Naive Immigration Policy Is an Existential Ebola Threat

By Ken Blackwell, CP Op-Ed Contributor Friday, October 24, 2014

Ken Blackwell is the Senior Fellow for Family Empowerment at the Family Research Council, and the Ronald Reagan Distinguished Fellow for Public Policy at the Buckeye Institute in Columbus, Ohio

With planes being grounded in my home state of Ohio and hospital workers in Texas contracting Ebola, Americans now have stark examples of the danger of President Barack Obama's policies.

Obama has refused to impose a travel ban on flights from Ebola-stricken African countries for political reasons. He does not want to quarantine people who have been in those regions during the past month because it would hurt the already fledgling prospects of Democrats during this midterm election. Our Campaigner-in-Chief is now dangerously derelict in his official duties.

But this weakness on an Ebola travel ban is simply an extension of his larger, pro-amnesty, open border position. While promising voters in 2008 that he would secure the border, it is clear that not only is the border not a priority, but Obama is promising to use an executive order to grant amnesty to millions of illegal immigrants in this country. In addition, not only are deportations down 15 percent this calendar year, the Obama administration is already secretly preparing to print permits for approximately 11 million illegal immigrants.

The President is acutely aware that the more impoverished immigrants come to America, the more muscle Democrats have to expand social welfare programs and ensure electoral victories. But at what cost?

Local communities along the Southern border are especially hard by having to fund the types of law enforcement that the Federal government has failed to do. And states everywhere face the extraordinary burden of illegal immigrants, which are bussed around the country without warning. This puts an unbearable strain on public services, increases crime rates, and spreads dangerous communicable diseases such as scabies and chickenpox.

As illegal immigrant families -along with their children- are shoved into substandard housing facilities where bathrooms are not properly used, the chances for a widespread epidemic of deadly diseases among illegal immigrants is extraordinary. Anyone who thinks it's more humane to keep those illegals in such conditions than send them home are sorely mistaken.

Shamefully, it was recently announced that thousands of illegal immigrants with felony convictions are being released from detainment. The cost is so great to manage incarcerated illegal immigrants that local agencies are unwilling to hold them beyond their scheduled release date to start deportation proceedings. The Obama administration is bending over backward to ensure these violent criminals are released into American cities.

In addition, the border security crisis is keeping our nation vulnerable to threats from terrorists, including the Islamic State (ISIS). While details are cloudy for national security reasons, Rep. Duncan Hunter (R-CA) believes 10 ISIS terrorists have already been picked up at the border.

Also it now appears ISIS may have had their first successful attack in North America, when a radical Muslim drove his car into two Canadian soldiers in a Quebec parking lot. One of the soldiers was killed.

With the threat of a growing welfare state, deadly diseases, Islamic radicals, Obama's pro-amnesty agenda is reshaping America while putting us all at risk. The border must be secured now, before it is too late. And, our immigration policy must be reworked!

Americans need to send a message to Mr. Obama on November 4: Stop the Madness!

Ken Blackwell is the Senior Fellow for Family Empowerment at the Family Research Council. He serves on the board of directors of the Club for Growth and the National Taxpayers Union. He is also a member of the public affairs committee of the NRA. Mr. Blackwell is also the former Mayor of Cincinnati and a former Ambassador to the United Nations Human Rights Commission.