The World According to Oatney

Legals Don't Need To Live In Fear

The Tennessean wants us to feel terribly sorry that illegal immigrants in Davidson County who break the law run the risk of being deported:

When the Martinez family drives the half-hour from home into Nashville, wife Deanna is behind the wheel every time.

It's not because of some standing debate between husband and wife about who is the better driver. It's because Deanna Martinez's husband is one of the estimated 130,000 to 170,000 illegal immigrants living in Tennessee.

He can't renew his driver's license since Tennessee tightened the documentation requirements a few years ago. And Davidson County is the only place in the state where the sheriff's office participates in a federal program in which a traffic stop can lead to deportation.

"Imagine sitting at the breakfast table one day and your husband saying, 'I'm going to be deported because I forgot to use my blinker when I changed lanes the other day.' That's just not a risk we like to take," Martinez said.

As much as one can empathize with the Martinez's situation, somebody apparently forgot to remind The Tennessean that Mr. Martinez already broke the law by entering this country illegally. When I was growing up, we were told that those who did no wrong-those who did not break the law-have nothing to fear from a relatively minor police stop.

Despite what the paper says, the reality that illegals in places where the local authorities have the ability to enforce immigration law are afraid to gather in one place, or are afraid even of being pulled over on a minor traffic violation, is proof that these restrictions, laws, and programs are working quite well indeed. These rules and laws are meant to restrict the movements of illegal aliens in the hopes that they will choose to return home and come back legally rather than live in the fear of being departed and then having to really start over.

Those who come here legally should be welcomed-and would not have this problem.

Labels: Conservatism, Federal politics, Foreign policy, Tennessee politics

posted by Deacon David Oatney @ 3:56 PM