'Mexico! Mexico!'

So let them go back to "Mexico! Mexico!"

It's not that I lack compassion for these poor people who flood across our border in search of a better life. But defying our laws to do so just isn't cool. Neither is it all that compatible with our national security.

It's perfectly true that we are a nation of immigrants. It's also true that these folks take jobs nobody else would want. But if they want to be a part of our society, they need to become a part of our society- and playing by the rules is a good start.

So is learning the language- not necessarily immediately, mind you. Adjusting to a new culture takes time, and plenty of immigrants in the past have had a generation go by before English became the language of the home- and were no less good Americans for all that.

But on the other hand, during my time in the Washington, D.C. area, I learned what it's like not to be able to go into a McDonald's in one's own country and order a carton of skim milk without talking to the manager so that she can translate. Basic job skills include an ability to communicate on a level sufficient to perform the duties of one's job- or to live as a member of a larger community with a common life.

And it involves sharing in that common life. That means replacing "Mexico! Mexico!" with "America! America!"

HT: Drudge