inside the Statue of liberty displaying American poet Emma Lazurus’ sonnet, ‘The New Colossus.’
“Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, The wretched refuse of your teeming shore. Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me, I lift my lamp beside the golden door!”
Not exactly a call for the best and brightest, but nowhere in those words does it imply entry should come in contravention to US law.
The Left and the Legacy Press would have you believe differently. They spew terms such as “asylum seeker”, “undocumented” or the infamous “Maryland father” to erase from your minds the very idea that our country can be entered in an illegal manner. They claim illegal immigrants don’t exist.
Illegal immigrants do exist. Here’s proof.
“8 U.S. Code § 1325 – Improper entry by alien
(a)Improper time or place; avoidance of examination or inspection; misrepresentation and concealment of facts
Any alien who (1) enters or attempts to enter the United States at any time or place other than as designated by immigration officers, or (2) eludes examination or inspection by immigration officers, or (3) attempts to enter or obtains entry to the United States by a willfully false or misleading representation or the willful concealment of a material fact, shall, for the first commission of any such offense, be fined under title 18 or imprisoned not more than 6 months, or both, and, for a subsequent commission of any such offense, be fined under title 18, or imprisoned not more than 2 years, or both.”
This is the actual law of our land. It applies equally to all who desire entry into our nation.
Subsection 1227 of 8 U.S. Code defines deportable aliens under a variety of circumstances including, committing a crime, smuggling, marriage fraud, and those who are “present in violation of the law.” That last category covers all who entered the country in violation of 8 U.S. Code.
Reasonable people already knew was true, even if they’d never read the federal statute. If improper entry is punishable by imprisonment or fine, it’s a crime. If those who commit said offense aren’t illegal immigrants there are no legal immigrants. By extension there is no burglar if there is no such thing as burglary.
Why do Democrats argue there is no such thing as illegal immigrants? Why do they insist a complex overhaul of US immigration law is needed when they have no intention of abiding by it?
In the first case, they do so because they hope to build a majority coalition of minority voters by hook and by crook. Letting millions of aliens into our country illegally while simultaneously degrading election integrity and fighting voter ID laws is intended to bolster the Democrat party by swelling the ranks of those beholden to the party of grift and entitlement.
Secondly, no law is enforceable without commitment to enforcement. If the difference between illegality and legality is defined by your political affiliation, then neither exists.
This is the Left’s fevered dream, a uniparty government where their power is never threatened and wrongdoing is a question of party not principle.
They further obscure the idea of illegal immigrants by parsing them into two categories, criminal and “law abiding,” in hopes the populace will allow the former out of fear of reprisals on the latter.
Efforts to complicate the debate are meant to make us believe solutions are beyond our reach. The truth is, it is in the enforcement of law that all confusion is removed.
Criminal illegal immigrants can and should be arrested and deported. Those who obstruct the enforcement of federal law should be arrested, and if convicted, imprisoned.
The vast bulk of “law abiding” illegals should be made to get in line for approval or removal by US Immigration Enforcement. Their unlawful entry puts them at the end of the line, behind all who play by the rules. If this means removal from this country, if only temporarily to better vet them, this must also be done.
We can love the immigrant without abandoning the law. We can have a compassionate immigration system without sacrificing our sovereignty. An equitable system has rules, sets criteria for entry, prioritizes merit, and ensures those seeking our shores share our love of liberty and sense of self responsibility.
We can have orderly, legal immigration or an invasion by invitation.
Stephen Piccirillo © 2025
