Sanctuary State

I spoke at the Board of Supervisors meeting on 5/8/18 and made the following statement:

"I am speaking here to urge a unanimous resolution against the sanctuary state. Without a border we are not a nation. There is no need to repeat the grim data on MS-13 and other illegal immigrant criminals, along with the personal tragedies endured by too many Americans.  This mayhem also costs us taxpayers considerable sums including a vastly increased burden on our social welfare system."

"Many illegals work in the underground economy. Walk the back alleys of Central Los Angeles and count how many sewing machines can be squeezed into a garage powered by a tangle of overhead extension cords originating from just one or two outlets.  I was once told that a certain Modesto area grape grower had his farm workers line up for their two week paychecks with immigration agents arriving shortly thereafter. The workers then ran away unpaid. No one should have to work under these circumstances.  Anyone who supports the sanctuary state supports gangster style employment.

This is not about opposition to immigration. Nationally we have, and have had since the early 1960’s, a very liberal immigration policy. If so desired we could legally, through Congress, vastly expand quotas for Mexicans, Hondurans or anyone else. And we can also have a secure border and keep the criminals out."

"Congress should make a compromise deal on the dreamers. Let’s get it done and move on. The mistakes that created that situation happened over 30 years ago and can’t be changed.  It is easy for a feeling person to be sympathetic to many of the dreamers as well as to the Hondurans fleeing a brutal dictatorship installed during Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s recent tenure."

"But approving sanctuary state means officially promoting lawlessness.  What have we become if we find solutions, instigated from the top down, outside the law and democratic process? The sanctuary state is not only wrong, but a chilling precedent. Please unanimously approve a resolution opposing sanctuary state.  Thank you."

Mark Bennett

Pine Grove