OPINION:
When the federal government does not work to protect the welfare of its own citizens - whether pertaining to employment opportunities or public safety - good state and local governments will and ought to do so (“Arizona acts as Washington dithers,” Commentary, April 28).
Our current, receding economy cannot absorb the legal and illegal immigrants that already are in the country, let alone an influx of more. Immigrants who find employment will be displacing our citizens from employment, while some of those who do not gain employment may well resort to criminal activity for survival.
Our federal government’s lack of a politically viable immigration policy will force other state and local governments down the same path Arizona was forced to take. In theory, the federal government will continue to possess full jurisdiction over the country’s immigration policy, and the federal courts will continue to issue decisions to reinforce that theory. In reality, some state and local governments, much like Arizona and out of complete despair, will pass their own laws and enforce their own policies.
Any federal attempt to subjugate or strike down these state laws through the court system without a politically viable federal immigration policy that addresses the plight of these affected states will only force these states to pass additional state laws. The federal government’s apparent inability or unwillingness to address the plight of these affected states could lead to a states’ rights crisis not seen since the nullification crises of the Jacksonian era. Some politicians and activists only use terms such as “undocumented immigrant” instead of “illegal immigrant” in order to mask what is really occurring in the country.
EDWARD J. SMITRESKI
Northampton, Pa.
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