Growing up as a young child and even into my late teenage years, my father made trips to Mexico taking the whole family. We would cross over the border driving our 1950 Brill bus. We needed no identification  or papers to travel between the two countries. It wasn’t until years later, after 911, and after the government and congress passed the Patriot act, that free travel between Mexico and Canada was restricted. With the Patriot act, I have witnessed the extreme police state that the founding fathers warned us about, where now free men must show papers to travel almost anywhere. During the Trump administration I applied to renew my passport. And I, an American citizen, who previously had held a passport, was denied without any remedy. To this day, I am unable to get my passport renewed without spending thousands of dollars for lawyers to bring this to court to challenge the federal government’s decision on denying my and my children’s right to travel. This dilemma that I am experiencing has also affected hundreds of thousands of other Americans in the Amish, Mennonite or Anabaptist faiths. 

The constitution was mute on this subject because the founding fathers clearly recognized immigration as a natural right. It was a given that this country was built on immigration.

“Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, the wretched refuse of your teeming shore.”  (From the Statute of Liberty)

I hear three issues coming from most people concerning immigration. Number one is the amount of financial aid many legal immigrants, in accordance with law, are qualified to apply for. Number two, is the fear of illegal drugs and human trafficking. Number three, is taking work away from Americans. 

Number one: I strongly oppose socialism through the form of government handouts. I believe this should be the duty of the private sector or churches to help the needy or immigrants. 

Number two: The war on drugs should not be and should never have been a government issue. The war on drugs has only fueled demand and increased prices. This should have been again for private sectors and churches to deal with, by education, and addressing addiction and mental health issues. 

Number three: This country was built on immigrants and the free market. Again government has no business regulating free trade. 

“And if a stranger sojourn with thee in your land, ye shall not vex him. But the stranger that dwelleth with you shall be unto you as one born among you, and thou shalt love him as thyself; for ye were strangers in the land of Egypt: I am the LORD your God.” Leviticus 19:33-34

I advocate for a total immigration reform. I would advocate for free travel between our bordering countries for the purpose of tourism, work, visiting family and opening up free trade between our neighbors. Immigration policies as they stand are discriminatory against the poor and underprivileged, again setting a class for only the rich. Just as gun laws do not keep guns out of a criminal’s hands, neither do immigration policies keep cartels or terrorists from entering this country, because they will never use the legal process. These laws only harm good people, and restrict our God-given right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. 

The only place for congress in this issue is in protecting our borders from foreign military invasion.