The issue of immigration has not been taken as seriously as it should have over the years. However, it has never been as important an issue as it is today. It has been an ongoing and growing issue because we have not upheld our own laws or kept them up to date. Typically, it would have been one of many smaller disputes in the ongoing tug of war between Republicans and Democrats. Now, it has surged to the forefront of U.S. politics, along with freedom of speech, at a crucial time for the nation. It has now become not just a leading issue but a linchpin tying a number of hotly disputed issues together into one decisive battle in a civil war that some people still do not realize we are fighting. As a result, it has become a much larger issue than it ever would have been on its own.
“A civil war that some people still do not realize we are fighting.”
Why has immigration risen to such a level of importance when issues such as taxation or healthcare would more likely have taken center stage? It is because of the shifting political ideologies and goals in the United States and around the world. Set aside the typical arguments about border security, cheap labor, racism, globalism, and civil war and consider some of the deeper issues at stake. Below these comparatively superficial, but by no means insignificant, issues, there are uniquely American issues being debated. Let us step back from the interminable political noise and focus on a few key issues such as citizenship, the U.S. Constitution, elections, and voting rights one by one, and how they tie in with each other, and with the overall immigration debate.
To begin with, why is citizenship so important? Does it really matter? Is it so unreasonable to include everyone who lives here, whether they are here legally or not? On the surface, it might sound unfair or even cruel to question the idea that we should open our borders and ignore citizenship, but if you think it through then you realize that citizenship is no small matter. It is a foundational feature in the existence of any nation because it means belonging and acceptance which is a basic human need. It is particularly critical to the existence of the U.S. due to the nature of the unique constitutional republic that it is and how it functions. In some nations, citizenship may not be as meaningful, but the U.S. could not exist without citizenship.
Before we tie citizenship in with the structure of the American system of government specifically let us contemplate citizenship in general. What is citizenship? Generally speaking, citizenship is a legally binding connection with a government, a nation, a place, a people, and a culture. With citizenship comes duties, rights, and privileges. Through citizenship, citizens and nations have duties to one another and an expectation of care and prioritization.
By accepting citizenship, a citizen assumes duties to its nation and fellow citizens and has the right to expect certain privileges and care in return. By accepting citizens, a nation takes on the responsibility for the care and protection of its citizens both within and outside of its borders. These are serious responsibilities.
It is a privilege to be a citizen of any number of nations, but it is a distinct privilege to be a citizen of the United States of America. We have the most valuable and extensive codified list of rights and freedoms of any nation in the entire world throughout all recorded human history. Did you know that we are the only nation today that has true freedom of speech? We think that every western nation, at the very least, has freedom of speech but they do not. They may have a lot of leeway to speak their minds, but it is not the indelible right that is in the U.S.
Beyond the more superficial, but by no means insignificant, benefits of U.S. citizenship, it is a requirement for our specific system of government to function. What is the foundation upon which every aspect of the U.S. operates from our values to the structure of our government? The U.S. Constitution is the foundation for everything that makes the U.S. what it is. It enshrines our ideology, individual rights and freedoms, outlines how our system of government will function, describes what authority we will allow it to have, specifies who will make up the government, and how they will be selected. While other nations have constitutions, the U.S. Constitution is unique and is the primary reason that the U.S. has been so successful.
Unlike other nations whose governments have written constitutions allowing their citizens to have certain limited rights and freedoms, the U.S. Constitution is the People themselves listing outright the unalienable rights and freedoms that each individual will have come what may, implying a number of others, establishing that they will govern themselves, and listing the limited authority that the government, made up of citizen representatives selected from among themselves, will be allowed to have. It is the opposite perspective of every other nation. Our People give limited power to our government and other Governments give limited power to their people.
The differences are even more significant than that. It is not merely a public document written by the government. The U.S. Constitution is an enormous private contract between and among all U.S. citizens. With citizenship, you enter into that contract with your fellow citizens both individually and as a group. By entering into that contract, you are agreeing to live your life according to the terms, conditions, and principles both expressly and implicitly codified in that contract. You do not force your way into a contract with other people. You must be invited into the contract and knowingly agree to abide by its terms. It must be an act of shared intent and responsibility.
“The U.S. Constitution is an enormous private contract between and among all U.S. citizens.”
A person who illegally enters or remains in the U.S. has not entered into the contract, that describes Americanism, with the rest of us. To be fair, I am sure many would like to, but they will remain in the shadows on the periphery of our society without citizenship. Their illegal presence and participation in our society incrementally erode our system of government, whether that is their intent or not because our society is not like others. Mere presence does not make someone an American. Because they have not gone through the process of obtaining citizenship we do not know if they share our values, particularly as they have already attempted to force their way into our contract showing that they do not understand or prize the value of that contract, just the safety and economic opportunities that our contract is responsible for ensuring in America.
Among the privileges of citizenship is the right to vote. Why does it matter if non-citizens vote in U.S. elections?
Citizenship is directly connected with the issue of voting, especially in U.S. elections. Because the U.S. is a specific form of constitutional republic, or representative government, where the People themselves hold all the sovereign authority of the nation, each citizen is essentially a percentage of a king, or one of many equally powerful kings, that rule the U.S. together. Non-citizen participation in U.S. elections is a direct violation of the sovereignty of each U.S. citizen individually and of the nation in its entirety. It is deliberate usurpation, however well meant, of the thrones, or collective throne, of the ruler(s) of the United States of America who hold a contractually agreed upon right to authority and self-governance.
“Non-citizen participation in U.S. elections is a usurpation of the sovereignty of each U.S. citizen”
With the adoption of self-governance through the establishment of the U.S. Constitution, we have transitioned away from the chaos and danger of violence previously used to determine political leadership. We have adopted a process of elections as a more civilized alternative. This means that each election is essentially a small revolution or war, hopefully without the bloodshed, where power changes hands peacefully at the end. The peaceful exchange of power from the current elected official to the newly elected official is critical for the stability of our nation and for a civilized society. Non-citizens voting in our elections it is like going to another nation, fighting in a war, and helping to prop up a new king to rule over them. It is basically participation in an attempt to take over another nation through warfare but in a more civilized way. It is still warfare and usurpation of U.S. citizens’ sovereign power no matter what the desire or intent may be.
Non-citizen participation in U.S. elections can have a massive impact on the value and distribution of political power. One city or state could dramatically increase its voting population which could change the outcome of an election, increases the number of elected representatives that city or state can have, as well as increasing the number of electoral college votes in presidential elections. It is like playing football and bringing in a bunch of ringers to win a game. If you do not have enough votes, then just import some more. Even if that is not the intent, and for some it is, it has the same impact. Is it fair to U.S. citizens to have their political power diluted without their consent? All of this is happening without the consent or best interests of the citizens themselves being taken into consideration. U.S. citizens have the right to expect their elected U.S. representatives to put their interests ahead of the interests of citizens of other nations. In the U.S. we do not elect representatives of the world. We elect representatives of Americans. The elected members of the U.S. government have the obligation to ensure that the needs of its citizens take precedence over the needs of the citizens of other nations.
“government have the obligation to ensure that the needs of its citizens take precedence over the needs of the citizens of other nations”
These are serious issues at the heart of the current immigration debate. Because immigration is now being used as a representation of a number of other political debates, these issues must be kept in mind as we look for ways to accommodate both the needs our nation and our desire to help the less fortunate.
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