5/15/2006

An Open Letter to America About Failed Leadership
on the Eve of Bad Immigration Policy

PHILADELPHIA, May 14 /Christian Newswire/ The following is an open letter from Steven T. Voigt, Foundations of Law PAC Executive Director:

An Open Letter to America about Failed Leadership, on the Eve of Bad Immigration Policy

Dear Fellow Americans,

On the eve of the President’s speech on illegal immigration and facing the imminent reincarnation of the Senate’s three-tiered amnesty proposal, I write to you again on this important issue. Illegal immigration is indeed the topic of the day, but illegal immigration is but a symptom of the greater issue we face – a crisis of failed leadership on both sides of the aisle in the Senate.

We are a good-hearted and trusting people. Only a few short years ago, as the seat of power of Congress and the White House changed hands, we looked to the future as one of promise. We lifted our heads to the horizon with optimism.

We believed that – at long last – America was on the right path, and we trusted in our elected leaders to take us down the road with humble confidence. Our leaders would surely stand tall for our nation. They would protect the Constitution. They would fight for traditional family values. They would lessen government bureaucracy and allow capitalism to shine. They would curtail the overreaching judiciary and take legislative decisions out of the courtroom and return them to our communities. They would uphold the rule of law, and they would protect our sovereignty. They would rally the international community behind our leadership. The future was indeed bright.

Today, through nothing we have done except to trust in the ballot box, we find ourselves betrayed – and mired in much the same spot as we stood several years ago, with dark clouds shrouding the horizon that we once gazed on with such promise. Our optimism of years past is muted, and we are left with frustration and disappointment in our leaders.

Friends, mediocrity may be fine in some parts of the world – but not here in America. Not in business. Not in schools. Not in science. Not in technology. Not in our values. And mediocrity shouldn’t be tolerated in government, either. We are America. We expect better. We deserve the best.

I write today to tell you that the bright horizon does remain; it is merely veiled behind a few dark clouds. But you have done nothing to dim this nation’s future. Your good hearts still fuel the fires of this nation’s hope, and they will forevermore. The dreams remain, but every leader on both sides of the aisle in the Senate must share the blame for failing to lead us on the bright path to the horizon. They have failed and abused our trust.

With the illegal alien crisis, the Senate continues to defy the will of the American people. Simply put, our Senators lack the guts to secure the border, to punish businesses that employ foreigners illegally, to uphold and enforce the rule of law and immigration procedures, and to reject outright any reward of amnesty for those who choose to evade legal processes. Instead, they seem only capable of self- aggrandizing speeches and pandering slogans that feed their egos.

Sadly, our President also seems to be on the wrong side of this issue, and no amount of feel-good phraseology in his Monday night speech will lessen this betrayal of the American mandate. Apparently, the only leaders who stand opposed to bad policy on illegal aliens are many members of the House of Representatives, who understand – rightly – that border security must be a priority.

Nevertheless, while the Senate’s failure on illegal immigration is inexcusable and apparent, it is really a failure on a much larger scale – a failure to fight for and achieve progress regarding just about every issue that put these individuals in office.

This past Friday as I walked to work in Center City Philadelphia and passed two construction sites, I considered how the ineptitude of our leaders with the illegal alien crisis will impact America. As I approached my office building, to my left, workers in harnesses bolted steel beams together on the city’s next skyscraper. After I turned to the right and walked one block, I passed bulldozers and a second hard hat crew laying new asphalt on a road in William Penn’s grid. These men and women would be a little embarrassed to hear it, and they would never agree with their humble natures, but they are in truth all heroes. Nobles all, these individuals, along with most of us, clock in every day of every week to put bread on the table for their families, and in so doing, represent what is best in America.

In recent weeks, as the illegal alien crisis has come to the fore, time and again, I listened to wealthy, elite, out-of-touch Capitol Hill politicians pay lip service to these construction workers and others in the middle class, and then in the next breath, cater to the illegal aliens who have subverted our immigration laws.

Believe me when I tell you, if the politicians on Capitol Hill award amnesty to the millions of illegal aliens who have flouted our laws, in only a few short years those construction workers that I passed on my way to my office – individuals who are raising families with solid wage jobs – will be replaced by cheap, exploitable labor from a bloated labor pool, with all of the added profit going into the pockets of only a handful of corporate fat cats. Experts and commentators have documented repeated instances of such displacement and depressed wages in regions where illegal immigration is particularly excessive, and this will be the entirety of America if the Senate has its way.

Just once, I want to see America’s supposed advocates talk about and consider these Philadelphia construction workers, instead of pandering to the foreign illegals who are poised to take their jobs and depress wages across the labor spectrum.

However, I am not holding my breath.

As retired Colonel Al Rodriguez recently stated, “when it comes to immigration policy, the United States Senate apparently doesn't speak for anyone, except the people who have broken our laws and cheap labor business interests.”1

Likewise, Ron Maxwell, the writer and director of “Gettysburg” and “Gods and Generals,” recently wrote, “It seems the overriding concern of most senators of both parties is for the illegal-immigrant population. Perhaps these senators should be reminded they are supposed to represent and defend American citizens, not foreign nationals, illegal aliens or indeed anyone else. Listening to the self-serving and pandering speeches, you'd think the senators were elected in Mexico or any other country on the globe except America.”2

While I pray for our leaders to turn their gaze back to the American people, the longer we tarry on this wayward path with failed leadership, the more I am beginning to believe that it is we who must turn our gaze from them.

I implore you, however, to never give up on our efforts. Since our leaders are failing us, we must redouble our efforts to make them listen. Please continue to call and email your Senators and Representatives and tell them that amnesty is wrong and border security must be a priority.

May God bless all of you and may God bless America.

Steven T. Voigt Executive Director Foundations of Law PAC

Notes:

1. Retired Colonel Al Rodriguez, Hispanic American Coalition Tells Frist No to Amnesty, CNSNews.com  (May 12, 2006). 2. Ron Maxwell, An open letter to President George Bush, WorldNetDaily.com  (May 10, 2006).

* For more information about the illegal alien crisis, please also read:

Steven T. Voigt, Wax and wane -- the "three tiers" illegal alien amnesty plan emerges again, RenewAmerica.us  (April 30, 2006), http://renewamerica.us/columns/voigt/060430 

Steven T. Voigt, Three tiers and America is out of luck -- the Senate compromise on illegal immigration and a crisis of failed leadership, RenewAmerica.us (April 7, 2006), http://renewamerica.us/columns/voigt/060406  

Steven T. Voigt, The many consequences of mass immigration (including Republican no-shows and the Hillary factor, RenewAmerica.us (April 4, 2006), http://renewamerica.us/columns/voigt/060404 

Steven T. Voigt, The time for debating amnesty is over -- Congress must stand tall for America, RenewAmerica.us (April 2, 2006), http://renewamerica.us/columns/voigt/060402 

Steven T. Voigt, From the mail bag -- responding to reader feedback about the "unwanted jobs," RenewAmerica.us  (March 29, 2006), http://renewamerica.us/columns/voigt/060329 

Steven T. Voigt, When it comes to illegal immigration, Capitol Hill is not on the same page as the rest of America, RenewAmerica.us (March 26, 2006), http://renewamerica.us/columns/voigt/060326 

About Steven T. Voigt: To read more of Steven's works, please also visit www.VoigtonAmerica.us . To receive Steven's free monthly e-commentary related to policy and law, send your name and e-mail address to info@voigtonamerica.us  with "subscribe" in the subject line.

The views expressed in this article belong to Steven T. Voigt personally and do not necessarily reflect the views of his employer, any entity he is associated with, or any forum where this is published.

Copyright © 2006 Steven T. Voigt, All Rights Reserved