Illegal aliens can't make demands

Don't let the skirmish in MacArthur Park Tuesday confuse you.

Several protesters at a rally demanding equal rights for illegal immigrants were shot with rubber bullets at the end of the Los Angeles rally, but they weren't shot because of their cause, but because they were unruly and unresponsive to police orders.

That's all that needs to be said about that incident, although because of America's huge conscience and tendency to be easily distracted, the mini-riot will probably become a cause celebre to make the illegal immigrants look like the innocent victims of their American warlords.

The fact of the matter is that Tuesday's rallies across the country were the latest example of a class of lawbreakers trying to use their sheer numbers to intimidate the lawful citizens of the United States into accepting the inevitability of amnesty for illegal immigrants.

The protesters were carrying signs with slogans such as "No One is Illegal," "Stop the Raids" and "Justice for Migrants." It was enough to make your head spin.

Yes, there ARE illegals. They are the ones who break the laws, whether it is an immigration law, a drug law, a criminal law or a DUI law. Certainly, the millions of people who have entered our country illegally from Mexico and other countries do not seem to have a strong grasp of the difference between legal and illegal, but that does not mean Americans should buy into their sophistry.

What we need to ask is whether people who entered our country illegally have any reason to do anything else legally once they are here. Why bother to get a fishing license? Or a driver's license? Or liability insurance? Why honor America's drug laws? Why not join a gang? Why not break more laws and then demand amnesty for those crimes, too?

Stop the raids? They must be kidding. The United States of America has the most generous immigration policy of any country in the world, but we do NOT have an open border. Remember, there are thousands of Latin Americans who are trying to enter this country legally. They are being hurt by this massive influx of illegals as much as anyone. But if people come here illegally, then they cannot expect the government to ignore them. Instead, they should expect to be hunted down like any other fugitive from the law. We don't need fewer raids; we need more raids.

And the raids should target not just individual lawbreakers, but companies and corporations which are providing jobs illegally to non-residents. Once the country starts to enforce existing laws, there will be no jobs available for illegal immigrants, and we can begin to develop an appropriate strategy for true immigration reform which is based on what is good for the country rather than what is good for illegal immigrants.

Justice for migrants? All right. If they want justice, they should cross the border and return to their homeland. Then they can apply to enter the country legally, get in line and wait their turn. That would be the right thing to do. But it is not justice that the illegals want; it is amnesty.