A Tale of Two Garcias: Obama & Our Lovely (Illegal) Immigration System
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- Created on Monday, 27 August 2012 17:45
- Written by Tom Garcia
(A 'Duh Progressive' True Op-Ed Submission)
by Tom Garcia,
Former Navy Fighter Pilot,
Talk Show Host of “The American Hour,”
This is the tale of one legal and illegal family of Hispanic heritage in the U.S., and how President Obama’s recent changes to deportation harm U.S. citizens.
When it comes to illegal immigration, we seem to have a president whose compassion extends first to citizens of other countries, and then those of his own. Obama has violated the Constitution, his oath of office, and federal law in furtherance of this stance; now we, the taxpayer must shoulder the burden of helping millions of adults from other countries gain employment and/or qualify for food stamps, unemployment, and full-fledged welfare. That’s right: I said adults. The only people who qualify under the president’s amnesty plan are adults. Yes, they were children once, but they are adults today.
The economic impact of Obama’s move is far reaching. It will cost jobs for legitimate U.S. citizens and massive increases in entitlement costs. But let’s focus on just one aspect: college tuition.
Compare the differences between two similar families struggling to afford college tuition. The first family comes from a long line of Garcias originating in Mexico City four generations ago. These Garcias moved into Texas before it was a U.S. territory and gained citizenship legally when it became a part of the United States. The father of the modern day family served in the U.S. Navy for 22 years and has a daughter who has just finished community college. In-state tuition costs are much higher than those for community college and will be difficult to afford without some form of tuition assistance. The competition for assistance and admission is compounded by the addition of the thousands of student children of foreigners illegally residing in the state.
The second family comes from a long line of Garcias originating in Mexico, but this generation is the first to live in the U.S. They are a hardworking family who came to Texas on a work visa that expired 10 years ago. The father works in the restaurant industry and has a daughter who has done well in high school and is applying to several universities in Texas. At the in-state tuition rate and with some tuition assistance via loans, she may just be able to afford one of the universities she has applied to. But at out-of-state tuition rates, she won’t. This is Governor Rick Perry’s argument for allowing her to pay the in-state tuition rate in Texas. But wait! —President Obama has just forced this controversial state decision upon every state in the nation. Unlike Texas, which made the decision on its own, the rest of the Union now has no choice.
Ironically, if this young woman from the second Garcia family were to return to Mexico with her U.S. high school diploma and good grades, she would be virtually assured of getting into one of the public universities, and at a tuition rate of $0.00 per semester. That’s right: free. But apparently there is no compassion in letting her return to her country of citizenship for a free education (and at a very highly respected university, no less).
For some reason, the President thinks it is the right thing for taxpayers to subsidize the education of a person who could return to her country of citizenship for a free education subsidized by her own countrymen. All the 
while, U.S. citizens compete against a growing population of non-citizens for admissions and assistance. And that’s what the President calls “doing the right thing.” The truth is, for the first Garcia family, it’s called “creating additional hardship.” For the second Garcia family, it’s called expensive but convenient.
So why does the second Garcia family not want to save all that money by sending their daughter back to Mexico to live with relatives or friends and get a free education? Because our way of life is so much better than those of virtually every other nation in the world. Our unique Constitution guarantees the kind of liberty and opportunity that the Garcias came searching for to begin with. Therefore, it is supremely important for the second Garcia family to get a legal toehold in the U.S., so they can begin the process of chain migration. But bringing parents to this country legally requires proving the ability to financially support them. So the second Garcia family needs a “legal” member in the U.S. with strong finances. And although a degree from the University of Mexico would secure that here, this graduate would have to apply for legal immigration to return –a risky prospect for a family here illegally.
Point: the second Garcia family gains the benefits of American citizenship without earning the citizenship itself. When something precious is not earned, but taken, it tends not to be so valued. We see the result of this in the Reagan amnesty in California; second-generation citizens of that amnesty program parading around with Mexican flags and demanding open borders, and U.S. citizens of Mexican decent acting ashamed to be Americans and 
more proud of their Mexican heritage. We’ll see more of this across the country if we keep catering to people poaching citizenship.
I have a serious question for those Americans of Hispanic heritage: are willing to put your personal bias ahead of the best interests of this nation? You are here most likely because you or a preceding relative left a socialistic quasi-dictatorship for a country that follows the rule of law? And is this a significant enough issue that it is worth allowing the President to violate the rule of law? Is this what you were searching for —another socialist quasi-dictatorship? You may find the next violation not so agreeable, but it will be too late, what with no more Constitution left to protect you.
So what’s the solution? First: give taxpayers, job-seekers, and college applicants a break by stop adding millions of new residents from other countries who are here “undocumented” (i.e. ILLEGALLY). This is a wealth transfer from middle-class taxpayers to the citizens of other nations amounting to tens of millions of dollars. Why should American citizen-students and young job-seekers be forced to compete with adults who shouldn’t be here to begin with and have a free education waiting for them in their home country?
Second: it would be helpful if President Obama were to tell us what additional types of compassion he is going to cost us if he is re-elected. And finally, it would be wonderful if he could stop violating the Constitution.
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Tom Garcia is a retired Navy fighter pilot and the host of The American Hour Radio Show. www.TomGarcia.com
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
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