by Victor Davis Hanson<\/p>\n
Tribune Media Services<\/p>\n
T<\/span>he thousands of illegal aliens protesting this past month have essentially been telling the American people the following:<\/p>\n “You knew we were illegal when we came here to work in silence. But you said nothing when we were hired at your low-paying jobs. Now when you think there are too many of us, you suddenly change the rules and tell us we alone are the lawbreakers and must leave.”<\/p>\n In their hurt and anger, the initial televised marchers carried Mexican flags and shouted about ethnic pride. This only turned off tens of millions of American viewers, who scoffed in response, “If Mexico is so great, why come here in the first place?”<\/p>\n As a result, politically astute advisers to the demonstrations charted a different course. At more recent rallies, protestors have carried red, white and blue banners. And they’ve voiced a desire to become U.S. citizens.<\/p>\n T<\/span>his change in tactics, however, raises an important question.\u00a0If American citizens are now to hold the crowds in the streets to their most recent incarnation, will most of the illegal-alien protesters truly wish to become full U.S. citizens with all that entails?<\/p>\n Remember, citizenship is never defined by the applicant, only by the benefactor. In America, it doesn’t involve racial or ethnic allegiance. Rather, U.S. citizenship asks immigrants to make linguistic, political and social concessions.<\/p>\n So, imagine an immigration compromise that, in exchange for strict border enforcement, allows the majority of the current 11 million resident illegal aliens to remain here to start their citizenship process. Wouldn’t it then be natural to expect these future Americans to understand that U.S. citizenship carries as many responsibilities as rights?<\/p>\n In a country that is increasingly multiethnic and multiracial, it no longer makes sense to rely on bilingual government documents and services for a particular ethnic group. Such duplication is expensive and hampers English immersion. It’s also the road to tribalism, whose bitter fruits we know well from the Balkans to Rwanda. Those who now march professing their desire to become Americans must quickly learn the English language, as have hundreds of past immigrant groups.<\/p>\n As American citizens, newcomers must also realize that no nation can remain sovereign without controllable borders. So Americans would hope that they also would support border enforcement of their new country.\u00a0Employer sanctions, more guards and a barrier will start to end the present unworkable system that led to their own ambiguous status in the first place.<\/p>\n Something is terribly wrong when thousands of skilled engineers and doctors from Canada, India\u00a0and<\/i>\u00a0Mexico cannot easily obtain legal citizenship, while those who cut ahead by the millions and cross the border illegally almost find it de facto.<\/p>\n I<\/span>f we controlled the borders in exchange for allowing current resident illegals to apply for citizenship, future legal and measured immigration from Mexico, while perhaps somewhat greater than from other countries, would cease to be either large or exceptional. The present perpetually replenished pool of aggrieved second-class unlawful residents would soon vanish.<\/p>\n Also gone would be the romance of “Alta California” \u2014 the strange notion that demography and the labor market will do what the law cannot and extend Mexico into the southwestern United States. We’d be able to jettison the “the borders crossed us” nonsense that tends to radicalize a shadow underclass and return to the notion that we are all part of a melting-pot society.<\/p>\n So, yes, we need to take our cue from the protestors in the street whose placards and banners at last broadcast their genuine desire to join us as Americans. Let us, the hosts, help resident illegal aliens to meet workable criteria to become citizens, as we ensure an end to the broken system of open borders and labor exploitation.<\/p>\n But let the present aliens only become Americans in the fullest linguistic, cultural and social sense \u2014 just as millions from all over the world have done before them.<\/p>\n Those of the left claim that racism fuels the anger over illegal immigration. Those on the right agree \u2014 but insist instead that the racism really comes from La Raza separatism on the part of the unassimilated Hispanic community.<\/p>\n Very soon we could learn who in this sad debate has been telling the truth about ethnic chauvinism. If conservatives would not worry over the ethnicity of these new Americans and thus allow most of those already here from Mexico to stay, then the onus will rest with the ethnic activists\u00a0to urge rapid and full assimilation.<\/p>\n \u00a92006 Tribune Media Services<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" by Victor Davis Hanson Tribune Media Services The thousands of illegal aliens protesting this past month have essentially been telling the American people the following:<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false}}},"categories":[774],"tags":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p466Sb-12B","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":11362,"url":"https:\/\/victorhanson.com\/wordpress\/the-diversity-of-illegal-immigration\/","url_meta":{"origin":4005,"position":0},"title":"The Diversity of Illegal Immigration","author":"victorhanson","date":"August 23, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"Victor Davis Hanson \/\/ Hoover Institution I live on farm beside a rural avenue in central California, the fifth generation to reside in the same house. And after years of thefts, home break-ins, and dangerous encounters, I have concluded that it is no longer safe to live where I was\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Immigration"","block_context":{"text":"Immigration","link":"https:\/\/victorhanson.com\/wordpress\/ahref=\/index.php\/categories\/angry-reader\/categorylink\/a\/immigration\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":4034,"url":"https:\/\/victorhanson.com\/wordpress\/protesters-run-amok\/","url_meta":{"origin":4005,"position":1},"title":"Protesters Run Amok","author":"victorhanson","date":"April 1, 2006","format":false,"excerpt":"The backlash on immigration law may be yet to come. by Victor Davis Hanson Real Clear Politics [This article appeared as \u201cThe Protests \u2014 Whose Backlash?\u201d in\u00a0realclearpolitics.com] Hundreds of thousands of Mexican citizens, along with Mexican-Americans and Hispanics in general, hit the streets throughout the United States this past week\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "April 2006"","block_context":{"text":"April 2006","link":"https:\/\/victorhanson.com\/wordpress\/ahref=\/index.php\/categories\/angry-reader\/categorylink\/a\/archives\/2006\/april-2006\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":11784,"url":"https:\/\/victorhanson.com\/wordpress\/are-there-any-limits-to-illegal-immigration\/","url_meta":{"origin":4005,"position":2},"title":"Are There Any Limits to Illegal Immigration?","author":"victorhanson","date":"April 16, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"Victor Davis Hanson \/\/ American Greatness The U.S.-Mexican border is essentially wide open. Why? Because there is a general expectation in Mexico and Latin America that American immigration law is unenforced. Or it is so bizarre that simple illegal entry almost always ensures temporary legal residence, pending an asylum hearing.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Immigration"","block_context":{"text":"Immigration","link":"https:\/\/victorhanson.com\/wordpress\/ahref=\/index.php\/categories\/angry-reader\/categorylink\/a\/immigration\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":1109,"url":"https:\/\/victorhanson.com\/wordpress\/is-illegal-immigration-moral\/","url_meta":{"origin":4005,"position":3},"title":"Is Illegal Immigration Moral?","author":"victorhanson","date":"December 1, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"by Victor Davis Hanson Tribune Media Services We know illegal immigration is no longer really unlawful, but is it moral? Usually Americans debate the fiscal costs of illegal immigration. Supporters of open borders rightly remind us that illegal immigrants pay sales taxes. Often their payroll-tax contributions are not later tapped\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "December 2010"","block_context":{"text":"December 2010","link":"https:\/\/victorhanson.com\/wordpress\/ahref=\/index.php\/categories\/angry-reader\/categorylink\/a\/archives\/2010\/december-2012\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":1946,"url":"https:\/\/victorhanson.com\/wordpress\/the-moral-dimensions-of-illegal-immigration\/","url_meta":{"origin":4005,"position":4},"title":"The Moral Dimensions of Illegal Immigration","author":"victorhanson","date":"October 16, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"by Victor Davis Hanson PJ Media The New Old Debate Over Illegal Immigration The debate over illegal immigration is mostly fossilized. We know the predictable contours. Despite different realities on the ground, they have not changed much from the 1960s. The narrative for half-a-century has gone something like this: a\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Immigration"","block_context":{"text":"Immigration","link":"https:\/\/victorhanson.com\/wordpress\/ahref=\/index.php\/categories\/angry-reader\/categorylink\/a\/immigration\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":3966,"url":"https:\/\/victorhanson.com\/wordpress\/the-new-immigration-politics\/","url_meta":{"origin":4005,"position":5},"title":"The New Immigration Politics","author":"victorhanson","date":"June 15, 2006","format":false,"excerpt":"Wherein, for example, the rich and poor join hands. by Victor Davis Hanson National Review Online [A shorter version of this essay appeared in the June 5, 2006 issue of National Review magazine.] The debate over illegal immigration seems to have grown hackneyed. 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