One of the least discussed aspects of illegal immigration is its impact on voting and electing representatives we send to Washington to reflect our views on how the country should be run and what laws should be enacted. We dont know to what extent a valid voting picture has emerged because we don't know how many illegal aliens are in the country.
One of the least discussed aspects of illegal immigration is its impact on voting and electing representatives we send to Washington to reflect our views on how the country should be run and what laws should be enacted. We don’t know to what extent a valid voting picture has emerged because we don’t know how many illegal aliens are in the country.
Estimates of how many illegal aliens are here range from twelve to twenty-four+ million. Bear Stearns estimated in early 2005 that there were twenty million here, using available data and extrapolating it out. That was over two years ago, so that estimate would have risen considerably. Border Patrol agents report that three to five thousand come across the border every day. However, since the talk of amnesty for the millions here already, the agents have noted that the number has risen dramatically, with estimates now reaching ten thousand a day. Agents report that they are only able to apprehend about one out of five who cross. The rest are in our cities and towns and nobody knows who they are.
The census, which should give a clue as to who lives in these United States, does not note the legality of those it surveys. Census takers are not allowed to ask. Redistricting is done on the basis of census reports, making possible the impact of illegals on the numbers required to redistrict. Those that are grouped heavily in one area will greatly affect the redistricting outcome. On that basis some districts will gain representation in Congress and some will lose. The practical effect is that those who are here illegally are counted as important as citizens who are allowed to vote. It is not difficult to see that counting illegals on the same basis as legal citizens will result in a shift in representation, which is a false outcome gained from false data.
Whole states have been proclaimed “sanctuary” states, which means that nobody is allowed to ask the citizen status of those applying for social services or even those who are stopped for minor crimes, such as traffic violations.
In some states the Mexican government, through its consulates, issues a Matricula Consular card, which is supposed to be identification. However, that card has no real backing to it, and the FBI has said it is not reliable as identification. Mexico is not known for its efficiency in such affairs, and has no way to absolutely state identification is correct. Nonetheless, some state’s agencies, such as departments of motor vehicles, accept them as valid identification, In some states getting that driver’s license also includes an invitation to register to vote.
Voting is a precious right. It allows people to elect those who will best represent them. Mexico has just gone through the process. However, there are accusations of rigged votes. This might be considered sour grapes by a losing opponent, except that corruption is endemic in Mexico. Unfortunately, our own registering and voting mechanisms are suspect. Too many of the electronic voting machines have no paper trail, and witnesses in congressional hearings have testified that it would be an easy thing to fix those machines, thus skewering the true vote.
We see more and more Hispanics taking their place in politics. They are becoming well represented in government. California especially is governed by many in state and local government. There is nothing wrong with that, except the Hispanics are very loyal to their own people and tend to promote one another to shore up their influence. While we talk about diversity, they promote their own people. Governor Schwartzenegger has been pressured for years to allow illegals to obtain drivers’ licenses. He has resisted so far, due to opposition. However, with more cities and towns being populated by Hispanics, legal and illegal, it will become more difficult for him to refuse. He has just proposed universal health care for Californians, which would include at least an estimated million illegals. Nobody is allowed to ask if the recipient is legal as they give out benefits. For a state that is already in trouble financially, this is like throwing an anchor on a sinking ship.
As more illegals move into the country, get jobs and establish homes, the pressure will build to be given voting rights. They are being courted by banks and other lending institutions and given loans. Some are guaranteed by the federal government. If there is default, the taxpayer will pay for it, not the banks.
We are being told that illegals are just coming here to work and make a living. That is probably true for many. However, there is a strong “reconquista” movement among them. This movement has groups advocating for Aztlan, a mystical area many Hispanics consider has been taken from them. It includes the southwest states. Reconquistas want those states back.
In the “La Gran Marcha”, held in L.A. in March of 2006 we saw many signs that spelled this out. Some said “White racists, go back to Europe”, “Our continent!, Our Land!, Our Home! Racist Whites Keep Out!” Other signs showed North America with the U.S. crossed out. There were flag burnings of Old Glory. One expects to see that in some countries abroad, but not in the streets of Los Angeles.
The march got rave reviews from Ernesto Cienfuegos, of La Voz de Aztlan:
…..”What does the immense success of ‘La Gran Marcha’ mean to Mexicanos and other Latinos? It simply means that we now have the numbers, the political will and the organizational skills to direct our own destinies and not be subservient to the White and Jewish power structures. It means that we can now undertake bigger and more significant mass actions to achieve total political and economic liberation like that being proposed by Juan Jose Gutierrez, President of Moviemento Latino USA. Juan Jose Gutierrez is proposing that the coalition that organized ‘La Gran Marcha’ meet in Arizona or Texas on April 8 to ‘organize a mass boycott (huelga) against the economy of the USA’ to take place on May 5 or 19”.
Is this Gutierrez, founder of the La Raza Unida political party, the same who declared: “We have an aging white America…They are dying…We have got to eliminate the gringo, and what I mean by that is if the worst comes to the worst, we have got to kill him”. Is it now when the “worst” is coming to the “worst”, or sometime later?
So far these groups have been working through commonly used methods to get power. However, there is reason to believe that they, as with other disenchanted groups, will resort to more violent means.
The question is: where will be the tipping point at which we will not be able to remedy this situation? If enough of a certain bloc gains strength, others will lose strength. With the voting situation in flux, what will be the election that sees this voting bloc come into its own and tip the balance of power its way, legally or illegally?
This article first appeared December 5, 2006. It has been updated June 3, 2007.
Barbara regularly writes for CapitolHillCoffeeHouse. She also appears in California Chronicle, Border Patrol, and Citizens Caucus. Her primary interest is illegal immigration, but she writes about other subjects as well.
Barbara lives in a large city on the West Coast. Her loyalties are with God, family, country, heritage and borders.
She enjoys music, painting, poetry and song writing.
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