There’s a flu epidemic in Mexico right now. Given the United States’ weak border security, it’s only a matter of time before it reaches us. But then again, I warned people of this two years ago. Maybe if you people would start reading my blog more this wouldn’t have happened!
I have had a change of heart since my last post, at least in one respect: I consider economic considerations to be legitimate reasons for protecting our borders. It seems that anyone who is upset with the way Washington is throwing away our tax dollars in the current economic crisis must also be upset with illegal immigration. Illegal immigrants have access to all sorts of government programs, including public education, which is growing more expensive by the year. I remember two years ago reading that in my home county in St. Louis, the average cost of educating a student in the public schools was around $8000 (is that why we call it free education?). In order to pay for illegal immigrants’ education, we will see either tax increases or a further increase in the size of the money supply.
Illegal immigration is a bad thing, folks. It is not a moral burden on our shoulders if an illegal immigrant comes to our door begging for food and we turn them in to the authorities (although we should give them a sandwhich while they wait). Their circumstances may be bad back in Mexico, and our hearts may go out to them; but it is morally wrong for those immigrants to force us to pay for their education, health care, etc just because they live within our borders. We may have a moral obligation to help Mexico become economically stable (whether that includes just throwing money at the problem is another story), but that is a separate question from whether people who immigrate illegally are not morally blameworthy for doing so. Whatever the proper response to illegal immigrants is, complete sympathy is not one of them.
