Yes, they [illegal aliens] broke the law, but it’s not a felony; it’s an act of love. It’s a commitment to your family. I honestly think that this is a different kind of crime. – Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush Fox News 4/7/14
Fact Check: Is illegal immigration always a selfless act by jobless people for the benefit of their families? Not really. Quite often it’s an act of greed and selfishness. Mexico, the source of most of our illegal aliens, is a relatively prosperous country by world standards. Ninety-three percent of Mexican illegal aliens had jobs before they came here. The attraction was that they could make a lot more money in the U.S. doing their work.
Chasing the allure of big money in America, they leave their families behind, which often weakens their family life and ties. Their families may benefit monetarily, but placing ambition and money first is not exactly love, nor an example of good family values. Another strike against their character is the dishonesty and deceit they employ to break our laws.
Bush claims that illegal immigration is not a felony. In a limited technical sense, this is correct, but citing this technicality gives a substantially false impression of the legal realities of illegal immigration. Crossing the border as a first offense is not deemed a felony, but our law still recognizes it as a significant transgression, punishable by a fine and/or six months imprisonment.
Subsequent violations, which many illegal aliens commit, do rise to the status of felony. Furthermore, the fraudulent use of documents that most illegal aliens engage in to live and work in the U.S is quite often a felony level crime. And illegal immigration, no matter how we class it as crime, is by no means a victimless crime.
Illegal aliens commonly take jobs and benefits needed and properly belong to American citizens. Often these are citizens at the lower end of our economic spectrum. They commonly have families to support. Unfortunately, Jeb and his elitist ilk seem to have little empathy for their family values, as they struggle to compete against illegal aliens.
Contrary to the propaganda in the media, illegal aliens aren’t just doing the low-paying farm jobs that “Americans refuse to do.” In fact less than five percent of them are in agriculture. Most of the rest are in occupations where the majority of workers are native- born Americans.
Enforcing our immigration laws is an act of love for our countrymen. It expresses high esteem for our national sovereignty and the worth of our citizenship. Those who excuse illegal immigration don’t love America.