North Star Writers Group

It's not entirely over yet, but it appears as of this writing that a deal has been struck on an immigration bill that the Senate will pass on Monday. There is a small chance the House could stop it, but that seems unlikely. And President Bush is virtually panting at the chance to sign it. This bill would give the 12-to-20 million illegal immigrants in America a near total amnesty. Their crime of breaking-and-entering into the United States will be lavishly rewarded, with all the same rights and privileges full citizens have, save for voting. (And one can't think it will be very long until they get that as well.) Meanwhile, those who played by the rules and waited their turn in line will have been openly slapped in the face.

And if you think that, well, at least we'll finally have that impenetrable wall running from San Diego to the mouth of the Rio Grande, I have a bridge in Brooklyn to sell you real cheap. Congress has been ignoring its responsibility to enforce the immigration laws and the border for many years. Why should this change that? Are they really going to suffer any consequences for their continued defiance?

The bigger point underlying amnesty is that it obliterates the rule of law, from both sides of the equation. Illegal immigrants break the law by sneaking into the United States. Members of Congress break the law and their oaths of office by failing to enforce immigration laws and the border. And both groups not only suffer no penalty, but are rewarded for having done so. No wonder the latter feels such an affinity for the former. It forces one to wonder if the rest of us simply get to ignore or defy any law we don't like or find inconvenient. Should I get to drive 95 mph simply because 55 mph doesn't suit me? Or better yet, not pay my taxes anymore? And if economic desperation justifies law-breaking, how many homes does each poor person get to burglarize?

What separates civilization from anarchy is fealty to the rule of law. And what makes America a constitutional republic is fidelity to the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution, both in letter and in spirit. The moment certain groups decide that they are above the law, America ceases to be the nation the Founding Fathers bequeathed us. I'm not entirely sure what it becomes, but I'm fairly certain it's far closer to the anarchy end of the spectrum than the civilized end.

I do know, however, what it makes the Congress and president who perpetrate such a thing – tyrants no longer worthy of the high offices they hold and abuse as they please. They have made their move, and now the initiative lies with us. There comes a certain point where if you are not willing to do whatever it takes to keep them off you, you deserve to wear the shackles and chains with which others bind you. This may or may not be that threshold, but it certainly seems that if action is not taken soon, when the time does come we will no longer be able to untie our limbs.

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This is Column # DKK061. Request permission to publish here.