By Michelle Malkin • July 2, 2010 09:59 AM
As we head into Independence Day weekend, my column today reflects onthe other “A” word missing from the immigration debate: Assimilation.
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Assimilation and the Founding Fathers
by Michelle Malkin
Creators Syndicate
Copyright 2010
In his immigration speech on Thursday, President Obama heralded Americaas a “nation of immigrants” defined not by blood or birth, but by“fidelity to the shared values that we all hold so dear.” If only itwere so. Left-wing academics and activists spurned assimilation as acommon goal long ago. Their fidelity lies with bilingualism (a euphemismfor native language maintenance over English-first instruction),identity politics, ethnic militancy and a borderless continent.
Obama blames “politics” for the intractable immigration debate. Whosepolitics? The amnesty mob has taken to ambushing congressional officesthis week to scream at lawmakers to choose “reform” (giving a blanketpath to citizenship to millions of illegal aliens) or “racism” (theirdescription of any and every legislative measure to stiffen sanctionsfor and deter the acts of border-jumping, visa-overstaying anddeportation-evading).
Is there no middle ground for all sides to agree that clearingnaturalization application backlogs should take priority over expandingillegal alien benefits, or that tracking and deporting violent illegalalien criminals should take precedence over handing out driver’slicenses to illegal aliens, or that streamlining the employeecitizenship verification process for businesses (E-verify) and fixingoutdated visa tracking databases should come before indiscriminatelyexpanding temporary visa and guest worker programs?
Must every response to even the most modest of immigration enforcement measures be “RAAAAACIST”?
Further, as I’ve noted many times over the years when debating bothDemocrats and Republicans who fall back on empty phrases to justifyputting the amnesty cart before the enforcement horse, we are not a“nation of immigrants.” This is both a factual error and awarm-and-fuzzy non sequitur. Eighty-five percent of the residentscurrently in the United States were born here. Yes, we are almost alldescendants of immigrants. But we are not a “nation of immigrants.” (Andthe politically correct president certainly wouldn’t argue that NativeAmerican Indians, Native Alaskans, Native Hawaiians and descendants ofblack slaves “immigrated” here in any common sense of the word, wouldhe?)
Even if we were a “nation of immigrants,” it does not explain why weshould be against sensible immigration control. The Founding Fatherswere emphatically insistent on protecting the country againstindiscriminate mass immigration. They insisted on assimilation as apre-condition, not an afterthought. Historian John Fonte assembled theirwisdom, and it bears repeating this Independence Day weekend:
George Washington, in a letter to John Adams, stated that immigrantsshould be absorbed into American life so that “by an intermixture withour people, they, or their descendants, get assimilated to our customs,measures, laws: in a word soon become one people.”
In a 1790 speech to Congress on the naturalization of immigrants, JamesMadison stated that America should welcome the immigrant who couldassimilate, but exclude the immigrant who could not readily “incorporatehimself into our society.”
Alexander Hamilton wrote in 1802: “The safety of a republic dependsessentially on the energy of a common national sentiment; on auniformity of principles and habits; on the exemption of the citizensfrom foreign bias and prejudice; and on that love of country which willalmost invariably be found to be closely connected with birth, educationand family.”
Hamilton further warned that “The United States have already felt theevils of incorporating a large number of foreigners into their nationalmass; by promoting in different classes different predilections in favorof particular foreign nations, and antipathies against others, it hasserved very much to divide the community and to distract our councils.It has been often likely to compromise the interests of our own countryin favor of another. The permanent effect of such a policy will be, thatin times of great public danger there will be always a numerous body ofmen, of whom there may be just grounds of distrust; the suspicion alonewill weaken the strength of the nation, but their force may be actuallyemployed in assisting an invader.”
The survival of the American republic, Hamilton maintained, depends upon“the preservation of a national spirit and a national character.” “Toadmit foreigners indiscriminately to the rights of citizens the momentthey put foot in our country would be nothing less than to admit theGrecian horse into the citadel of our liberty and sovereignty.”
As pro-amnesty extremists moan that “we didn’t cross the borders, theborders crossed us” and illegal alien marchers haul foreign flags aboveOld Glory, President Obama pretends that the “common national sentiment”our Founding Fathers embraced still binds us all together. Many of usstill have faith in a strong, sovereign America — the unhyphenated, thelaw-abiding, the gratitude-filled sons and daughters and grandchildrenof legal immigrants for whom such distinctions still matter. But it’s nothanks to the assimilation saboteurs who put “one world” over “onenation under God.”
http://michellemalkin.com/2010/07/02/assimilation-and-the-founding-...
Comments
But now I wondering if you are implying we should have open boarders because you say "I don't have a problem with illegals coming into America abiding by our laws and the Constitution this also helps keep America's people safe. How dose illegal entry into America keep us safe? How dose illegal societies in America influencing our voting booths keep us safe? When you say us do you mean America? What percentage of illegals do you think are abiding in our laws when they are breaking the law entering illegal? Paritson police departments are all over the place not enforcing law on illegals because they sympathize, I have illegals in my home that dis agree with your statement of open borders, secure our borders and then grant work visa's and a path to citizenship for those that are willing to assimilate into American culture. I know immigration is currently forced, many Mexicans are fleeing Mexico as to find refuge here, but how dose that make our country safe? Obama dose not believe in assimilating into American culture, that is why he dose not go by Barry anymore but Barrack and calls himself African America, America is to much of a degradation for him and many others in this country. I did not say anything about you being a racist. Marx, socialist always ends up racism it is by design.
Our Politicians need to take note that soon the illegals will out bread them and take over that is their plan just ask them.