Gran Issue Approaching

Leave it to the out of touch boneheads in Hollywood to exclude the best movie of the year, “Gran Torino” with Client Eastwood, from it best picture nominations. If you have not seen it yet, then you should before Sunday’s Academy Awards-if for nothing else, to see what Hollywood missed. While there is nothing overtly political about the movie, I am convinced there is something below the surface, something a little too Americana for the Academy’s liking. And while watching the movie, I could not help but feel reminded of the explosive immigration issue that will surface again soon.

To make that reminder more poignant, a recent U.S. Joint Forces Command report warns of a “rapid and sudden collapse” in Mexico because “the government, its politicians, police and judicial infrastructure are all under sustained assault…by criminal gangs and drug cartels.” In other words-to cut through the political correctness-America has a third world nation on its southern border that is compromised by corruption and violence and an implosion would likely cause teams of illegal immigrants streaming into southern U.S. states.

Officials estimate that there are approximately 12 million illegal immigrants already in the U.S. Although many immigrants add richness and diversity to our society-and provide economically valuable services-illegal immigration costs taxpayers billions of dollars annually for healthcare, education, criminal enforcement and incarceration. The Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR) approximated that the cost to California alone is $10.5 billion per year.

While the economics can be debated, perhaps far more disturbing about America’s immigration problem is the refusal of governments-federal and certain local-to protect Americans’ safety. The federal government under the Bush administration did not take border security particularly seriously, and although erection of a fence along the U.S.-Mexican border is in progress, the pace reveals little urgency. Amnesty advocates argue that the security fears are overblown, as there are no “known” terrorists who have entered the U.S. across the southern border.

Security goes far beyond terrorism, however, and the fear that certain illegal immigrant gangs have instilled in their communities and the reluctance of particular locales to cooperate with federal officials in reporting illegal immigrant criminals is inexcusable. In a 2004 article for the Manhattan Institute’s City Journal, Heather MacDonald reported that a staggering 95 percent of all outstanding homicide warrants in Los Angeles and two-thirds of fugitive felony warrants target illegal immigrants. The Justice Department’s National Gang Intelligence Center conducted a study that concludes gangs-which are mostly comprised of illegal immigrants-are responsible for up to 80 percent of crime in America.

There are horror stories like the one that prompted the proposed “Jamiel’s Law,” named after a 19 year old from Los Angeles who was murdered by an illegal immigrant gang member who had already served prison time for a handgun violation but was back on the streets rather than turned over to federal authorities and deported. The Los Angeles City Council refused even to debate “Jamiel’s Law,” which would have denied illegal immigrants amnesty and required enforcement of existing federal law. However, cities like Los Angeles, Houston, Washington D.C., and New York-often referred to as “sanctuary cities”-not only refuse to enforce federal law, they actively flaunt it, prohibiting city officials from cooperating with federal officials or revealing illegal immigrant status.

Amnesty advocates raise a host of red-herrings in arguing for why sanctuaries are necessary, such as encouraging cooperation by illegal immigrants with police. They argue that attempts to secure the borders, enforce the law, and crack down on illegal immigration are racist. While conservatives should not push for a massive federal round-up of millions of illegal immigrants, which would cost far too much money and entail too great an administrative burden, ensuring a secure border and instituting deportation proceedings for all illegal criminals should be conservative prerequisites for immigration reform, and voters are likely to agree.

A 2005 Zogby poll found that Democrats, blacks, women, and households with less than $75,000 in income are most opposed to illegal immigration. This is the kind of law and order policy, similar to the crackdown on crime in the 1980’s, that could enable conservatives to establish a pro-active social agenda in the new Democratic government and attract new voters to the conservative cause.

Politics aside, however, securing the border and enforcing the rule of law entails promoting one of the most important conservative principles of all: defending the American identity and all that it means. It is no surprise that Hollywood would devalue that message.