Aggravated identity theft; Felon in possession of a firearm; Misuse of a Social Security account number; and Illegal reentry of an aggravated felon.

Wait….there’s more.

False claim of United States citizenship with intent to engage unlawfully in employment, Fraud and misuse of visas, permits, and other documents; and Passport fraud.

Since Jan. 1 of this year, my email has included press releases from Robert J. Higdon, Jr., United States Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina, in regards to criminal matters against those who enter and reside in our country illegally. A check of my email history revealed eight such press releases, dating Jan. 10 through April 13.

I know that illegal immigration is a hot topic in our nation. We, as Americans, are indeed a nation of immigrants, whose ancestors hailed from different parts of the world. However, the majority of our forefathers arrived here legally, went to work, paid taxes, and built this nation into what it is today.

Personally, I have compassion for those who now enter our borders legally….using work visas and the like until they clear all the hurdles that eventually lead to becoming a U.S. citizen. The system does work, if you follow it legally.

What I, and many others, have a problem with are those here in the states illegally…..robbing our citizens of jobs and, in many cases, receiving state and federal benefits that they have not worked legally to gain.

In the latest email from the office of Mr. Higdon on April 13, a federal grand jury in Raleigh indicted eight aliens on illegal reentry, passport fraud, and aggravated identity theft.

With the exception of one, they were from Mexico. All eight had been through deportation on previous occasions. As a matter of fact, they combined for 16 previous illegal entries. One of them had been caught here in the U.S. and deported five times.

I went back and noted in those eight press releases that of the 38 illegal aliens nabbed in North Carolina since Jan. 1, they have combined for 51 previous deportations.

And, folks, this information only pertains to North Carolina. I’m certain these same types of cases are on the books in other states.

These types of press releases solidly the need for tougher measures to monitor those who cross our borders. If that includes building a wall along our southern border, then so be it.

What really bothers me are the cases involving identity theft and misuse of Social Security numbers. What the press releases did not document was if the victims of those types of crimes were hard-working Americans.

And what boils my blood even more are the cries from the liberal left that we’re not doing enough to protect those who are living in the United States illegally. Some have mentioned that they need Social Security benefits and taxpayer-fueled freebies such as healthcare.

Okay, the healthcare thing I can live with; we need to take care of those who perhaps can’t afford it…..but Social Security benefits, really? I’ve paid into that system for all of my adult life (40-plus years) and would like for my benefits to be there, in full, when I retire in a few years. But if our government opts to use my money and hand it to someone who (1) is not a U.S. citizen, and (2) didn’t pay a single dime into Social Security, then all sense of fairness goes out the window.

Then, just the other night while watching the local TV news, there was a short piece about the Mayor of Chapel Hill – the bastion of liberalism – complaining that all these arrests of illegal aliens were “tearing families apart.”

To be fair to Mr. Mayor, the TV reporter didn’t specify which families were being torn apart, but I would assume he was addressing those of the illegal aliens.

What about the U.S. citizens whose lives are impacted when their identity is stolen? I failed to hear any hearts bleeding over that fact…..but, then again, something of that domestic nature doesn’t fit the agenda of the liberal left. I assume they are counting all these undocumented aliens as future Democratic voters.

Cal Bryant is the Editor of Roanoke-Chowan Publications. Contact him at cal.bryant@r-cnews.com or 252-332-7207.