Immigration Dogs King | Cafe Con Leche Republicans

by Dave Leach

Iowa Congressman Steve King said ?you put out a beacon like the Statue of Liberty to come here ? the most vigorous, from every country, that has donated legal immigrants to the United States of America. We?ve got the cream of the crop?. We?ve got the pick of every darn civilization on the planet because it?s hard to get here, they had to be inspired to come, we got the vigor of the planet to come to America.? (Monday, in Pocahontas, recorded by American Brige. Video and story at: http://www.salon.com/2012/05/22/rep_steve_king_immigrants_like_dogs/singleton//)

During the four dots, he compared the process of getting top quality immigrants with the process of picking a top quality bird dog. His opponent, Christy Vilsak, thought this was what was worthy of a remark.

I think three things are more remarkable.

1. King had something good to say about an immigrant! Granted, an immigrant has to be ?legal? to get that from King, but still, given the love some have for their dogs, a love King obviously shares, to rank a human being right up there with a fine bird dog should be recognized as quite a compliment.

2. King identified what he admires about immigration law that brings us only top quality legal immigrants: ?it?s hard to get here.? King has certainly done everything in his power to leave us only the best immigrants through this filter. In fact, I wouldn?t be surprised if he would like it to be even harder, so our legal immigrants will be even better.

By King?s logic, those he calls ?illegals? are even higher quality than ?legals?, since life in the shadows is hard.

3. Seeing human beings as ranging in desirability is appropriate in the context of hiring a job applicant for a particular task. But not in the context of seeing how hard you can make it for millions of innocent U.S. residents, who have violated no law, to have liberty, by making liberty depend on the roll of the quota dice.

2.7 million human beings whom King calls ?illegals? are deprived of liberty by our laws, not because they broke any law, but because their parents did, in bringing them here as children. Our Rule of Law isn?t supposed to punish people for the crimes of their parents. Plyler v. Doe, 1982, comments: ?..imposing disabilities on the . . . child is contrary to the basic concept of our system that legal burdens should bear some relationship to individual responsibility or wrongdoing?

I agree with King that America has top quality immigrants. I disagree that it is our unreasonable conditions that make them so desirable.

It?s hard to imagine, but it?s a fact that not everyone in the world appreciates freedom, its opportunities, and its responsibilities. America?s immigrants, legal and otherwise, do.

But the very concept of ?freedom? requires, not limiting Liberty to ?the cream of the crop? by some politician?s reckoning, but ?equal protection of the laws? for all. Equal Rights, not based on mere tolerance of all, but on reverence for human life. America?s reluctance to share liberty with ?them? has made liberty more difficult to preserve for ?us?.

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