By David Truong | Featured Article on the Inaugural Issue of the Tea Party Review

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If someone illegally breaks into your house, should they be entitled to the comforts and privileges inside?  Should they also have the right to stay permanently in your home as a reward for breaking in?  For any reasonable person, the answer to both questions is a resounding “no.”

So why should our answer be any different when it applies to our nation’s borders?  Yet, liberals (Democrats) believe that individuals who enter into the U.S. illegally should have the same benefits (e.g., financial aid, welfare, social security, healthcare, and Medicaid) as U.S. citizens.  Moreover, liberals wants to reward illegal entry by providing blanket amnesty to illegal immigrants (i.e., confer legal status/citizenship to individuals who entered the United States illegally).  This is not sound policy.

Let’s consider another scenario.  Suppose your neighbor lives in a home under constant threat of physical harm, even unto death.  To ensure his safety and that of his family, he has no choice but to flee his home for refuge elsewhere.  Should you open your door and take your neighbor in?  For all Americans who came to America to avoid political and religious persecution, the answer is a resounding “yes.”

Conservatives (Republicans) believe that our nation should continue to open our doors to individuals who are suffering from political and religious persecution in their homeland.  This is the current policy under immigration law and should continue to be enforced.    Conservatives do not support changing immigration law to allow those who break the law by entering into the U.S. for economic reasons to have the same rights as those who obey the law and enter legally.

The Vietnamese-American community came to this country because we no longer had a safe and stable home after the Vietnam War.  When the communist took over, South Vietnamese citizens faced political and religious persecution.  Communism trampled our basic individual rights and liberties.  While we saw the economic riches of America, we would not have left our beloved homeland, our traditions, and for some, our families, if we had a choice.  But we didn’t, and America saw our plight.  She recognized our persecution and opened her doors.  We came to the United States, legally, and with the full intentions of making America our new home.

A recent study of immigrant groups conducted by the Manhattan Institute revealed that among ethnic groups who recently entered the U.S., Vietnamese-Americans are the most assimilated in America in terms of economic progress, cultural integration, and civic mindedness (i.e., wanting to become U.S. citizens).  In other words, we came here legally, wanting to be part of this country without the intent (or possibility) of going back home, and therefore, have adapted and contributed to our new homeland.

In contrast, recent groups who entered the U.S. illegally, not for political or religious persecution but economic reasons, ranked the lowest in assimilation.  Most in this group have intentions of going back to their homeland.  To support the Democratic party’s approach to immigration, where individuals who enter the U.S. illegally and are conferred the same rights and privileges as citizens and rewarded with amnesty or such illegal behavior, does not further our nation’s rich history of legal immigration.

The Vietnamese-American community is proof that the Conservative/Republican approach to legal immigration works.  As a community, we need to support the Republican party’s position on immigration.