Gwinnett Daily Post

1/25/2009

Officials need 287(g) to control immigration
By Inger Eberhart

Why does Gwinnett County need 287(g) authority to help enforce immigration laws?

Illegal immigration is a serious problem and enforcement works as a solution. It has been proven over and over nationwide – including here in Georgia – that when 287(g) comes into a community, illegal aliens migrate out.

Most Americans regard this fact as a very positive improvement.

In 1995, the Bill Clinton-appointed chairwoman of the Commission on Immigration Reform was the late Barbara Jordan, D-Texas, the first black woman elected to Congress from the deep South. She said, “It is both a right and responsibility of a democratic society to manage immigration so that it serves the national interest.”

It does not serve the national interest to perpetuate the crime of illegal immigration.

The 1986 attempt to solve the crisis was “one-time amnesty” provided to 3 million illegal aliens in our country. Since then, more than 20 million illegal aliens have entered the U.S.

Clearly, amnesty rewards illegal repeat behavior and encourages increased illegal immigration. It is not a solution; however, 287(g) is.

In her 1995 Congressional testimony, Jordan said, “It is necessary to make distinctions between those who obey the law, and those who violate it … We disagree with those who label our efforts to control illegal immigration as somehow inherently anti-immigrant. Unlawful immigration is unacceptable.”

Far-left, open borders groups such as the ACLU tout that they uphold the civil rights of “immigrants.” An illegal alien is not an immigrant. Immigrants come lawfully.

Civil rights, by definition, are reserved for citizens of our country, not those who are here illegally. Therefore, when illegal aliens choose to leave their homeland, choose to separate from their families and choose to enter our country illegally, they also choose the consequences befitting a criminal.

We must strive to prevent illegal immigrants from entering our country. If they get past the Border Patrol, they must be apprehended by law enforcement; 287(g) helps solve this problem.

Open borders are the goal of the ACLU, the Mexican-American Legal Defense and Education Fund (MALDEF), the Georgia Association of Latino Elected Officials (GALEO) and similar fringe groups.

Open borders would lead to more layoffs for American workers and an increased demand for cheap labor and low wages.

Through lowered wages and lost jobs, the first victims of illegal immigration are blacks and native-born Latinos. Illegal aliens do the jobs that Americans would do if the wages were not artificially depressed.

Illegal immigration is draining our economy and straining resources. According to the U.S. Congressional Budget Office, illegal aliens consume almost three times the amount of social service assistance as they contribute through taxes.

As an African-American, Christian conservative, I agree with Jordan when she stated what was necessary to gain credibility on immigration policy: “Those who should get in, get in; those who should be kept out are kept out; and those who should not be here will be required to leave. … Deportation is crucial.”

Illegal aliens must leave; 287(g) must be put in place.

Inger Eberhart is a member of the board of advisers for the Georgia-based Dustin Inman Society, which is opposed to illegal immigration and illegal employment.

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