What's the Big Deal?

Sometimes we fail to get the point across about "The Rule of Law."  When we tell the amnesty crowd that illegal aliens distort the rule of law, they counter with a couple of arguments:
1) That the immigration system is hopelessly "broken" and that going around the law is the only option.
2) That immigration violations aren't serious, but rather like speeding (everyone does it) or parking in a red zone.  One poster on my local newspaper comment board named "Dan65" says it is like buying on the Internet and not declaring your sales tax obligation.  (It's an Illinois thing.)

Perhaps taking a slightly different approach is in order.  Rousseau's Social Contract argument suggests that we grant authority and surrender a portion of our liberty to our government.  We give them guns, badges, sirens and lights, and the power to throw us in jail.

In return, we expect them to enforce the law.  When those we have deputized step forward and become apologists for illegal aliens, that becomes intolerable.  Tell me you don't have the money or the manpower to get the job done...tell me there are just plain too many of them...but don't tell me that it's OK for them to break the law and remain here.

You, Mr. Politician and Mr. Sheriff have broken the social contract.

The most egregious example of the rift was when George W. Bush sent Michael Chertoff up to Capitol Hill to lobby for amnesty for illegal aliens.  Can you imagine it?  Here we have the one man in the nation charged with protecting our borders and our citizens telling our Congressmen that they should legalize 12 million people who are here illegally?

So, what do I do about it?  I'm a law-abiding citizen.  I pay my taxes.  You don't deliver.  So, what is my response?

The Hesburgh Commission on Immigration (1981) said this:
"The existence of a fugitive underground class is unhealthy for society as a whole and may contribute to ethnic tensions. In addition, widespread illegality erodes confidence in the law generally, and immigration law specifically, while being unfair to those who seek to immigrate legally."

We naturally begin to pick and choose the laws we will obey.  If the politicians find certain laws unpalatable, then why can't I?  If I don't agree with the laws on the books, I will simply ignore them.

I believe that is the path to anarchy.