Helvig's Helvitorials: Zero tolerance on illegal immigration

This is the highly controversial article by Alan Helvig, as published in the Holland Sentinel on July 29, 2008.

Prior to this year, it had been over 25 years since I last filled out a job application and all the accompanying paperwork. I was quite impressed with my current employer’s requirement for me to provide proof of citizenship prior to being hired in. If only all area employers were so diligent, one of Holland’s favorite sons might still be alive today.

For years, I have warned against the consequences of illegal immigrants taking up residency in our community. For years, area employers have violated federal law by hiring illegal aliens. For years, illegal immigrants have stolen wages away from would-be employees who have legal right to hold a job in Michigan. For years, I have been labeled as hateful and a racist because I believe in living within the confines of the law of this great land and I’m not afraid to say so.

Illegal immigration is a plague which is tearing away at the moral and financial fiber of America. Our schools are filled with students who were brought here illegally by their parents. Our businesses are infested with frauds and identity thieves. Our hospitals are treating thousands each year who don’t have insurance or the money to pay their medical bills.

Our car insurance rates are climbing in concert with the number of crashes involving illegal aliens. Crime rates are on the rise in areas with growing concentrations of illegal immigrants. Some of our prisons are filling up with illegals faster than they are filling up with citizens. Cities, counties and even states are corrupting themselves by turning a blind eye to these lawbreakers.

How many American citizens have to become the victim of illegal immigrant crime before America says, “Enough is enough”? How many legal residents have to die at the hands of illegal aliens before America decides to end illegal immigration for good? How many tax dollars have to be wasted on these criminals before we wake up to the seriousness of this issue? How deep does Michigan’s recession have to get before Michiganders take a stand for what is right?

It is time for all Americans to acknowledge illegal immigration as a crime and to recognize illegal immigrants as criminals. It is time for Michigan to get serious about illegal immigration and to show the rest of the country how to be tough on these crimes. It is time to implement a “zero tolerance” policy on illegal immigration.

We need to crack down on any and all employers who are knowingly and deliberately hiring illegals. We need to crack down on banks and other businesses which are knowingly providing accounts and/or loans to illegals. We need to crack down on landlords who are knowingly renting property to illegals. We need to crack down on citizens who are harboring these criminals and/or aiding and abetting them in any way.

Cracking down on those at the root of the infestation will bring about the end of the infestation. We don’t have to round up and deport the illegals in order to solve this problem. All we have to do is dry up the well and they will leave on their own.

Why would illegal aliens come to Michigan if they knew they would not be able to find a job here? Why would they stay in Michigan if they knew they couldn’t find a place to live here? Why would they even consider migrating to a state where they knew there is a “zero tolerance” illegal immigration policy in place?

The border state of Arizona finally figured out that it would need to take matters into its own hands and it has. Arizona is cracking down on illegal immigration and its problem is subsiding. Michigan and the other 48 states need to stand with Arizona. We need to show the world that we are the “United” States of America and that we will no longer tolerate the violation of our immigration laws.