Note from Mike Cutler, former INS agent.
As you may know, this past weekend, I was a guest on Fox and Friends and on MSNBC to debate Arizona’s new immigration laws that require aliens in that state to carry proof of their immigration status.
I am going to start out by providing you with a copy of the statutory requirement that addresses aliens and proof of alien registration:
***********Every alien, eighteen years of age and over, shall at all times
carry with him and have in his personal possession any certificate
of alien registration or alien registration receipt card issued to
him pursuant to subsection (d) of this section. Any alien who fails
to comply with the provisions of this subsection shall be guilty of
a misdemeanor and shall upon conviction for each offense be fined
not to exceed $100 or be imprisoned not more than thirty days, or
both.*************
I want you to take a moment and give some serious thought to the paragraph above.
The point to remember is that while citizens of our nation have an absolute right to enter into the United States and remain in the United States, aliens do not. This is why I have come to try to explain the issue of illegal immigration by noting, on many occasions, that the difference between an immigrant and an illegal alien is comparable to the difference between a houseguest and a burglar.
Throughout the world, nations make clear distinctions between citizens and non-citizens (aliens). According to the Immigration and Nationality Act, that body of all inclusive laws that pertain to the entry and presence of foreign nationals (aliens) in our country, the term “Alien” simply means “Any person who is not a citizen or national of the United States.
There is certainly nothing derogatory or insulting about that definition. The term alien is simply a legal term that is as old as the Constitution of the United States and it also parallels terminology and concepts employed by every other country on our planet to draw a distinction between those people who are present in a country who are citizens of that country and those who are not.
The importance of citizenship is taken extremely seriously in every country on the face of the earth and, in fact, in many ways, other countries are far more concerned about the distinction between aliens and citizens.
Countries certainly have the right, indeed the imperative of denying the entry of an alien into its territory and also retain the right to remove aliens from their territory if those aliens are found to have engaged in activities that are contrary to the best interests of that nation.
The way liberals are demonizing this bill is to claim that all hispanic American citizens will be treated like criminals just for being hispanic. (Actually any American with valid drivers license is safe from question under national real ID, they leave that out.) This is how they plan on saving Harry Reid's seat in November when he brings up amnesty to 'fix' the AZ problem. The fix is that illegals can eventually vote against the bill.
I have also heard the amnesty crowd claiming "we cant expect illegals or anyone to leave". This is the rally cry for amnesty.