Here’s a simple question: If someone breaks the law by entering a country illegally and remains there without authorization for years, isn’t that exactly what every sovereign nation considers a violation of its laws?

No one should be mistreated, and everyone deserves to be treated with dignity. But enforcing immigration laws is not the same as criminalizing innocent behavior. The current administration made it abundantly clear during the campaign that it intended to crack down on illegal immigration. Voters knew that policy before Election Day, and the American people made their choice.

What strikes me as particularly ironic is an experience I had several years ago while traveling to Mexico on a business trip. Knowing kosher food would be difficult to find, I packed a couple of simple cream cheese and tuna sandwiches in my backpack. Upon arrival, I was surrounded by canine units, required to unpack my luggage, and had my sandwiches and other food items confiscated because they violated Mexico’s agricultural import regulations.

Think about that for a moment.

I was treated with intense scrutiny over a sandwich that posed no meaningful threat to Mexico. Yet we’re told that the United States should simply accept millions of people entering illegally, many without documentation or background checks, and anyone who objects is somehow in the wrong.

Every country has the right to protect its borders and enforce its laws. Mexico certainly does. So does Canada. So does Israel. In fact, nearly every nation in the world expects visitors to respect its immigration and customs laws. Try entering another country illegally or bringing in prohibited items and see how quickly you’ll discover that their laws are enforced.

Would Mexico tolerate millions of undocumented Americans crossing its border and remaining indefinitely? Would it ignore people bringing prohibited items or drugs into the country? Of course not. No nation would.

So why is the United States expected to operate by a different standard?

The debate over immigration should include compassion and humanity, but it should also include common sense and consistency. A nation without secure borders cannot effectively enforce its laws or determine who enters and remains in the country. Americans should not be made to feel guilty for expecting the same respect for our nation’s laws that every other country expects for its own.

If sandwiches was enough for Mexico to stop me, search my belongings, and enforce its rules, surely the United States has the right to enforce its own immigration laws.

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