Illegal immigration is endangering and destroying American safety, finances, education, and culture.

The invasion of the United States by illegal aliens, primarily over our southern borders, imperils the country's financial, educational, and medical institutions, our environmental quality, and in fact, the very culture of the United States. For years, the willful misinterpretation of the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which was originally written so that children of slaves freed after the Civil War would be considered citizens but now taken to mean that anyone who runs into the US and gives birth has created an instant citizen, has created havoc. These children, termed "anchor babies," – another current term for these children is "jackpot babies" – are called this because once a baby is born, it needs parents to support it, and thus becomes the "anchor" for an unending stream of relatives streaming into the country to keep this "citizen" alive. This was never the intent of the 14th Amendment, as noted, as clarified by Senator Jacob Howard (one of the amendment's authors) in 1866: "Every person born within the limits of the United States, and subject to their jurisdiction, is by virtue of natural law and national law a citizen of the United States. This will not, of course, include persons born in the United States who are foreigners, aliens, who belong to the families of ambassadors or foreign ministers accredited to the Government of the United States, but will include every other class of persons. It settles the great question of citizenship and removes all doubt as to what persons are or are not citizens of the United States. This has long been a great desideratum in the jurisprudence and legislation of this country." Additionally, because employers, who apparently care more about making more money than they care about their country or the kind of country they leave behind to their children, or about humane treatment of people, are thrilled that they can employ people at slave wages and not have to pay the government taxes on behalf of these people, because there is no documentation of their being in the United States. In short, they are creating a "magnet" for people to run into the country who have no interest in the country other than what they can earn and send back to their home country. Because these employers know that their illegal workers cannot complain to anyone about their working conditions or wages, they pay them the minimum amount to keep their businesses working. When Ronald Reagan had a moment of failure to think ahead, he allowed illegal aliens in the country to obtain "amnesty," but that was supposed to be the end of it. Unfortunately, it wasn't. Now, because it is ingrained in society that "if you are born in the United States, you're automatically a citizen," we have a constant stream of people sneaking into the country simply to have children, who will then be "entitled" to all the benefits available in the US without having any allegiance to the country. As a member of one group concerned with watching our borders and ending illegal immigration, I have seen evidence, on the Arizona border, with my own eyes. Acres of trash have been deposited in previously pristine deserts and mountains by thousands of illegal aliens as they stop in staging areas on our side of the border, waiting to be picked up and ferried to all points in the US to begin working. These people are commonly led across the border by guides, called "coyotes," who often take advantage of these people by deserting them or even killing them in the desert, after first raping women and stealing their startup money. We have even seen shootouts between rival groups of border crossers, who are not just people looking for a new way of life; often these are gang members or drug smugglers. Jobs that were usually assumed to be taken by high school kids for after-school work or summer jobs are now mostly held by illegal aliens (fast-food restaurants, etc.). Hospitals are going bankrupt because, again, under the misinterpretation of the 14th Amendment, they give free medical care to non-citizens. Schools are overloaded (my wife, a teacher, had 20 of her 28 students not show up for school on a May 1st "protest" by illegal aliens because their parents dragged them along to the protest to swell their numbers). Illegals are often involved in traffic accidents and get off scot-free because they have no insurance and no documentation. Additionally, it has been repeatedly stated by Mexicans that they believe this is really their country, and that they intend to get it back, termed "reconquista." When Americans began to stand up and take notice, they were immediately termed "racists," or "anti-immigrant." The charge of racism is, on its face, ridiculous if for no other reason than Mexicans are not a "race." Most Mexican nationals are classified as Caucasoid, mixed with the genes of the native Indians, whose country they conquered under the leadership of Spanish conquistadors. Because they have no interest in becoming Americans, and no allegiance to the country that gives them all their benefits, and plan, as one Latino politician imprudently stated, to "outbreed their aging white population" and retake the country they consider theirs, Mexican illegal immigrants are in the process of ruining the country. In any case, this involves more than just Mexican illegal aliens, but all people who illegally enter the US with no intention of becoming citizens. Mexicans are simply the largest numerically. It also involves lax control of our borders, which, in a post-911 world, we can't afford. Therefore, I unequivocally state that illegal immigration endangers our nation on many and varied fronts and needs to be stopped now.