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Thursday, September 17, 2015

DENNIS PATRICK: IMMIGRATION OR INVASION?

In late December 406 AD hundreds of thousands of starving men, women and children gathered on the east bank of the Rhine River in what is now Germany. This was the moment they had waited for. The Rhine had frozen solid providing a natural bridge into the Roman-held lands and the promise of food and a better life.

The Roman soldiers had no fear of the unkempt horde. The disciplined soldiers regarded the illiterate barbarian multitude on the east bank as a nuisance whose incursion they would deter from entering the empire.

Certainly the Roman soldiers were outnumbered by the Vandals in this instance, but this is nothing compared to centuries of resettlement by barbarians entering the empire through porous boarders. In the desperate attempt to cross the Rhine the Vandals are said to have lost over 20,000 men to say nothing of women and children! The barbarians were driven by desperation and wave after wave eventually overwhelmed the Roman soldiers.

The large scale invasion of the Vandals was exceptional. More often the barbarians came in trickles through the later centuries of the Roman Empire. Sometimes chieftains and their tribes arrived and bought the land on which they settled. Other Germanic tribesmen came to enlist as soldiers in the Roman legions. Some came as skilled workers seeking a better life. Inevitably there came criminals and marauders who arrived to pillage and burn.

Rome had its internal problems throughout the Empire with themes resembling our own contemporary situation. Eligible men avoided military service leaving the defense of the empire to a few Romans or mercenaries. Mere lip service was paid to traditional values. The charade was played out that Roman culture continued as it always had for centuries. A corrupt tax system accentuated a greater disparity between the rich and poor. Enlargement of the executive power over the legislative power became more pronounced. Much of that expansion occurred as the legislature abdicated its responsibilities.

In ways, migrant pressures from without and social and cultural problems from within make our own situation analogous to what Rome experienced. Rome could not stand against an invasion of barbarians. Struggling with her internal chaos made any coordinated Imperial effort to deal with the invasion nearly impossible.

What is the difference between immigration and invasion? For the United States, at least, the answer is simple. For over a century immigration was an orderly process established and enforced by laws. Immigrants waited in line for their turn to be processed. They completed the requisite documentation, medical checkups and checks for criminal activity. Immigrants were to abide by the law in the process of applying for citizenship in the United States. They accomplished everything the law required.

The influx of foreigners, especially at the US southern border resembles more of an invasion than an orderly process. From high up in the current administration the word has gone out to ignore immigration law. Immigration authorities are prohibited from doing their lawful jobs. This is what makes the flood of immigrants more of an invasion than a immigration process.

Once the illegal aliens arrive they are provided amnesty. They may or may not have any intension of assimilating. Far too many retain their own language and carry on as they did in their home country with the added benefit of US-provided social programs, medical care, food and education at no expense to the alien. Far too often their attitude of gratitude is a silent “screw you.” Disease and criminal elements from among the invaders cannot be thwarted.

For the United States, no immigration laws are being enforced. There is no protocol. Invaders flow into the United States through very porous borders. This is now our standing policy. The Obama Doctrine has been to suspend immigration law and enforcement of the immigration process. This is his legacy.

We do not face an immigration crisis. Like the old Roman Empire, we face an invasion.

 

Dennis M. Patrick can be contacted at P. O. Box 337, Stanley, ND 58784 or (JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).

 

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