Illegal immigrants are a burden on our public resources | The Smartest Man in the Room | Courier-Herald – Enumclaw Courier-Herald
Readers, I have an American success story for you. Years ago, I visited Magadan, Russia, a former Joseph Stalin gulag. During my sojourn, Sergey was my interpreter. Sergey was an extremely bright lad of 17 who spoke impeccable English. His mother was an accomplished seamstress; his father a laborer whose hands were permanently contorted from a lifetime of shoveling coal at the citys main power plant.
On the second day of my tour, while visiting The Mask of Sorrow a memorial to those unjustly imprisoned Sergey asked if I could help him immigrate to America. The sincerity in his request was as evident as that Siberian winter in February, which I envisioned as his powerful incentive to seek an alternative living arrangement.
I sponsored Sergey so he could obtain a student visa he was admitted at the University where I taught. As part of the visa process, he was required to list a sponsor, prove that he or his sponsor had adequate resources so as to not be dependent on the American government, and show that he or his sponsor could cover any future medical needs.
Sergey moved in with my family and four years later, graduated with honors as the top student in his program. He then lived with my mother in Enumclaw until he obtained a job which allowed him to receive his green card. Sergey is now a United States citizen, working for the United States government, with a wife, two wonderful kids, a Range Rover and a nice home in the suburbs the American Dream!
I share this true Horatio Alger story to illustrate that Americas immigration system works for those who are willing to abide by its rules. Our immigration system is generous, allowing more foreigners to enter, stay, work and seek a pathway to citizenship than any other nation. Some claim the system is broken, but its not broken merely because everyone who wants to come to America cannot. America is not the lifeboat for an entire drowning world.
Americans do not despise fair immigration practices nor do they detest immigrants.
The Americans I know are the product of an America which has developed in its people an innate sense of fairness. What Americans do categorically reject, however, is the conundrum created by an immigration system which allows migrants to obtain more rights and rewards by doing wrong then if they had simply done whats right. Most Americans do not object to our immigration laws but instead, take offense to the manner in which our government operates our system in applying those laws. Incompetence has produced unfair, unjust, and simply wrong immigration results, has incentivized more illegal immigration and Americans are simply fed up.
For comparison, take Klaus from Moldovia. Klaus bucket list includes a visit to Cawker City, Kansas, to personally view the Worlds Largest Ball of Twine. He fills out the online visa application, DS-160, pays his fee, and is interviewed by a U.S. consulate official. During his interview, Klaus explains his Moldovian drivers license has been suspended due to drunk-driving. His visa is denied. For Klaus, theres no appeal or reimbursement of his application fee. For now, his bucket remains empty and at least for a time there is no twine in his future.
Now take, Sam, from El Salvador. Sam desires to live with Daniel, his brother, a resident of Washington state. Sam doesnt bother with a visa. Instead, Sam pays a nighttime transit tour guide to help him navigate our southern border.
Successful in his crossing, Sam resides with Dan. He obtains a drivers license by showing his Salvadorian I.D. and proof of residency and, like his brother Dan before him, obtains a fraudulent social security number in order to work. Sam obtains a job because the employer can accept at face value the validity of the false information Sam included on the IRS I-9 form.
Sam is on his way. If he is injured on the job, he is entitled to workmans compensation. He has access to emergency medical care, as no medical facility receiving federal dollars may turn away any patient and no facility in Washington state may inquire as to Sams immigration status. Moreover, despite the assorted crimes he committed in crossing our southern border and working without legal right, Sam is entitled to due process of law before he may be removed. He now has access to our courts, can claim asylum, and may even receive free legal representation from one of the many non-governmental organizations funded in part by your federal tax dollars to plead his asylum case.
If you doubt the validity of the prior example dont, for in numerous legal consults I have encountered just such a scenario under similar situations.
So, are you not troubled by the fact that Sam received more rewards from our government by doing wrong than Klaus, who tried to do things right?
Illegal immigration should not be encouraged a thought evidently lost on our government and it has not gone unnoticed by the world. Recently, Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador expressed that foreign nationals see President Joe Biden, As the migrant president and as a result, many feel theyre going to reach the United States. Wow!
So just what is the status of illegal immigration under Biden?
Over two million confirmed illegal border crossings in 2021 and another 389,000 undetected gotaways.
Around 836,000 migrants were released into the United States since January 2021, a number larger than the entire population of the state of North Dakota. During March 2022, under his catch and release policy, Biden released more than 80,000 border crossers into the U.S. interior a population larger than his hometown of Scranton, Pennyslvania.
This catch and release policy poses a real problem. According to its 2020 Enforcement Lifecycle Report, DHS notes that only 15 precent of migrants released under the policy will actually be deported, even after a court order of removal. In contrast, migrants detained in ICE custody will be successfully removed 98 percent of the time. One cannot remove what one cannot find and if that migrant resides in a sanctuary jurisdiction like Seattle, good luck and godspeed in trying to enforce the removal order.
This policy has gotten so out of hand that Federal Court Judge T. Kent Wetherell for the Northern District of Florida recently held that the Biden administration has adopted and are implementing policies that contravene explicit mandates and restrictions in the immigration statutes and that the policies have effectively turned the southern border into little more than a speedbump for the hundreds of thousands of aliens who have flooded across the border into the country since January 2021
Moreover, despite this migrant wave, Biden further proposes removing Title 42 Public Health Authority Restrictions which currently allows for immediate removal of migrants caught at the border. If Biden is successful, its estimated another 18,000 illegal aliens could be released into the United States interior each and every day.
In addition to catch and release, your government provides migrants free cell phones and further proposes transferring doctors and nurses from the Veterans Healthcare System to the southern border to treat them. Last year alone, Americans subsidized medical care for migrants to the tune of $18.5 billion including more than $316 million in medical care for those actually detained in (ICE) custody.
Add to that amount the additional costs of free transportation, including flights to the hinterland. Free air travel and bussing has gotten so prevalent that sources within the DHS remark that they are acting as a full service travel agency for migrants all thanks to Bidens policies.
Is it any wonder why migrants would attempt the dangerous border crossing when our government provides free phones, travel, allows them to legally drive, access free medical care, and grants unimpeded freedom within the confines of America until their asylum case is heard which by the way may be years down the road due to the sheer number of such claims being brought?
Then again, as with our government, you too can ignore the fact that almost 90 percent of all asylum claims are denied because economic hardship is not grounds for asylum, but by then the proverbial cat is no longer in the bag. Its a bit hard to enforce a removal order when ICE can no longer locate the party for whom the claim was brought.
All of this mass of humanity is not invisible. Congressman Tom McClintock recently asked DHS how packing classrooms with non-English speaking students, flooding emergency rooms with migrants demanding care, making it harder to deport criminal illegal aliens, and flooding the labor market with cheap foreign labor benefitted Americans.
The silence was deafening.
Some advocate for open borders. For those who believe that everyone has a right to enter America, why not do as I did and sponsor a foreign national? At least you will not be writing checks that the rest of America has to cash.
Read the rest here:
Illegal immigrants are a burden on our public resources | The Smartest Man in the Room | Courier-Herald - Enumclaw Courier-Herald
- Illegal immigration is hurting U.S. economy: Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent - Fox News - November 26th, 2025 [November 26th, 2025]
- Carter calls for increased ICE presence in Atlanta to address criminal illegal immigration problem - U.S. Representative Buddy Carter (.gov) - November 20th, 2025 [November 20th, 2025]
- Florida Takes the Lead to Eliminate Burdens of Illegal Immigration - Federation for American Immigration Reform - November 20th, 2025 [November 20th, 2025]
- Trumps claims about murder rates and illegal immigration fit red states more than blue states - WBEZ Chicago - November 7th, 2025 [November 7th, 2025]
- Violent criminal illegal alien apprehended by ICE after high-stakes operation in Chicago - ICE | U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (.gov) - November 7th, 2025 [November 7th, 2025]
- Deterring Illegal Immigration: This Town Decided that Actions Speak Louder than Words - Federation for American Immigration Reform - November 7th, 2025 [November 7th, 2025]
- Texas and Ohio Review Voter Rolls to Eliminate Illegal Alien Voting - Federation for American Immigration Reform - November 7th, 2025 [November 7th, 2025]
- Their plan was a flood of illegal immigration. Our answer is an immigration moratorium - Fox News - November 5th, 2025 [November 5th, 2025]
- ICE arrests Guatemalan illegal alien convicted of felony breaking and entering in Virginia - ICE | U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (.gov) - November 5th, 2025 [November 5th, 2025]
- ICE and Oklahoma bolster public safety on states highways by removing 34 illegal alien truck drivers - ICE | U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement... - November 5th, 2025 [November 5th, 2025]
- Illegal Immigrants To Be Hit Hard As SNAP and WIC Benefits Expire - Center for Immigration Studies - November 5th, 2025 [November 5th, 2025]
- Illegal Aliens Seek Less Effective Tracking System - Federation for American Immigration Reform - November 5th, 2025 [November 5th, 2025]
- Leon Sheriff's Office gets OK for $500K reimbursement for role in illegal immigration crackdown - Tallahassee Democrat - October 30th, 2025 [October 30th, 2025]
- Illegal Migrant Stabs Man Who Was Walking His Dog in the U.K. Exposes Truth Illegal Immigration - Megyn Kelly The Devil May Care - October 30th, 2025 [October 30th, 2025]
- Judge rules immigration detention of Chicago man with daughter battling cancer is illegal - CNN - October 26th, 2025 [October 26th, 2025]
- Judge rules immigration detention of Chicago man with daughter battling cancer is illegal - AP News - October 26th, 2025 [October 26th, 2025]
- ICE lodges arrest detainer for criminal illegal alien who killed 3 in California while driving 18-wheeler under the influence - ICE | U.S. Immigration... - October 24th, 2025 [October 24th, 2025]
- White House condemns Illegal immigration as Indian truck driver kills three in California crash - The Indian EYE - October 24th, 2025 [October 24th, 2025]
- Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) arrested more illegal alien criminals on Thursday as the Democrat-led shutdown continued into its fourth... - October 24th, 2025 [October 24th, 2025]
- Illegal Immigration Crackdown Heats Up Along Treasure Coast - Real Radio 92.1 - October 24th, 2025 [October 24th, 2025]
- Illinois warns immigration officers tampering with license plates is illegal - The Guardian - October 24th, 2025 [October 24th, 2025]
- Trump's work on illegal immigration has been 'nothing short of phenomenal': Rep. Brandon Gill - Fox News - October 23rd, 2025 [October 23rd, 2025]
- Florida's CFO talks illegal immigration and funding for NE Florida sheriff's offices - The Florida Times-Union - October 23rd, 2025 [October 23rd, 2025]
- Illegal Alien Police Officer Arrested in Illinois - Federation for American Immigration Reform - October 23rd, 2025 [October 23rd, 2025]
- Trump's work on illegal immigration has been 'nothing short of phenomenal': Rep. Brandon Gill - Yahoo - October 23rd, 2025 [October 23rd, 2025]
- The Strange Case of the Illegal Alien Cop - Center for Immigration Studies - October 19th, 2025 [October 19th, 2025]
- ICE, federal partners arrest more than 1,400 illegal aliens in Massachusetts during Patriot 2.0, including murderers, rapists, drug traffickers, child... - October 17th, 2025 [October 17th, 2025]
- ICE arrests illegal alien serving as a local police officer in Suburban Chicago - ICE | U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (.gov) - October 17th, 2025 [October 17th, 2025]
- Federal immigration agents arrested an illegal immigrant who was working as a police officer in the sanctuary state of Illinois. Radule Bojovic, an... - October 17th, 2025 [October 17th, 2025]
- Democrats Fight for Illegal Alien Healthcare Benefits as Government Shutdown Continues - Federation for American Immigration Reform - October 17th, 2025 [October 17th, 2025]
- The UK government will pay you $120K to convince the public that it's successfully tackling illegal immigration - Fortune - October 15th, 2025 [October 15th, 2025]
- Chief Deputy Lowes attends panel on illegal immigration - ReadTheReporter.com - October 15th, 2025 [October 15th, 2025]
- Headlines and Heartlines: State Rep. Janis Holt discusses education, property tax relief, illegal immigration and district concerns - - Bluebonnet... - October 15th, 2025 [October 15th, 2025]
- Rafe Fletcher: Accountability, not technocracy, is the answer to illegal immigration - Conservative Home - October 15th, 2025 [October 15th, 2025]
- The Disturbing Connection Between U.N.s Green Energy Push and Illegal Immigration - The Heritage Foundation - October 9th, 2025 [October 9th, 2025]
- Of Course Illegal Immigrants Access Public Health Benefits - Center for Immigration Studies - October 9th, 2025 [October 9th, 2025]
- An illegal immigrant gang member on the run for allegedly killing a man in California went on to kill a woman in Texas before Immigration and Customs... - October 9th, 2025 [October 9th, 2025]
- ICE Issues Government Shutdown Warning on Illegal Immigration - Newsweek - October 2nd, 2025 [October 2nd, 2025]
- Digital ID cards: what are they and how will they help the UK deal with illegal immigration? - The Conversation - September 28th, 2025 [September 28th, 2025]
- ICE arrests illegal alien from Haiti connected to criminal terrorist organizations - ICE | U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (.gov) - September 25th, 2025 [September 25th, 2025]
- ICE, law enforcement partners searching for 2 illegal aliens who escaped after choking Border Patrol agent - ICE | U.S. Immigration and Customs... - September 23rd, 2025 [September 23rd, 2025]
- Venezuelan man responsible for sex trafficking female illegal aliens sentenced to 10 years in prison - ICE | U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement... - September 19th, 2025 [September 19th, 2025]
- UK minister dismisses Trump's call for military intervention to control illegal immigration | Hindustan Times - Hindustan Times - September 19th, 2025 [September 19th, 2025]
- ICE lodges detainer against illegal alien who murdered a teenage girl after she rejected his sexual advances - ICE | U.S. Immigration and Customs... - September 19th, 2025 [September 19th, 2025]
- ICE receives more than 150K job applications as Trumps crackdown on illegal immigration continues - New York Post - September 17th, 2025 [September 17th, 2025]
- ICE receives more than 150,000 job applications as Trump crackdown on illegal immigration intensifies - UNILAD - September 17th, 2025 [September 17th, 2025]
- Richard Brant and Lauren Butler: Reform UKs Plans for Getting Tough on Illegal Immigration: From Legal Reset to Sunset - UK Constitutional Law... - September 15th, 2025 [September 15th, 2025]
- ICE launches new initiative to arrest illegal aliens at immigration hearings amid DHS deportation battle - The Economic Times - September 15th, 2025 [September 15th, 2025]
- Suspected illegal aliens arrested by immigration authorities while on way to Franklin County poultry plant - 1819 News - September 13th, 2025 [September 13th, 2025]
- Twin Monster Illegal Immigration and Drug Trafficking - AMAC - September 11th, 2025 [September 11th, 2025]
- What is the government doing to tackle illegal immigration? - GOV.UK - September 11th, 2025 [September 11th, 2025]
- How many illegal migrants are in Britain? The key numbers driving the immigration debate - Sky News - September 11th, 2025 [September 11th, 2025]
- ICE Launches Operation Midway Blitz in Honor of Katie Abraham to Target Criminal Illegal Aliens Terrorizing Americans in Sanctuary Illinois - Homeland... - September 9th, 2025 [September 9th, 2025]
- Feds cite current crisis of illegal immigration in push against NJ sanctuary city orders - New Jersey Monitor - September 9th, 2025 [September 9th, 2025]
- A Bold Political Decision: The New Strict Bill Against Illegal Immigration OpEd - Eurasia Review - September 6th, 2025 [September 6th, 2025]
- ICE Boston removes illegal fugitive wanted for child rape in Jamaica - U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (.gov) - September 6th, 2025 [September 6th, 2025]
- Hope and hate: how governments around the world are responding to 'illegal' immigration - SBS Australia - September 6th, 2025 [September 6th, 2025]
- Malheur County Sheriff cannot help I.C.E. with illegal immigration enforcement - KIVI-TV - September 3rd, 2025 [September 3rd, 2025]
- Baseless Allegations Of Massive Illegal Immigration Into India From Bangladesh - Eurasia Review - September 3rd, 2025 [September 3rd, 2025]
- Interim US attorney says he has been directed to go after illegal immigration - Rocky Mount Telegram - September 3rd, 2025 [September 3rd, 2025]
- Digital ID cards could be introduced to curb illegal immigration - The Independent - September 3rd, 2025 [September 3rd, 2025]
- VOTE: Do you support Trump's crackdown on illegal immigration in large US cities? - WEAR-TV - September 1st, 2025 [September 1st, 2025]
- Better Tools, Fewer Raids: The Digital Solution to Illegal Immigration - American Enterprise Institute - August 29th, 2025 [August 29th, 2025]
- ICE arrests criminal illegal alien convicted of murder - U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (.gov) - August 27th, 2025 [August 27th, 2025]
- CEO used disability charity as a front for offering illegal immigration advice - The Independent - August 27th, 2025 [August 27th, 2025]
- ICE Newark arrests heavily armed illegal alien who overstayed visa by 9 years - U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (.gov) - August 27th, 2025 [August 27th, 2025]
- Illegal immigration hit a record-high of 14 million in the US in 2023, Pew report finds - Salina Post - August 26th, 2025 [August 26th, 2025]
- HSI Kansas City hosts young European leaders from 15 nations to share strategies for combating transnational crime and illegal immigration - U.S.... - August 26th, 2025 [August 26th, 2025]
- ICE arrests twice-convicted, drunk-driving illegal alien whos been hiding in California for over 20 years - U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement... - August 26th, 2025 [August 26th, 2025]
- Two Illegal Aliens Arrested, One Extradited to Florida for Triple Vehicular Homicide - Federation for American Immigration Reform - August 26th, 2025 [August 26th, 2025]
- Illegal immigration hit a record-high of 14 million in the US in 2023, Pew report finds - Castanet - August 22nd, 2025 [August 22nd, 2025]
- Illegal immigration hit a record-high of 14 million in the US in 2023, Pew report finds - MSN - August 22nd, 2025 [August 22nd, 2025]
- New York State Claims Right to Give Welfare to Illegal Aliens - Federation for American Immigration Reform - August 22nd, 2025 [August 22nd, 2025]
- Illegal immigration hit a record-high of 14 million in the US in 2023, Pew report finds - The Sumter Item - August 22nd, 2025 [August 22nd, 2025]
- This City Figures it Can Help Illegal Aliens More by NOT Enacting Sanctuary Policies - Federation for American Immigration Reform - August 22nd, 2025 [August 22nd, 2025]
- Illegal immigration hit a record-high of 14 million in the US in 2023, Pew report finds - FOX4KC.com - August 22nd, 2025 [August 22nd, 2025]
- Enhancing Border Security and Combatting Illegal Immigration - U.S. Department of State (.gov) - August 20th, 2025 [August 20th, 2025]
- ICE arrests 9 illegal aliens and seizes drugs, scammed gift cards at underground nightclub in California - U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement... - August 18th, 2025 [August 18th, 2025]
- Archived: ICE arrests nearly 200 in Los Angeles-area operation targeting criminal aliens, illegal re-entrants, and immigration fugitives - U.S.... - August 18th, 2025 [August 18th, 2025]
- Oklahoma Moves to End In-State Tuition for Illegal Aliens - Federation for American Immigration Reform - August 18th, 2025 [August 18th, 2025]