I read Mario de Marco’s recent back-page article with frustration and disapproval. His position that no irregular immigrant should be turned away is prima-facie brimming with the milk of human kindness, but it is also incredibly selfish and short-sighted in ignoring the long-term effects of this unwanted phenomenon.

In effect, Dr de Marco is dishonouring democracy by qualifying it, praising it to the stars when it wins him a seat in Parliament, but ridiculing it when it conflicts with his entrenched and unrealistic views on irregular immigration.

Well-heeled people living in ivory towers can afford the extravagance of preaching absolute acceptance and Franciscan benevolence, but the people on the front lines, the ones having to endure score upon score of irregular immigrants transplanting themselves onto our shores, have no such luxury.

Dr de Marco is forcing a view upon an entire country which the majority of the population are in complete disagreement with.

A select few, who do not have the problem of coming face to face with these immigrants every day, are presuming to tell the vast majority, who do have this problem, what to do. Likewise NGOs in this country, to advance what they conceive to be humanitarian interests, are willing – like Samson – to bring the pillars of the temple crashing upon our very heads. Equalitarians of the sort have no compunction about using the instinct of pity in us to destroy us. It is a classic instance of virtue being kidnapped to serve vice.

Irregular immigrants’ capacity to contribute to our culture can only be judged by their performance on native land.