Illegal immigrants do not pay taxes on their earnings, since they have no documents. Despite this, they do use government services, including our education system. Not only have they illegally entered our country, but they also steal our tax dollars in the form of government services. The lack of an equilibrium in our economic system can lead to tremendous trouble for the United States, especially if we do not solve this situation as soon as possible.

Another serious problem caused by out-of-control illegal immigration is the issue of security. By allowing millions of people to come into our country without any information on them, we can in no way claim to be a safe country. Since Sept. 11, 2001, we have taken monumental steps to help secure our country in order to assure that we do not have to experience another catastrophe.

However, by not acting to stop people from illegally entering our country, we are exposing ourselves to an unnecessary and undeniable risk. We need to know whether the people entering our country are simply looking for a better life or entering with the intent to inflict damage.

Aside from the threat of terrorists entering our country illegally, there is the fact that the illegal immigrants living in our country often commit violent crimes. According to Rep. Steve King, R-Iowa, 25 Americans are killed every day by illegal immigrants.

This statistic indicates that since my last column two weeks ago, 350 Americans have been needlessly murdered by people who are not supposed to be here. Still, it seems that people protest the war in Iraq more than the American citizens who are being needlessly slaughtered in their own hometowns every single day.

The other issue that illegal immigration poses to America is the threat to our culture. The illegal immigrants cross our borders and settle into our country, and of course bring their own cultures with them. With the inactivity of our government to control this problem, there has been no attempt to assimilate these immigrants into our culture. This is not to say that all those who come to this country should abandon their culture, but if you are going to come to this country, you should be required to assimilate. This entails learning our language and embracing the fundamental principles of our culture.

This would help bridge the gap that seems to have emerged in our society with the influx of immigrants. The fact that our government has not acted to deter illegal immigration shows the flaw in its policy. The failure to prevent this should not be allowed to continue.

The solution to this problem is extremely simple: prevent and penalize. Along with the current immigration laws, construction of a wall along the border should be given credence to allow us to stop illegal immigrants from continuing to enter our country.

For those illegal immigrants who are here, amnesty is not the answer; we must not reward those here for breaking our laws with citizenship. There are too many people trying to enter this country the right way to allow 10 million to cut in line.

We have to preserve our culture, economy and security, all of which are in danger if we allow illegal immigrants to continue to come into our country. We must hold our government accountable for not enforcing the laws that make us a sovereign nation.

Eric Thieleman is a State News columnist and a member of the MSU College Republicans and Young Americans for Freedom. Reach him at thielem4@msu.edu.