I am writing to you as a concerned and sympathetic

American who is a Republican. My sentiments do not

represent every American -- that would be impossible.

But I believe the following represent most Americans.

First, a message to those of you here illegally:


You may be very surprised to hear this, but in your

position, millions of Americans, including me, would

have done what you did.


If I lived in a poor country with a largely corrupt

government, a country in which I had little or no

prospect of hope for an improved life for me or my

children, and I could not legally get into the world's

freest, most affluent country, the country with the most

opportunities for people of any and every background,

I would do whatever I could do to get into that country

illegally.


Mexico and many other Central and South American

countries are largely hopeless places for most of their

people. America offers hope to everyone willing to work

hard. Who could not understand why any individual, let

alone a father or mother of a family, would try to get

into the United States -- legally preferably, illegally if

necessary?


Now that I have made it clear that millions of us

understand what motivates you and do not morally

condemn you for entering America illegally, I have to

ask you to try to understand what motivates us.


No country in the world can allow unlimited

immigration.


If America opened its borders to all those who wish to

live here, hundreds of millions of people would come

here. That would, of course, mean the end of the

United States economically and culturally.


If you are from Mexico, you know that Mexico's

treatment of illegal immigrants from south of its border

is far harsher than my country's is of illegal immigrants.

All it takes is common sense to understand that we

simply cannot afford to take care of all of you in our

medical, educational, penal and other institutions.

However much you may pay in sales tax, most illegal

immigrants are a financial and social burden in those

states to which most them move.


Yes, many of you are also a blessing. Many of you take

care of our children and our homes. Others of you

prepare our food and do other work that is essential to

our society. We know that. As individuals, the great

majority of you are hardworking, responsible, decent

people.


But none of that answers the question: How many

people can this country allow into it?


The moment you have to answer that question is the

moment you realize that Americans' worries about

illegal immigration have nothing to do with "racism" or

any negative feeling toward Hispanics.


Those who tell you it is racism or xenophobia are lying

about their fellow Americans for political or ideological

reasons. You know from your daily interactions with

Americans that the vast majority of us treat you with

the dignity that every fellow human being deserves.

Your daily lives are the most eloquent refutation of the

charges of racism and bigotry. The charge is a terrible

lie. Please don't believe it. You know it is not true.


Democrats will act as your defenders by telling you that

opposition to your presence here is race-based. There

is no truth to that. As you probably know in your

hearts, you have come to the least racist place on

earth.


The vast majority of us could not care less if your name

is Gonzalez or Jones. That's why the chances are 50-50

that the child of Hispanic immigrants will end up

marrying a non-Hispanic American.


One more thing: Many of you desire to return to your

homelands. This is understandable, as many of you did

not come here in order to become American but in

order to earn the money that would allow you to afford

to return home and lead a better life there. But as

understandable as that is on an individual level, you

must understand that that having millions of people in

our midst who feel no bond to our country and who do

not want to become one of us is a serious problem.


You would feel the same about people who came to

your countries to make money and use your country's

medical, social, educational and other services paid for

by the people of your country.


It is also a moral problem. There are countless people

around the world who wish to come to America in order

to become Americans, not just to earn money here.

Many of you are taking their places. That is not fair to

them or to America.


So, the truth is, in fact, simple: If you were an

American, you would want to stop illegal immigration,

and if most of us were you, we would do what you did

to get into America. Neither of us is bad. You care

about your family. We care about our country.


Now, a note to those of you who are here legally and to

those of you who are American citizens.


First, while many of you understandably sympathize

with the plight of fellow Latinos who are here illegally,

you surely must understand that America cannot afford

unlimited illegal immigration. This may well create a

tension between your mind and your heart, and

between your ethnic heritage and your allegiance to

America.


If it does, your fellow Americans ask that you be guided

by your mind (and we, believe, conscience) and by

your concern for America. If anyone knows how

extraordinarily welcoming America has been to Latinos -

- from Mexico to Cuba to South America -- it is you. For

your sake as well as America's, please do not succumb

to the politics of victimization that are used solely and

cynically to get your support for the Democrat Party.


Finally, and most important, by voting for Democratic

Party candidates, you are voting for a type of

government more like the ones most Latinos fled. Take

the Mexican example. The Democratic Party is, in most

important ways, an American version of the PRI. For 70

years, the PRI governed Mexico and brought its

economy to its knees because of vast government

spending, the squashing of individual initiative, a

bloated bureaucracy, unsustainable debt and the

subsequent devaluing of the Mexican peso.


Why, for God's sake, would you want to see that

replicated in America? The very reason America has

been so prosperous and so free -- the very reasons

you or your ancestors, like almost every other

American's ancestors, came here -- is that America has

had more limited government and therefore more

liberty than any other country in the world. The

Republican Party represents all that you or your parents

came to America for -- and why you left Mexico and

other countries: individual opportunity and individual

responsibility. It is also the party that represents your

social values.


Admittedly, the Democratic Party appeals to your

emotions. But a vote for the Democratic Party is a vote

to make America like the Mexico of the PRI. And a vote

for the Democratic Party is a vote to undo the great

American achievement of uniting the children of

immigrants from all over the world as Americans.

http://www.dennisprager.com/