Nerve Endings Firing Away

An American (Native) Indian once advised Herbert Humphrey,”Be careful in revising those immigration laws of yours. We got careless with ours.” I guess ‘blue-blooded’ Americans are taking that advice a wee bit too serious these days. Strangely, in these days of terrorism dominating the national agenda, illegal immigration seems to have crept in the debate as well and some so-called pundits are blurring the lines between the two. Fred Thompson, a possible Republican candidate has the following to say about immigration reform that is currently being debated in the Congress:

“Twelve million illegal immigrants later, we are now living in a nation that is beset by people who are suicidal maniacs and want to kill countless innocent men, women and children around the world” [source].

You might remember Thompson from the TV series Law & Order where he plays a politically conservative District Attorney who often emphasizes the influence of politics in the way his deputies are expected to try legal cases. In making that statement, Thompson tries to play on the terrorism fears of Americans by associating it with illegal immigration. The fear of terrorism that has been successfully inculcated by Bush is now just another excuse to justify any legislation even if the association is tenuous at best. I certainly hope that Thompson means suicide bombers when he mentions suicidal maniacs because it is clearly known that non-Hispanic whites are overwhelmingly more likely to be suicidal than any Hispanic immigrants, illegal or not. Blame depression for that.

But I am sure that Thompson meant suicide bombers which then brings into question how many illegal immigrants have been found to be that – in the United States. Certainly, he doesn’t mean a vast majority of those twelve million illegal immigrants are suicidal for purposes of terrorism or otherwise. So far none of the Hispanic immigrants have been associated with terrorism and their only crime has been to seek a higher quality of life by crossing the border illegally. I don’t think ‘countless men, women, or children were killed around the world’ by those actions. Even if they did I fail to understand how illegal immigrants in America would kill people around the world.

If terrorists were using the illegal route to enter the country, Thompson would be partly correct to assume so but the 9/11 hijackers entered the country through legal means and if at all, it simply proves how faulty the country’s legal ways to get in the country are. They are trying to fix the illegal immigration issue when in fact, the legal immigration system is broken. Thompson’s words fail at so many levels that it is astounding he wouldn’t have self-corrected it. But his words are reflective of the current crop of conservative presidential candidates. Obfuscate issues by popping in keywords like terrorism or immigration in random statements. I fail to understand why the media would even give any publicity to Thompson who hasn’t yet declared his intention to run for the Presidency. Jump in the race and then make statements so you can be then held accountable, Fred.