Jim Gilchrist – MMP Exclusive – The immigration reform tug-of-war will continue for at least another decade as both sides seek dominance of their solutions over the solutions of their opponents.
The United States is rapidly becoming a Latin American nation and that block of citizenry and non-citizenry alike are much more unified in the struggle to make US immigration law extinct.
Eventually, in my opinion, the Latino segment of our nation’s population will win the day insofar as collapsing the immigration laws of the USA and its stature as a “nation of laws.”
I still encourage our electorate to opt for the simple enforcement of US immigration laws. But, I have to admit that over the past seven years of my activism I have encountered more activists on my side of the debate who have ignorantly chosen to war among themselves and engage in inter-organizational bashing. So much for unifying to bring forth a commanding influence encouraging enforcement of current immigration laws, not reforming them into yet another quagmire of unenforced laws.
I remember the time, only a few years ago, when immigration law enforcement advocacy groups were a formidable influence to contend with in Washington. At the forefront, the Minuteman Project had brought unprecedented national awareness to the chaotic immigration issue and had appeared on over 4,000 radio, TV, and print media interviews.
Unfortunately, much of that mojo faded away as those same groups began to war against each other over such incredibly foolish things as egomania, greed, envy, and narcissism.
When I conceived the Minuteman Project back in 2004 I never dreamed that the immigration law enforcement movement would devolve into a circular firing squad where supposed allies surrounded, and opened fire on, any other group in their movement that appeared to be getting the most media coverage and having the most political influence.
With the exception of “dirty” journalist Frank Mickadeit of the Orange County (Ca.) Register newspaper (a regressive Democrat), all of the assaults against the Minuteman Project came from persons who claimed to be Republicans, who appeared to have infiltrated the movement for the purpose of exploiting its ability to generate a massive public donor base and an equally massive voting block.
To some of these meddling charlatans, it was never about the issue of illegal immigration at all. It was all about their delusional vision of being declared the “savior of America.” It was all about their misconception that they could somehow become rich and live opulent lifestyles by gaining access to a huge donor base that somehow would rain dollars from the Heavens… just for them. In the case of Frank Mickadeit, it was all about hatred toward those who did not goose-step to the personal and aberrant philosophy of a bigoted, second-rate newspaper journalist. It was all about the ugly things that political activism should not be about.
There are extremists from all walks of life. Hopefully, the tug-of-war for a respectable solution to the illegal alien invasion that plagues the USA will still be found by adherence to that sometimes illusory concept called the rule of law, a concept that has preserved our nation as a civilized society for over two centuries.
Jim Gilchrist is Founder and President, The Minuteman Project – a multiethnic immigration law enforcement advocacy group.
