How Many Criminals Does It Take

...to spur the government into actually enforcing our laws?


Apparently more than half a million, which is both the estimated number of people illegally crossing our borders every year, and is also the estimated number of (mostly illegal) immigrants and supporters who participated in protest rallies in Los Angeles over the weekend. (Click on the image above to see more photographs of the demonstration from the L.A. Times.)

A crowd estimated by police at more than 500,000 boisterously marched in Los Angeles on Saturday to protest federal legislation that would crack down on undocumented immigrants, penalize those who help them and build a security wall along the U.S.' southern border.

Imagine, penalizing those who knowingly help others break the law. Can you imagine the public outrage if that paragraph had been written about any other group of lawbreakers? Say bank robbers, drunk drivers, or child pornographers? "A crowd estimated by police at more than 500,000 boisterously marched in Houston last Saturday to protest federal legislation that would crack down on escaped convicts, penalize those who help them and build a security wall around all local and federal prisons." Preposterous! These are people who have already shown a willingness and determination to break our country's laws, and yet we seek to appease and pardon their actions with no repercussions at all.

At a time when Congress prepares to crack down further on illegal immigration and self-appointed militias patrol the U.S. border to stem the flow, Saturday's rally represented a massive response, part of what immigration advocates are calling an unprecedented effort to mobilize immigrants and their supporters nationwide.

A note to anyone who is confused on this issue: Do not believe the "anti-immigrants" spin the media continues to put on this. Proponents of the proposed immigration reform measures are not "anti-immigrants." We are simply against illegal immigration.

And a separate note to those members of Congress (especially so-called conservatives of the Grand Old Party) who are wavering on this issue: Most of the people involved in this protest are here illegally and cannot vote, no matter how much you work to appease them. And of the remainder of this group, the "supporters" of illegal immigration, few if any would vote for you even if you sided with them on this issue. Quit pandering to the left and do what is right for our country!

UPDATE: Michelle Malkin has more photos of the weekend's rallies, plus links to several other good posts on the subject.