YETMO

”Did Dumfries, Virginia, Cause Our Immigration Issue?"

By now you’ve read the stories about a zealous (?) town Chief of Police who was legally enforcing a property owner’s request to remove interlopers from his land.

It seems as though a few homeless people were not only evicted but also lost whatever meager belongings they possessed in the process.

Everyone is sorry, apologizing, and going out of his or her way to do penance for this heinous (?) act. Cascading compassion colluded with property rights, and the result was regret and concern for those displaced.

Rightfully so, people don’t relish seeing others suffer. We usually root for the underdog, and what better underdog than a homeless individual? As if life isn’t already difficult enough for all of us, imagine not knowing where you will sleep tonight or, worse, knowing that it will be outdoors in a cardboard box or some other contrivance which may or may not afford protection from the elements.

Yes, Dumfries explains why we have an immigration crisis. Actually, it’s Dumfries’ mentality, its heart, its soul. They, we Americans, and virtually any other peoples I could name wish to help the least among us. We understand our blessings. We recognize that “there but for the Grace of God go I.”

Christians, who comprise most of this country, and their theology (and philosophy), which permeates American culture, have certain ingrained tenets in their hearts. Although Jesus acknowledged that “You will always have the poor among you” [John 12:8 in the NIV Study Bible], he also said that “whatever you did for one of the least, you did for me” [Matthew 26:40]. With ethics and principles like that, no wonder Americans have cumulatively “allowed” millions of immigrants to enter this country illegally.

Allow is used intentionally, as many experts believe that effective protection from illegal immigration has been always possible had we only decided to allocate and employ the necessary resources (money, people, and equipment) and procedures (aimed at employers). Did we really allow all this immigration because the poor among us were coming here to gather money to support families living in abject poverty back in their homelands? In a word, Yes.

Whether you are Christian, Buddhist, Muslim, Jew, Atheist, or an adherent of one of thousands of other belief systems, you will likely subscribe to the imperative of helping those in need, or at least not adding to their miseries.

So, the short answer is that our goodness is the reason that we are where we are today. Dealing with an individual here or there is self-evident, admirable, and clearly the right thing to do. But look, what has occurred? We have reached a critical mass where demand is so great on our social and human resources (use of hospitals, need to build new schools, use of infrastructure like roads, etc.) that many are saying bastante, which is Spanish for “enough.”

Even those most sympathetic to folks down on their luck expect people to do for themselves. “If a man will not work, he shall not eat.” [Second Thessalonians 3:10]. Of course, in the case of Hispanic immigrants, who most recognize account for the sensational surge in the illegal population in the U.S., overwhelming anecdotal evidence shows that these people are working hard to pay their bills, feed themselves, and more. However, given the increase in overall government services associated with any sizable population increase, especially one due to illegal entry, the resulting problem is muy difficil, “very hard.”

Further, when one adds the change in our country’s cultural (i.e., language) attributes and associated concomitant fears that we citizens must change our lives to accept and welcome interlopers, then you’ve just brought the melting pot to a boil.

We could discuss other social aspects about illegal immigration where those, who are sympathetic to and solicitous of these entrants, label opponents as racist, but there is no hope to resolve such highly-emotional sentiments in this column or any time soon.

I don’t feel it’s racist to acknowledge that divisions run deep on this question simply because these new denizens are of a different culture and seemingly aren’t assimilating language-wise and otherwise as quickly as we would like. The result is that “we” must change our culture to accommodate theirs. At least, that’s how I believe many opponents of illegal immigration see it. Thus, the “we” is a society of similarly accepted, understood, and agreed upon cultural principles and practices like language, national (U.S) identity and allegiance, etc. Without such commonality, one can reasonably question the value or even the mere existence of a definable country culture.

There you have it. Those of us who live in Dumfries, which is virtually all of us, brought this immigration challenge upon ourselves. All I can say at this point is:

Buena suerte y adios.