Sanctuary cities need to follow federal rules
I’m Just Saying by Austin Rhodes
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Bob and Beverly Rhodes were two of the best benevolent dictators the world has ever known.
Their castle on Oakdale Road was filled with love, education, nurturing, and common sense…but it was their castle to be sure and their rules to be certain.
As children, my brother and I, along with our collection of cats and dogs , initially obeyed the “castle rules” in the spirit of blind loyalty and familial love. Later, we also obeyed out of respect and fear.
My parents were generous with their affection and resources and the simple house rules we were asked to live under were reasonable and constructive. We were given a degree of personal autonomy and independence that was above average for our peer group. It worked out pretty well – for the most part.
As we grew into young adults, there were times when our choices did not abide the laws laid down at Castle Rhodes, and His and Her Majesty responded with clear and precise instruction:
“You live under our roof; you live under our rules. If you choose to reject that concept, you need to leave this house and begin your independent life. We love you, we hope to see and hear from you often, but if you reject our authority, then you forfeit our household and the comforts within.”
Both me and the kid brother struck out on our own with various levels of success and failure. We learned that living by your own rules also means you get your own utility bills and health insurance payments. They never seemed to concentrate on those details in the movies and TV shows that featured the “party side” of moving out. We learned those lessons pretty quickly and at times, painfully.
It kind of makes me wonder how any number of American cities (and even states) are going to react to discipline as they continue to reject the rule of federal law when it comes to illegal aliens as their governors and mayors defy the sovereign supremacy of the United States government in these matters.
For purposes of this analogy, the federal government represents Mom and Dad and their ultimate authority. The cities and states represent children who are supposed to live under the rule of law as established by our Constitution.
In all matters of immigration, state and city leaders are merely interested spectators, ineligible to set independent policy affecting the comings and goings of non-citizens, except where they have been granted permission by the federal government.
There have been many leaders who have stood proudly in defiance of federal authority in the past. You may know a few of them because their statues and names have recently been banished from polite company and public use. Those Confederate rebels fought their battles more than 150 years ago. You may have actually been alive when one of their modern progeny, George Wallace, proudly stood toe-to-toe against National Guardsmen while attempting to block school integration efforts in Alabama.
All those who chose to reject federal authority failed. The state and local leaders that are mustering today in an effort to stymie the enforcement of long-standing immigration law are setting themselves up for a similar flame out.
The outgoing president purposely exacerbated our illegal immigration problems from day one in office, and now the man he replaced will be returning to knock heads in an effort to restore respect for American law, and genuine fear of getting caught breaking it.
President-elect Trump needs to remind the political leaders of the self-proclaimed sanctuary cities and states that they are literally committing acts of rebellion by rejecting the mandates of federal authorities in matters concerning international borders and non-citizens. Their continued defiance of said authority puts them in danger of criminal prosecution.
You live in America; you obey American law and the Constitution to the letter. If you choose to reject that, let me kindly refer you to Bob and Beverly’s immensely wise consequences as testified to by all who once lived under their rule.
Get out.
Unlike President Lincoln, I don’t think Trump will call for civil war to stop any state that wants to withdraw from American Constitutional authority and the Union of States itself.
Of course, working to change/adjust existing immigration law is certainly a better option, and a goal which I for one embrace. But until that change comes, obey the law or pay the price.
It really is as simple as that.