American Legion continues to drag its feet on illegal immigration

The American Legion, the nation's largest veterans organization,  published in May 2007 its 35-page "Policy on Illegal Immigration, A Strategy to address Illegal Immigration in the United States."

Since then, I haven't seen any public statements from the Legion asking why our inept federal government has not come to grips with a reckless and irresponsible public policy that affects all of us on a daily basis.

Some years ago, I was told by a Legion publicity spokesman that the organization does send alerts to its members regarding our federally-created immigration crisis, but I've not seen one during  my 13-year membership asking me to either support or oppose proposed immigration legislation.

Unless the Legion steps up on behalf of its own resolution calling for it to "seize every opportunity to request an accountability of our elected officials in implementing and enforcing federal and international laws and treaties to eliminate the large numbers of individuals . . .from entering the United States illegally . . ." then it seems to me that the Legion's motto "For God and Country" will become as meaningless as the oath of office taken by members of Congress.

The Legion needs to be reminded that its waffling on illegal immigration is not the way to honor the memory of the more than 1 million Americans have died defending this republic since its founding.

National Commander Brett P. Reistad will reportedly address the immigration issue in the January issue of the Legion Magazine.  Let's hope his column reflects the concerns of the organization's resolution.