My rants take time and energy to craft.  I so wanted to present this to the council Tuesday night.  I was cut off two minutes in to a three-minute presentation.and almost got in a tussle as I was more or less jeered out of the room.  That's no way to run a railroad! (see my other post!)  Here is my message to the council about not making Yakima a sanctuary city.

The famous community organizer Saul Olinsky said in his infamous handbook Rules for Radicals “if you control the language, you control the masses.  That’s how the Justice Department turns convicted criminals into “justice involved individuals.” It doesn’t change the reality, but it sure sounds so much nicer.  Author and futurist George Orwell is credited with saying  “language makes humans easy to control—control their language and you control the people.” So words matter…

By any name, sanctuary, refugee, inviting or welcoming city, it’s wrong for city policy to make special exceptions for people “regardless of immigration status”.  It doesn’t make you a racist or a bad person to demand the rule of law be respected and enforced.  In fact, It’s essential to a fair and free society.

In the words of former Supreme Court Justice Felix Frankfurter .   “There can be no free society without law, administered through an independent judiciary. If one man can be allowed to determine for himself  what is law, every man can. That means first chaos, then tyranny.

We are a nation of laws, not opinions, not feelings, not desires…but laws.

In fact, directing staff to turn a blind eye to what is a federal crime is wrong and quite possibly illegal itself.

RCW 42.20.100 Failure of duty by a public officer …which you all are-- paraphrased  “ if a public servant, knowingly violates or ignores standing law, and operates above the law by intentionally relegating the law void in terms of operation it’s a misdemeanor

So what law?  The one you suggest officially turning a blind eye to…easily found online at the U.S. Department of Justice website. Some of you disregarded it a week ago  U.S. CodeTitle 8Chapter 12 ›  Section 13-25  improper entry into the United States ..is a federal criminal misdemeanor

Immigration laws are on the books for a purpose.  A sovereign nation has the right and the responsibility to control the flow of immigrants into the country in such a way that they are a boon and benefit to the nation.  A country has the right to think of its citizens first in employment, health care, education and opportunity.  Americans should not be expected to subsidize immigrants at tax payer expense.

What kind of expense?  The Heritage Foundation says a recent report by The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, a privately run think-tank shows a 75-year fiscal projections for new immigrants and their descendants.

On average, a young adult immigrant without a high school diploma entering the U.S. will create a net fiscal cost (benefits received minus taxes paid) in both the current generation and second generation. The average net present value of the fiscal cost is estimated at $231,000, per individual, that’s a cost that must be paid by U.S. taxpayers. “  That’s a cost to state and local taxpayer of at least $57 billion, over the next 75 years.

Our nation’s immigration laws need desperately need review and change. It is a federal responsibility and we should support it.  In the meantime, the city council must not change the face of legal function and philosophy of our city to the rest of the world.  Especially in light of tough talk on immigration  coming out of Washington, D.C.

The public isn’t here to bully you , we’re here to remind you that you work for us. Hear the voice of your city and do what your oath of office calls upon you to do, to uphold the Constitutions of Washington and America…do that and all, not just a handful, will be well represented.

Yakima is a kind and most generous community with love for our fellow man and respect for the rule of law…the kindest and safest thing you can do for all, is to assure everyone that due process and the rule of law are cherished and in effect in the city of Yakima.

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