No amnesty for illegal immigrants

First of all, what I have to say is not on immigration. It is on illegal immigration. Like most Americans, I am against illegal immigration and any amnesty for illegal immigrants.

Wed did not bring illegal immigrants into our country. They came on their own, violating our laws and hiding under them.

Politicians on both sides must be afraid for political reasons of doing the right thing for our country. They want to use amnesty for political gain. Politicians are not looking at the catastrophic impact on Social Security and government-run social services if amnesty is given. And amnesty will not fix the illegal-immigration issue, because more people will come into this country illegally, just like ants after sugar until it is taken away.

Here are some ways I think would fix this problem:

* Amend Section 1 of the 14th Amendment. This amendment was meant for slaves who were freed, and rightly so. It wasn't meant for someone flying into our country to have a baby and then going home with U.S. citizenship for the newborn to be used at a later date. Nor was it meant for illegal immigrants who come into the country and have babies who are U.S. citizens and become a welfare burden. The 14th Amendment should be changed to apply to people legally applying for citizenship.

* Anyone hiring an illegal immigrant, knowingly or not, and not checking for proper identification should be heavily fined for the first offense. If there is a second offense, the penalty should be jail time.

* It has been said that a vast majority of U.S. citizens won't work in low-paying agricultural jobs. We have a system for legal migrant workers who do their jobs and go back to their country. The employers who hire illegal immigrants as cheap labor must be stopped.

* We must keep working to secure our borders. Let Immigration and Customs Enforcement do its job. State and local law enforcement officers should be trained to deal with illegal immigrants. Untie their hands so they can question people in order to protect our country. Many illegal immigrants are committing serious crimes, and that is wrong.

Illegal immigration is not a simple issue. If these measures were put into law, it would upset the Mexican population. But enough is enough. I am asking our federal legislators to vote no on amnesty for illegal immigrants.

Tim Westrich is a Cape Girardeau resident.