We’re living in an unprecedented time when it comes to citizenship and the rule of law. Protests, often violent, oppose the enforcement of America’s laws by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents. In at least one case, protesters fired shots at ICE agents. In many other cases, objec ts were thrown at agents and their vehicles. Frequently, protesters unlawfully try to obstruct the agents in the conduct of their duties. Here’s some of the type of rhetoric that has the protestors fired up. “All Americans, not only in the States most heavily affected but in every place in this country, are rightly disturbed by the large numbers of illegal aliens entering our country. The jobs they hold might otherwise be held by citizens or legal immigrants. The public service they use impose burdens on our taxpayers,” said one American politician, who then promised “to do more to speed the deportation of illegal aliens who are arrested for crimes (and) to better identify illegal aliens in the workplace.” “We are a nation of immigrants. But we are also a nation of laws,” he continued. “It is wrong and ultimately self-defeating for a nation of immigrants to permit the kind of abuse of our immigration laws we have seen in recent years, and we must do more to stop it.” That’s a very strong statement against illegal immigration. Another politician said: “We simply cannot allow people to pour into the United States undetected, undocumented, unchecked, and circumventing the line of people who are waiting patiently, diligently, and lawfully to become immigrants in this country.” The protesters would doubtless call these statements inflammatory, xenophobic and racist. But these things weren’t said by Donald Trump, whom the protestors regard as an arch-villain. The first quote was by Bill Clinton in his Jan. 25, 1995, State of the Union speech. Then-Vice President Joe Biden reacted with a standing ovation. The second quote was from a Dec. 15, 2005, news conference by Barack Obama. Many agreed with Clinton when he said what he said. Many more agreed with Obama when he said what he said. But now, if any agree with the current administration when it says the same things, they’re called a racist and a xenophobe. Why? It makes no sense. If your political position is simply to oppose everything the current administration does, you really have no political position. Opposition is not a position. Not unless you protested when Clinton or Obama said what they said. Not unless you called Clinton and Obama a racist and a xenophobe. I have a car. I also have a car payment. Should I decide to stop making payments, they’re going to take the car back. It doesn’t matter that I really like the car and I really want to keep the car and even my livelihood depends on keeping the car. If I breach the contract, they will take my car. A visa, whether it’s tourist, work or student, is a contact between the visa holder and the United States. When it expires, they must return to their home or get an extension. Failure to do so is a breach of contract. Period. A visa holder is not actually an immigrant since their status is temporary from the outset. And those who cross the border illegally, bypassing the established immigration procedures, are committing a criminal act the moment they set foot upon United States soil. They, also, are not truly immigrants. So we are protesting to provide immigration protections to people who are not actually immigrants? People who have violated our laws and continue to violate our laws? It’s unprecedented. And it’s an insult to those who came to the USA legally. Doug Fitzgerald ...read more read less