Is it immigration or is it an invasion?

Culture consists of a society’s politics (its government and economy), religion and values, customs, language, institutions and the most basic unit of culture—the family. Following World War I there was a great influx of immigration into our country mostly made up of people fleeing their own war-torn countries. Out of concern for the watering down of our distinctly American culture, Congress wisely passed legislation to stop immigration into this country. As a result, between the years 1924 and 1965 our borders were mostly closed. Congress reasoned that if too many immigrants were allowed in at once, they would not have time to assimilate into our culture but would instead be a force to alter the culture according to the customs and traditions of their homelands. After all, America has historically been known as the “Great Melting Pot” in which people from around the world largely ceased to be known for the place of their birth but would become uniquely American, adopting the culture and values of their new homeland. Our former national motto E Pluribus Unum (Latin for “From many one”) reflects this reality and expectation.

But even while our nation’s official policy was one of zero immigration for many years, our southern border has been porous all along, poorly enforced. During the Trump Administration apprehensions of illegals were down to 800 a day, the lowest numbers in 45 years! Today, however, under the Biden Administration, illegal apprehensions are up to 15,000 a day and it’s estimated that by next January the current administration will have allowed over 10 million illegals to remain in the U.S.A. Meanwhile an MIT Operational Data Simulation performed in 2018 estimated there were 29 million illegals already in the country at that time. The current U.S. population is nearly 333 million, so if one adds the 10 million allowed in over the past three-plus years to that 29 million, that means well over 10 percent of the current U.S. population is made up of people who are here illegally. That’s a frightening statistic when one considers that government statistics from 2017 showed that illegals commit 18 percent of the fraud, 22 percent of the murders, 29 percent of the drug trafficking, 33 percent of the money laundering and 72 percent of the illegal drug possession. Remember, these numbers are from before the Biden influx. Imagine what they are now!

Adding to these alarming figures is the fact that currently 45 percent of the illegal entries are people from 170 countries outside of Mexico and Latin America. More than 330 of these individuals are on the FBI terrorist watch list. Many are murderers, rapists, kidnappers and violent criminals.

Meanwhile, Mexico’s crime syndicates are smuggling people across the border to the tune of at least $10,000 per person. The cartels are making far more money smuggling people across the border than they are even on illegal drugs. Human trafficking is big business and tragically, once across the border a young woman can be sold several times each day for sex, which is much more profitable than drug sales. Most infuriating is that this influence into our American culture is reprehensible.

As a result of this unrestrained invasion, every state now is a border state. The Biden Administration is shipping these illegals to states far beyond our southern border. According to one U.S. Government estimate, the cost to feed, house, clothe and resettle the illegals allowed to stay here is well over $400 billion dollars each year. This impact is even being felt right here in Nebraska as the children of illegals are being crammed into our public schools without even knowing our language. This takes time and attention away from students who are the children of law-abiding citizens and disrupts the entire educational atmosphere. Add to this the handouts being given to illegals by the government and non-governmental organizations and you have a situation in which bad behavior is being rewarded generously. (And you get more of what you reward!)

What can be done about this travesty? First the federal government must enforce current immigration laws (and if the Feds won’t do it, the states must step up as Texas has been doing recently). Then we must restore trade tariffs on Mexican goods to ensure their cooperation with the “Remain in Mexico” policy, then withdraw from the United Nations Convention Relation to Status of Refugees Treaty (it is unfriendly to the U.S.), next put financial and diplomatic pressure on Central and South American Countries to stop the flow and finally, close loopholes in our immigration laws.

Already, there are parts of the country where people from other countries live in their own cultural ghettos and do not assimilate into our culture. (I’ve been there and seen them.) They maintain their own culture which is incompatible with ours, and forcefully keep their cultural fences in place. Some of these cultures are horribly oppressive against women and intolerant of people of other religions!

So why is the Biden Administration allowing this to happen? Is it to get these newcomers registered to vote for them? Could be, as statistics show over two-thirds of newcomers to our country who receive government benefits vote Democrat. Or are there people such as George Soros, behind the scenes simply trying to bring down our great country through a “Fifth Column” kind of invasion of those who have no identification with America’s founding principles and values?

Regardless of the reason for the current situation, we must not be passive about defending our culture and way of life. We must pressure our governmental leaders to do their job and protect American interests for the good of America and, frankly, for the world.

Loren Lippincott represents Legislative District 34 in the Nebraska State Senate. Read his column in the Nance County Journal.