How to Make a Narco-State President Happy – in Just One Step

By Maria Fotopoulos
June 25, 2012

The U.S. has long served as a pressure-release valve for Mexico, taking in millions of poor immigrants who come to the country illegally. Of the estimated 11.5 million people in the U.S. illegally, 59 percent are from Mexico, according to the Department of Homeland Security.

So the public gushing from Mexico’s President Felipe Calderon after President Obama’s announcement, and prior to the Calderon-hosted G20 meeting, that certain illegal aliens in the U.S. now have a reprieve from deportation and an opportunity to work here legally was certainly no surprise. Calderon deemed it a “humanitarian action” and “a great piece of news for Mexicans,” who live in a country held hostage by drug cartels that has seen more than 47,000 drug-related murders since December 2006.

President Obama’s action virtually ensures the continued flow of illegal immigration from our southern border, making it almost a rite of passage. The clear message is: Keep on coming! Combined with the unstemmed drug flow from south of the border that is apparently demanded by drug users here, we’re continuing too to support the narco-state we helped create. This makes one wonder if Mexico’s biggest exports to the U.S. are people and drugs, an unholy North American Union based on human and drug trafficking.

The new directive applies to those who came to the U.S. illegally at the age of 16 or younger (and are under age 31 at the time of their application). They must also have been here for at least five consecutive years and have no criminal history. As well, they need to be in school, have graduated from high school or have a GED, or served in the military.

The President played to the compassionate side of Americans when he made his announcement, saying that it was “the right thing to do” and that these “young people … are Americans … in every single way but one: on paper.” He only fell short in making a George W. Bush-Tony Blair/U.S.A.-UK-like “special relationship” statement about U.S.A.-Mexico.

But is this truly compassion or madness writ in slow motion as we subscribe to unlimited growth, abandon sovereignty and chip away at rule of law? This executive order is not being described by the administration as an amnesty, of course. But once deportation is off the table and work permits are available with unlimited renewals, the camel’s nose is in the tent. Clearly, full citizenship is the next logical step, and then – continuing the analogy – the whole camel is in the tent.

An estimated 5.3 million illegal immigrants are under the age of 30. Of this, as many as 2 million children, teens and young adults may be eligible to stay in the U.S. under Obama’s new policy. When viewing the Obama decision just in terms of sheer population growth, the implications are tremendous. Think 2 million children and young adults who likely, ultimately, will have children – one, two, three, four or more … and then do the multiplication.

Add to this the additional number of people who would be allowed in by way of this decision if citizenship ultimately results, and through chain migration the number grows even higher. We’re currently not able to adequately provide for the U.S. population of nearly 314 million, and our leadership is calling for a significant upward bounce.

This decision will put hundreds of thousands of new workers in competition for jobs against an existing pool of some 6.4 million Americans in the same age group without college degrees who can’t find work. One of the most common criticisms of this plan is the logic of adding more people to the American workforce when we already are unable to employ all of the American citizens who want to work.

At the core of this argument is that the decision – made not through the Democratic process – looks out for noncitizens before citizens, also denigrating the citizenship process and those who played by the rules.

Obama is sending us down this rabbit hole, so we’d better be certain we fully understand the implications of such a sweeping change made by fiat.

Maria Fotopoulos is a Senior Writing Fellow for Californians for Population Stabilization (capsweb.org).