???????America is a nation of immigrants!???????

???????America is the melting pot of the world!???????

America is whatever we want it to be.

It is once in a blue moon that we discuss American politics here at Publius — the much looked-over world of frozen separatist conflicts, democratic movements, and Hugo Chavez keeps us pretty busy.

But today is a bit different. Today is May Day, and Mexican immigrants are out to demonstrate for the right to be just as American as anyone else. Today is different because America is facing a challenge to its democracy that it rarely encounters. There are nearly 12 million illegal immigrants in the country, the vast majority of them from Mexico. Many are relatively new to the country, while some have worked here for over a generation. Others are gang members. Whether you want them here or not, they????????re here.

There is a strong moral argument that while this country was founded by immigrants, it was also founded on the rule of law. That rule of law must be enforced, so granting rights to immigrants who are in this country illegally is wrong. They disrespected our laws to get here, why would they respect them now? Why reward criminality?

The fact is, you can????????t blame them for it. The only reason they were able to get into the United States in the first place is because the government didn????????t ???????? no, refused to ???????? do its job. Despite an increase from just over 4000 border patrolmen in 1992 to 11,380 patrolmen in 2004, the number of illegal immigrants has surged from some 3.9 million in 1992 to 11.1 million in 2004 due to lax measures on arrest and deportation. Even worse, the measure that the plurality of Americans (49%) think will work best, cracking down on businesses that hire illegals, dropped from nearly 1500 cases in 1992 to??????? three in 2004.

America, your government hasn????????t been doing its job, and that????????s why you????????re faced with this new kind of civil rights mass movement in the streets of the south-west today. But you cannot blame the failure of your own government on the millions of people who came across the southern borders because of it. You need to blame your government.

In the meantime, there????????s a big problem to fix that doesn????????t have anything to do with ideological or philosophical guidelines. There are nearly 12 million people who run the risk of marginalization in American society, creating the potential for a huge populist underclass that resents American society.

Much like the youth of France, who no longer identify with their families???????? traditional culture but are not accepted into the new one, and who do not have the opportunity for socio-economic mobility, the Mexican immigrant youth are increasingly looking to the drug and gang cultures of the big city. When you????????re stuck in poverty, and you know that no amount of hard work will afford you a better life due to your legality, you look for other avenues of economic progress and social acceptance. Suddenly your best buddies are guys who shoot people up on Friday and deal dope on Saturday. Or any day, for that matter. Suddenly, a decade down the road, you’re joining a new influx of ethno-nationalist terrorist groups.

This is what marginalization does when enforced against an entire population. Philosophical debates aren????????t going to wipe that problem away. These people don????????t care about philosophical debates ???????? they care about not being pushed to the fringe of existence. One-man-one-vote just won????????t cut it either. It didn????????t during the ???????60s either. America may not be known for legislating in the streets, but it has always done so at critical points in its history when majoritarian democracy couldn????????t rectify a situation. Now looks to be one of those times

Americans have to realize that, when speaking of the social effects of illegal immigration, it will take a generation at least before they become properly integrated. They must also realize that this wouldn????????t be a problem if their government had enforced the law in the first place. If there is anyone to blame, it????????s the government. But until that????????s fixed, if ever, allowing for the proper integration of Mexican immigrants, both legal and illegal, is the best thing that can be done. They aren????????t going anywhere, after all.