Tones of Home

Imagine for a moment if each year hundreds of thousands of our poorest, least educated citizens illegally crossed the border into Canada in search of economic opportunity without ever having the intention of learning French, the lyrics to "Oh Canada", or how to make a killer poutine. How relieved would our government be that they were no longer obligated to try to provide basic services and welfare programs to many of our lower class citizens? How would Canada react to the increasing strain on their civic infrastructure and their humanitarian obligation to care of the new arrivals from south of the border?
Earlier this week protests were scheduled around the nation to coincide with the debate in congress over what to do about illegal immigration. Historical-revisionists such as MEChA and Aztlan, which are Latino organizations that promote anti-Americanism and civil disobedience with the dream of reconquering all of the lands "stolen" during the Mexican-American War, took the opportunity to rally the ignorant around their cause. If they would take the time to learn history as fact rather than history as relative to one's interpretation, they would realize that:
a) the U.S Government paid Mexico ~$630,000,000 (today's dollars) for the land gained in the war
b) there were only approximately 10,000 to 15,000 Mexicans living in "Aztlan" at the end of the war--hardly what one could call "critical mass"
c) Under the terms of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, those Mexicans living in the new U.S. territory were granted full U.S. citizenship while retaining rights to all of their land. If they wished to return to Mexico, the U.S. government purchased their land from them.

Where does it end? Should MEChA and Aztlan then return all of Mexico to the Aztecs and the other indigenous tribes of history? Surely that is not their motive. My Huguenot ancestors were driven from France over 400 years ago by the Catholic church. Should I start a movement to reclaim our lost land?
I am not sure what those individuals who have legitimate concerns about our immigration policies think they have to gain by belligerently displaying the Mexican flag and shouting anti-American slogans, but they are not convincing me they want to become law-abiding citizens of the USA. I realize many of these agitators are misguided students, but they've appropriated a serious cause and claim to speak for those that have no voice. It seems to me that they should have taken the opportunity to express their solidarity with the country they chose to enter (legally or illegally) rather than participate as street theater puppet-pawns. It appears to me they yearn for the "good old days" that never existed in a land they left for a reason it seems they've forgotten.
Everybody on both sides of the aisle in Congress agree that we have an illegal immigration problem. However, the solution remains elusive. One thing is certain though; until Mexico--and Latin America in general--addresses the fundamental structural problems of a ruling elite, the arbitrary enforcement of the rule of law, and the extensive corruption that exists at all levels of government, neither 200,000 troops on the border, or a wall 3,000 miles long and 50 ft high is going to stem the flow of people simply trying to make a better life for themselves.

Those that do make it here should pay attention to the company they keep.