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Please may I apply for illegal-immigrant
status for my sister? This is an audacious request, I know, given that
she is not ideal immigrant material by America’s exacting standards. My
sibling is a South-African Caucasian, who speaks no Spanish. Alas, she
speaks the language of the American founders (in her defense, her
facility with the English language is not nearly as good as theirs was.)
Her other shortfall is that she manages to operate a profitable business
in one of the most dangerous places on earth, subject to the world's
most extreme race-based wealth distribution laws (“Black Economic
Empowerment”). If you think Mexico is a “crap country” (to commandeer
Ali G’s phrase), you haven’t experienced the Sisyphean struggle that is
life in the democratic South Africa, which happens to vie with Iraq and
Columbia for the title, “Most Violent Country in the World.”
I realize that an honest petition on behalf of my sister demands full
disclosure, so here goes: My sister is far from an ideal candidate. Call
it one of those inexplicable middle-class peculiarities or tics, but I’m
going to have a hard time convincing my sibling to break the law. And
breaking the law is a requirement if one is to qualify for the Z visa,
soon to be handed out to scofflaws under the Senate's Secure Borders,
Economic Opportunity and Immigration Reform Act of 2007. Heritage
Foundation scholars confirm that “Title VI of the bill grants amnesty to
virtually all of the 12 million to 20 million illegal aliens in the
country today.”
A candidate for the coveted Z visa must, moreover, prove his
law-breaking credentials. And so he should. Proof of law breaking is to
be provided in the form of “two documents suggesting that he or
she was in the country before January 1, 2007.” (Emphasis added.) In the
1986 amnesty, fraud was rampant. In the 2007 give-away, similarly,
counterfeiters of Social Security and driver’s licenses wait in the
wings to provide the relevant documentation to potential,
non-complaint candidates, not yet in the country illegally.
Here I have to ask for lenience for my poor sister. You see, although
the natural law informs my own ideas of right and wrong, I generally
obey the positive law, even when it’s wrong. To live creatively and
productively, I require safety and stability. I fear my sister shares
the same aversion to living on the edge. In any event, whatever
deep-seated defect obeying the law signifies—she has it. Most people who
immigrate legally have it; those who do so illegally don’t. Bully for
them.
I understand that by privileging illegals, the Bush-Kennedy-McCain
troika intends to cleverly weed out, in the Darwinian sense, people of
probity. This is a smart tactic with a proven track record, as
individuals with no qualms about breaking one set of laws are less
prone to observing the law in general. To wit, statistics place
illegal immigrants in the high-crime bracket. I worry that this is a
standard my sister cannot live up to.
She falls short on yet another gauge. According to a National Academy of
Sciences study, cited by Pat Buchanan, “each immigrant with less than a
high school education costs taxpayers $90,000 net over his or her
lifetime.” The 12 to 20 million unskilled workers soon to be amnestied
qualify; my sister doesn’t. She has a higher education. As a proprietor
of a successful business in South Africa (who would still not easily
qualify for a work visa), she would likely transfer her badass
bourgeoisie life-style to the US, if allowed entry. As a contender
for illegal-immigrant status, my sister is thus unlikely to meet the
burden of burdening the American taxpayer.
President Bush has been very clever indeed. Lack of education,
illiteracy, and poverty clearly correlate well with a disregard for the
law. By deploying a disregard for the law as a guiding variable in
selecting millions of future citizens, Bush has found a way to weed out
undesirables such as my sister.
Sadly, the Z visa is just what my inadequate sibling needs. According to
Heritage Foundation calculations, an illegal “family of five could
purchase visas for the bargain price of $5,000—some $20,000 short of the
net cost that household is likely to impose on local, state, and federal
government each year.” This is a stretch, but humor me, won’t you? Using
habitual law breaking as a predictor of future compliance, I’ll wager
that very few illegal immigrants will pay the fine. If Bush grants my
sister a Z visa, I promise—nay, guarantee—she’ll double that amount,
NOW.
Although the political caste is spinning the Z visa as a temporary visa,
the Heritage’s Kris Kobach and Matthew Spalding have more aptly called
it “the country's first permanent temporary visa.” And a “super-visa” to
boot. According to Section 602(m) of the bill, the Z visa “can be
renewed every four years until the visa holder dies.” It also allows
“the holder to work, attend college, or travel abroad and reenter. And
contrary to popular misconception, illegal aliens need not return to
their home countries to apply for the Z visa. That's only necessary if
and when an alien decides to adjust from Z visa status to lawful
permanent resident (‘green card’) status under Section 602(a)(1).” For
that the alien need only decamp to any consulate outside the United
States. The last is absolutely essential for Sister: Given the murder
rate in the New South Africa, even a short wait there for visa
processing can cost dearly.
Should aspects of the family reunification system remain in force, as a
sibling of a permanent resident, my sister is last on the legal waiting
list. With backlogs running to 4 million cases, she may have to wait
well over a decade, if not two, to come to the US legally. Like most
white South Africans, she has already fallen prey to violent criminals.
Time is of the essence.
El Presidente Bush, I know she’s not much of a bandido, but
please let my sister become an illegal immigrant.
©2007 By Ilana Mercer
WorldNetDaily.com
May 25
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