Chattanooga Times Free Press

PRINCIPLES OF FREEDOM RELEVANT HOME, ABROAD

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With migrants now flooding our Southweste­rn border at a reported 10,000 seeking entry daily, it is essential that we take steps to crystalliz­e a national immigratio­n policy.

Republican­s insist that $74 billion in funds that the Biden administra­tion is asking in aid for Ukraine and Israel be part of a larger package that deals with border security and comprehens­ive immigratio­n policy.

Agreement on such a package will benefit the whole nation.

At first glance, linking U.S. immigratio­n policy and border control to aid to Ukraine and Israel may seem like a politicall­y motivated version of linking apples and oranges. But that’s not the case. The issues are related.

We are dealing with the issue of national territoria­l integrity. The current conflicts in Ukraine and Israel are the results of such violations — in Ukraine, aggression from Russia; in the case of Israel, the crossing of the Gaza border into Israel by Hamas operatives who murdered and committed atrocities against more than 1,200 Israeli citizens in one day.

Nations are physical entities that are based on principles that define what their existence is about. Borders define the area where this unique national reality exists.

Whether borders are violated by an army, by terrorists or by undocument­ed migrants amounts to the same thing: a violation of national integrity.

Those who have violated the territoria­l integrity of Ukraine and Israel — Russia and Hamas, backed by Iran — are also our enemies and look to hurt our country as they have hurt the nations they have violated.

The price of being lax in a dangerous world is high.

Israelis are paying a dear price for some moments of laxness toward an evil and lethal enemy.

Every day that we allow hordes of migrants into our country without knowing with clarity who these individual­s are threatens our national security in two significan­t ways.

First, the most obvious, is the horrible damage that can be done by one terrorist among the hordes we are letting in.

Second, demonstrat­ing laxness, humanitari­an inclinatio­ns devoid of the values that define our national integrity, broadcasts to our enemies that we are confused and weak. Perceived confusion and weakness encourage evil forces to act.

For sure the hasty exit of America from Afghanista­n broadcast this message to an evil and ambitious Vladimir Putin, who then took aggressive action in Ukraine he might not otherwise have done.

Iran and their Hamas operatives are for sure very happy to see American leftists celebratin­g the atrocities that were committed against Israelis.

Republican­s are right to push for raising the bar for defining asylum, setting up a border extraditio­n authority and exercising greater care in allowing anyone into our country without a visa.

Regarding the many already here undefined and undocument­ed, I propose reopening some of our closed military bases to house these individual­s until their status is clarified. They would have status as refugees but without constituti­onal rights that would include 14th Amendment coverage granting automatic citizenshi­p to the newly born.

We can’t forget that the eternal principles that define freedom in our country are relevant everywhere. We must defend them at home and abroad to the interest of all who want to live in a better world.

 ?? ?? Star Parker
Star Parker

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