THE ILLEGAL ALIEN PROBLEM IN THE ROMAN EMPIRE
Visigoths Enter Rome
Comparing the destinies – the rise, the stumbles, and falls – of the United States and ancient Rome, has been done many times in many contexts. Rome fell; so can we, is often the message. Rome had an immigrant problem. So do we.
From 507 BCE to 49AD, when Julius Caesar crossed the Rubicon, ancient Rome was pagan, republican and Latin. By the time of the official fall in 476 AD, Rome was Christian, monarchical, and German.
Two different countries.
Events move faster today. The United States transformed from a socially stable, economic, cultural and military superpower, flush with optimism, spunk, and unlimited horizons, to a bitterly divided nation, where 43% – 50% believe civil war is possible.
Two Different countries
Rome’s transformation took centuries; the American transformation took seventy-five years: 1949 to 2024. (Why 1949? More on that next week).
Starting around the time of Jesus, three unstoppable forces were changing the character and power of Rome: the shift from freedom to dictatorship, the influx of Germans and the spread of Christianity. Yes, there were many other factors, and yes, historians will continue to disagree. But at the very least, these three forces were responsible for transforming the government, style, values, spirituality, attitudes, culture and the underlying assumptions about life and eternity.
Two of these forces crossed civilizational paths in the year 380, when Christianity had not only triumphed, but was recognized as the official religion of the empire. In 378, at the battle of Adrianople, a huge Roman army attempting to stem the influx of the Visigoths, was decimated and the emperor killed. The German tribes that had been hacking away at Rome for centuries, recognizing an opportunity, folded their tents, sharpened their weapons and headed for the Roman border.
For most of its history, Rome relied on the Rhine and Danube rivers as natural borders and barriers, something like America’s Rio Grande. The U.S. was also blessed with two vast oceans, providing a buffer of thousands of miles on each side. Because of the oceans, the U.S. believed it could remain neutral and isolated from the rest of the world’s conflicts. Similarly, the Romans did not see the need for building walls; the rivers sufficed.
Meanwhile, the Visigoths had a lot to worry about. The savage Huns, coming out of Asia and led by Attila, the “scourge of God,” were breathing down their necks. Fearful for their very existence, the Visigoths implored Roman authorities for sanctuary in the empire. Eventually, Rome agreed, allowing – even welcoming - 80,000 Visigoths as Foederati (allies) to farm and join the Roman army.
I guess we could say the Germans were invited in to do the jobs Romans didn’t want to do: farm and fight.
The power and influence of the Roman Empire, long in decline, was now eclipsed by the power and influence of Christianity, on the one hand, and the Germification of the Roman culture on the other. The Visigoths eventually converted to Christianity, blending these two forces together. But Christian / German Rome was not the same as pagan/Latin Rome; the fire in the belly was gone. Optimism was gone. Love of country was gone. Republicanism was a distant memory.
Germans never really integrated into Roman society. Many were mercenaries, hired soldiers who felt no loyalty to the Roman army, Roman people, Roman government.
Today, illegals flee to sanctuary cities, knowing that urban centers like New York City, Chicago, San Francisco, Washington, D.C., Alexandria, Memphis,San Jose, Pittsburgh, and Raleigh will not cooperate with federal immigration officials. Amazingly, more than 560 cities, counties and states, currently shelter illegals.
On January 27th, in New York City, seven illegals from Venezuela, viciously attacked two police officers in Times Square. Two are alleged members of the notorious Venezuelan street gang Tren de Aragu. They were detained and released. As they walked away, one gave two middle fingers to reporters.
Blank you, America.
In February, “an activist Brooklyn priest,” posted $15,000 cash bail for one of the Venezuelans who was arrested just last week for petit larceny. A Manhattan judge (competing with the “activist priest” for the most willfully blind), set him free at his May arraignment — despite the DA’s office requesting $10,000 cash bail.
The Romans were careless about their borders; the United States is more than careless; it is self-destructive. Our current policy is to have no policy; just come on in. The numbers are staggering. Over the last three years, the United States has allowed in – not 80,000 German barbarians - but over seven million, mostly unvetted (and unvaccinated) foreigners. The number taken into custody by the border patrol, reached the highest level in the agency’s 100-year history.
Today’s illegals, smuggle drugs, killing over 100,000 Americans annually, engage in sex trafficking, falsely claim asylum, and disappear forever into the vastness of America’s 330,000,000 people. Many, of course cross the border to pursue a better life, but many do not. In fiscal 2023, seven-hundred and thirty-six known or suspected terrorists were stopped at the borders. During the Biden Administration, getaways at the border increased by 2,521 percent. (As I’m writing this on May 23rd, a Mexican citizen, ran from the border patrol in Texas and jumped a fence at Laughlin Air Force Base.)
In fiscal year, 2023, 24,314 Chinese citizens crossed the border. So far in fiscal year 2024, 24,376 Chinese nationals have been apprehended illegally crossing the border.
Forty-eight thousand Chinese? Please explain why forty-eight thousand Chinese crossed our border from Mexico. Were they finishing up an all-inclusive vacation in Cancun? Snorkeling in Belize? Fishing in Costa Rica? It’s a long, long way from Beijing to Mexico. China is an adversary. Could they be up to no good?
Historian/philosopher, Will Durant, wrote, “Rome was conquered not by barbarian invasion from without, but by barbarian multiplication from within.“
