Protecting citizens not a stupid idea
The recent attacks directed at the pending legislation introduced by state Sen. Chip Rogers (R-North Cobb) in much of the local media would make more sense if they addressed advanced Martian rocket telemetry than illegal immigration and Rogers' bills - and it would seem that chances are that many who are doing the attacking have more knowledge on the former than the latter.
I must wonder aloud if any critics have actually read the bill about which they are so obviously confused.
Since it has come up, again, I must also wonder aloud how many are aware that in Mexico, the federally issued voter ID bears not only a photo, but also a fingerprint of the perspective voter and a bar code.
There, that security is not regarded as being aimed at the poor, or Spanish-speaking voters.
Rogers has introduced several bills. Two among them, SB 336 and SB 169, are pointed directly at the criminal employment of illegal aliens that most of us recognize is responsible for the looming collapse of Georgia's educational system and social net.
Our intentionally unsecured borders and the resulting illegal immigration crisis is not the "complex issue" that the illegal alien lobby would like it to appear, but like all issues, it does require a certain amount of basic education and a grasp of readily available facts.
In 1982, a federal Supreme Court decision, Plyler vs. Doe, made the K-12 education of all children in the United States, regardless of immigration status, the law of the land.
It is a law that is vigorously enforced.
The Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act of 1985 provides emergency medical treatment for anyone in the United States, regardless of ability to pay or immigration status. Anyone who can make it within 250 yards of an emergency room is guaranteed treatment.
To see that this is another law that is enforced - and then some - make a visit to your nearest emergency room after other clinics have closed.
Expect to hear a lot more conversations conducted in Spanish than that old-fashioned American English. Expect to see few instances of the illegal aliens being treated at taxpayer expense looking concerned about how they will pay for the care.
That's because few do.
As a result, hospitals are closing all over America. According to Dr. Madeline Cosman in the spring 2005 edition of The Journal of the American Physicians and Surgeons, since 1993, more than 80 have closed in California alone. "Georgiafornia" anyone?
Sen. Rogers' bills - as anyone who has read them will understand - are not directed at any of the above federally mandated (but unfunded) benefits, or at emergency services, to anyone.
The bill getting the most attention, SB 170, simply requires that anyone applying for non-federally mandated benefits in Georgia provide acceptable documentation that they have legal immigration status.
This system has been proven to be a very effective way to budget tax dollars in other places where it has been implemented, like Arizona - and Mexico.
What a concept.
One thing that is obvious to all of us: many under the Gold Dome seem to lack the courage to take a position on Rogers' bills.
Most noticeably, the bills would punish those campaign donors who employ illegal aliens at bargain wages instead of the willing Americans who were doing the work in Georgia. Not so long ago, legislators who were courageous enough to demand that the law protect taxpayers were not labeled as somehow un-American or un-compassionate.
Those who have not taken the time to study illegal immigration or existing laws should leave the task of smearing brave and aware lawmakers to the very willing illegal alien lobby. They need to understand that state senators cannot secure America's borders, but do have the power - and duty - to make Georgia much less of a magnet for the illegal immigration that is bleeding our state.
According to the Federation for American Immigration Reform, Georgia spent more than $952 million last year educating illegal aliens and the children of illegals.
A "federal issue" indeed.
Another tidbit of information for Georgia elected officials, editors, reporters - and the reader - from someone who studies the consequences of illegal immigration: Rogers' bills have been copied and introduced in the state of Alabama - by Democrats.
The reality is that unlike some critics, they do not seem to regard protecting their citizens as "stupid." What a concept.
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