Book Review
Whatever It Takes: Illegal Immigration, Border Security, And the War on Terror
America may be too good for its own good.
The qualities that draw people from all over the world – religious and political freedom, the rule of law, due process, a vibrant economy, and a high standard of living – are the same qualities bad eggs use against us.
There are an estimated 10 million illegal aliens in the United States. According to the Federation for American Immigration Reform, the net cost of illegal immigration is about $70 billion per year, which doesn’t include unemployment compensation for legal citizens who lost jobs to illegal aliens.
While men and women are dying in Iraq to “make the world safe for democracy,†illegal aliens flout the rule of law at home, freely crossing our borders with a miniscule chance of being caught and deported. If Al Qaeda wanted to smuggle in a nuclear weapon, America’s southern border is a very inviting place to start.
In the age of terrorism, the federal government still won’t enforce immigration law. We can only guess why: addiction to cheap labor, fear of being called racists, blackmail by Mexican president Vicente Fox. I’m only half-kidding about Fox, but it makes me wonder why the government refuses to enforce the law.
Congressman J.D. Hayworth of Arizona wonders, too. In his new book, Whatever It Takes: Illegal Immigration, Border Security, And the War on Terror, he explains how America is complicit in illegal immigration, a fact that would-be terrorists (who he calls “Islamofascists”) use to their advantage. Excluding the notes and index, the book is a quick read at just under 200 pages with 11 chapters. Hayworth uses plain language, devoid of politically correct jargon. He offers persuasive arguments against the nation-destroying insanity that is allowing millions of illegal aliens to infiltrate, overburden, and ultimately destroy our way of life.
Hayworth points out the absurdity of our current policies and wonders why illegal aliens are fearful of getting caught when the chances of being deported are low:
You will find no better example of political correctness mixed with political cowardice than “sanctuary†policies. These policies forbid police officers from arresting criminals based only on their immigration status and prohibit local law enforcement from cooperating with federal immigration authorities.
In Whatever It Takes, Hayworth makes a connection between illegal immigration and crime, and contrasts immigration of the past with the present. “Assimilation is the key to any successful immigration policy, and no country in the history of the world has succeeded in assimilating immigrants as well as the United States,†he writes.
Our country succeeded because of the “Americanization†movement of the early 1900s, which Hayworth briefly discusses. All levels of government and society contributed to the effort, unlike today. These days politicians help push bilingual education, in-state tuition, and multilingual government transactions. Businesses openly hire illegal aliens and banks give them loans to buy houses.
Americanization, Hayworth contends, was replaced by multiculturalism, a “noxious idea that all cultures are equally valid and equally worthy.†One only has to look to the Middle East to see that all cultures are not equally worthy.
Contrary to popular opinion, not all Hispanics support illegal immigration. Some are opposed to non-assimilating immigrants:
Ironically, among the biggest supporters of acculturation and learning English are Hispanic immigrants who have successfully assimilated…They embrace their Americanism while still holding on to their roots. They understand that English is the language of success. They are appalled at Spanish-language advocates who believe that speaking English somehow insults or dismisses their Hispanic ethnic identity.
One barrier to fighting illegal immigration is political correctness. Hayworth writes:
The abuse of language by the pro-illegal immigration crowd is just as duplicitous and just as absurd…Another example comes from the Arizona Republic, which in a profile of two illegal aliens wrote, ‘Like most undocumented workers, Javier and Janet work aboveboard. They used fake Social Security numbers to land their jobs.’
Using fake Social Security numbers — a felony — is what passes for ‘aboveboard’ at the politically correct Arizona Republic. It is hard to know whether to laugh or cry.
Hayworth is a Republican, but he blames both sides of the aisle for our current crises. In a chapter called “The Left and Right Are Wrong,†he chastises the conservative Wall Street Journal editorial page for its “open borders†stance, as well as “lettuce liberals†who support illegal immigration because the price of lettuce might go up if aliens were deported, as prescribed by law.
We know all about the problems, but we don’t hear or read often enough about solutions to the problems. The most informative part of the book is the final chapter, “What to Do about Illegal Immigration.†Some of Hayworth’s suggestions:
- Put troops on the border
- Improve interior enforcement (tamper-proof Social Security cards, 10,000 new agents solely responsible for enforcing employer compliance, 200 additional immigration judges, 500 new Department of Homeland Security trial attorneys, severe penalties for hiring illegal aliens)
- Allow local and state law enforcement to assist outmanned federal agents
- End birthright citizenship
- Impose a three-year ban on Mexican immigration
Hayworth’s ideas are common sense and workable. The question is: When will the government put a plan into action?
Whatever It Takes made me angry. If you care about America’s safety and sovereignty, it will make you angry, too. I write about illegal immigration frequently on my blog. It may be strange that a black woman, a “minority,†would be so outspoken on this issue. It’s partly because I am a member of a group once treated as second-class citizens. In 2006, we’ve all become second-class citizens.
A citizen, in case you forgot, is a “native-born, foreign-born, or naturalized person who owes allegiance to the United States and who is entitled to its protection.†I’m appalled by the government’s refusal to protect law-abiding citizens from the burden of illegal immigration. We have a right to be here and should not be treated this way.
Criminal aliens are coddled by the system, and they exploit what makes America great: a system of fairness and opportunity. If you’re opposed to illegal immigration, Whatever It Takes will help you articulate the reasons and encourage you to get off the sidelines and do something about it.
Originally published February 21, 2006, on Townhall.com
