Two Undocumented Aliens Appointed to City Commissions in California

You know how sometimes your FOX News-loving, 60-year-old aunt gets totally fooled by The Onion and posts fake news stories on her Facebook page? She thinks it's a real news story and she's never heard of The Onion, and you have to explain to her, "No, Aunt Gertrude, Obama's not really going to invade Florida."

When I first saw this story, that's the first thing I thought of -- this can't be real.

I was so suspicious that it was a satirical item I had to look it up for myself. Turns out, it Aunt Gertrude was right. This one's real.

Yep, two men were appointed to unpaid positions on city commissions despite that fact that their citizen status is "undocumented." By all accounts, the men are pillars of their community, and I find it admirable that they are interested in serving their city.

However...

...I still believe we shouldn't ignore our immigration laws as if they never existed. We are a nation of laws and, as such, we shouldn't reward lawbreakers -- even those who did it through no fault of their own (one of the men in the story was brought with his family when he was 13 years old). I think it's much better to change the law. Let's make it so people who are in this country illegally can go through a process to gain legal status with the long-term goal of citizenship, if that's what they desire.

The process should be simple enough that it doesn't cost thousands of dollars and take decades to go through. At the same time, it should be thorough enough that we're able to weed out criminals and other undesirables. I use the term "undesirables," aware that it's a loaded term but, come on, we all know that in any group of people there are going to be some we just don't want. I'm looking at you, Mexican dentists who go big game hunting in their spare time.

In my next blog, I will lay out my plan to bring back an institution that served this country well for hundreds of years: indentured servitude.