Well, as I am searching my brain for (in my opinion) the most outstanding news topic of this week, it seems inevitable that I come at last to the "I" word: immigration.
But wait; that's a little deceiving. This week's passionate focus by politicians, columnists, talk radio hosts, and bloggers has not been immigration. It's been illegal immigration. Big difference.
Why so big, you may ask? Because it's the fundamental misunderstanding of people like Vicente Fox. Mr. Fox believes that the issue is (in his words) "human rights." It's not about legality or security or even common sense. At the end of the day, no one, bar none, has the right to make anything any more complicated for anyone, for any reason. That's just wrong.
At the very least, this is extremely naive; at most, it's fatally stupid. The border crisis should have been decided and acted on years ago; four and a half years, to be exact. September 11. Remember that? Of course you do; that was the day when we as a nation and (thank God) our leaders were awakened to a very determined, very violent giant across the Atlantic. As Sean Hannity reminded us on his radio show, we know there are people, many people, who want us dead. We know these people have weapons, zealous troops, fanatical faith, and in most of the Middle East, complete leave to act on their hate. Just a year ago, we saw terrible death counts in London. These individuals are still very alive, and very eager.
And the next logical step is to encourage illegal infiltration into this country with its weak border patrol and even weaker laws? Regardless of what you think of the newly proposed legislation, there's no getting around it. Strong border controls, and sending illegal immigrants (meaning all who enter this country illegally) where they're legal and we're safer — that is what security means to me.
Article comments
1 - Howard Dratch
As rabid a xenophobe as Mr. James may be, he does make a good point and some real boners. Here is one: "The border crisis should have been decided on and acted on years ago; four and a half years, to be exact. September 11. Remember that? Of course you do; that was the day when we as a nation and (thank God) our leaders were awakened to a very determined, very violent giant across the Atlantic."
Let's see. When was Mexico last located "across the Atlantic?"
I also remember that the Muslim terrorists came in by plane from "across the Atlantic". Then they did things like take flight courses in Florida and in the Midwestern "heartland" where they said they only wanted to learn to fly the jets, not take off or land. In most cases this did not set off any warning bells in the American minds. This was not a border crisis but an airport crisis and maybe a crisis in "the dumbing of America". So Mr. James, will you build a wall around the airports?
On the plus side he does distinguish between legal and illegal immigrants. I hope that means that immigration laws will be reformed to allow more legal immigration. He tells us that "If the most human, most fundamental laws of this country-laws that protect us from foreign threat (ie "providing for the common defense")-if these laws are ignored, what good can immigrants expect to get from America?" Does this mean that there will be immigration or are our borders now sealed against any "foreign threat"?
Also, the immigration issue now seems to revolve around Latin Americans. Has someone forgotten what group harbors the enemy terrorists? That is not to say that all Moslems are enemies. But wariness should be directed at the group that threatens us from abroad.
There are violent and savage elements here. There are surely ways for terrorists to cross a long, wild border. However, Arab terrorists would have an easier time in Canada or taking a plane from a myriad of world destinations directly into the US than to travel through Mexico and all its military and police checkpoints.
Does Mexico have a monopoly on savagery and violence? Hardly. America seems to set the standard for workplace mayhem, serial killers, and mass killings.
As I have written before, it is time for an Ellis Island in the desert to process would-be immigrants and weed out the bad, give legal identity to the ambitious and hard-working. It is also time to train those border patrol and customs men who have not heard of the Constitution and live to cause trouble and annoy people.
Brighter, better trained border guards would be far more help in protecting borders than more repressive laws.
2 - Joe
Let's see....
1. Mexico
2. Open Border
3. Terrorists overseas
4. Terrorists exploit open borders...
Sounds pretty simple to me Howard.
But seriously folks. The problem with illegals isn't open borders, or the strain on social programs, or schools, or any other infrastructure.
The real heart of the issue...comes down to corruption in Mexican government. If the poor in the Central and South America's didn't have to grease so many palms to obtain a legal way into the country... perhaps we wouldn't have such a massive exodus into the U.S. illegally.
I'm all for securing our borders from a terrorist threat, I all for Mexico taking corruption by the throat and killing it off, I'm also for squashing the possibility of terrorist cells moving into our country unobstructed.
3 - Howard Dratch
Joe. Corruption is a crime of a different color.
Living here I can say that most Americans cannot even fathom the idea not of corruption -- we have plenty of the home grown variety -- but the way it can and has permeated a culture. It is not just a way to deal with government nor with police; it is a constant way of life.
I worked in Chicago in the '60s and it isn't worse in Latin America. The difference is that it is so accepted by the people as a whole. In the US there are almost as many people without honesty; but we have an expectation of honesty and fair dealing. It is that expectation that sets us apart. (Of course, we also pay people enough that they are far less tempted.)
You are right that corruption plays a huge part in the economic and political woes of the Third World. Still, it is the American side of the border that needs to streamline immigrant acceptance norms and work permits.
The other side of the border has to deal with at least some of its lack of morality in order to continue its economic growth and entrance into the more developed "family of nations".
4 - Joe
I have a theory.
If we were to seal the border from the south. Then the human traffic would stop, not be able to obtain the work and see the corruption for what it was... an obstruction to employment. No longer able to pay off a guide and not able to afford the "fees" needed to secure legal documentation, they would rise up and the Mexican government would be faced with angry mobs, and would be forced to deal with the issues.
Now, does the Mexican government want to deal with the issues? No, that is why they are so lax with the border. It keeps their system of corruption functioning, the people accept the status quo, and everything is copasetic. If we close the borders it upsets the apple cart.
So why would the Mexican government want that? They wouldn’t and they don’t. That would mean reform that would mean forcing a standard on the citizens that may or may not be acceptable. People don’t necessarily accept change. Especially radical systemic change.
Knowing that this is reality of the situation. Why wouldn’t we want to seal the borders and force the change? Everything unlawful in Mexico is accepted if there is money attached to it. That is not the rule of law! It cheapens the neighborhood. It makes for a situation like we are presently living with. Massive amounts of illegal activity, spilling over the borders. People fleeing their homes in escape… and it just continue. We will lower the bar as an adjustment. Rather than Mexico raising the bar and reform.
Why should allow Mexico to control the standard? It’s a terrible standard and their people are suffering because of it.
5 - Earl
Howard,
There is no way Chicago of the 60's is/was as corrupt as Latin America is. No way. Have you been to the poor societies in Central and South America? People work hard, earn little, pay some bills, and they're lucky to have a sack of beans to eat for the rest of the week. I see it all the time on mission trips to the field. People pay each other with onions, or corn, or other barter. Roofs leak because the family cannot scrap together enough money to patch the tin roof.
Cardboard boxes are used for walls. Drinking water runs in a ditch. Animals and humans drink out of the same ditch. Human and Animal waste is everywhere.... it's terrible. And that's just the country side. The large urban areas may be a bit better, but the crime and corruption is rampant. It's no wonder people want to come up north. But with those people comes crime and drugs as well as people seeking work and sustinance. Black tar herion is coming up with the gangs. New Orleans is going to get ugle once the construction really begins. Mexican laborers will be inflitrated with he gangbanger and Black Tar, and the NOLA will be a territorial dispute between the existing gangs and those Mexican gangs looking for new turf. But that's a whole different topic.
Open borders will be exploited as stated above, it's wide open now. It probably already has been.
6 - Samuel James
David Frum has uncovered some interesting facts about Mexico in America.
7 - Joe
Check this out... this is Charlie Sheene talking here
"Talking on US radio program 'The Alex Jones Show' on the GGN network, he [Sheene] said, "It seems to me like 19 amateurs with box-cutters taking over four commercial airliners and hitting 75 per cent of their targets, that feels like a conspiracy theory. It raises a lot of questions."
Amateurs indeed! How about highly trained terrorists, trained to kill effeciently. Fully capable of crossing an open border and operating on our own soil. These guys have skills, training, and can survive in our society without a blink of the eye by the local populace.
What are people thinking? Are we that sheltered and stupid? This is crazy. If the border is open... it's o-p-e-n. No if and or buts. The argument that Sheene puts forth ties into the simplistic mind set that... everyone is incapable of anything against this country.
I'll tell you what, one more terrorist attack in our country and all this stupid blather going on about subjects like border control, etc... are moot. They'll be moot. Is that what it is going to take? Another hit? Do you really want that to happen. Fool me once (WTC 93, USS Cole, Embassy attacks etc...) shame on you. Fool me twice (9/11) shame on me.
Good gravy people... put down the bong and wake up. This is a totally different world than the one you idyllically grew up in.
8 - Dave Nalle
There needs to be something like 'Godwin's Rule' for when people mention Alex Jones in a discussion.
Dave
9 - Joe
I know it's ugly, but I had to cite the source material.
10 - Ruvy from Jerusalem
It didn't look like it to the Romans in 300 C.E. but their empire was collapsing around them. And it don't look like it to you in 2000 C.E. but your empire is collapsing around you guys in America.
That's what I can see from this end of The Pond.
11 - Joey
Ruvy,
We have many similarities the Romans and us. The Clausowiczian order of battle is no longer germain. We in fact follow a very similar order of battle as the Romans did.
When we go... Israel will follow. Why we keep hedging up the mistakes of Wilsonian doctrine is beyond me. But we have tied ourselves to a huge anchor and jumped overboard.
To make matters worse we are too proud to admit it. Or, is it really loyalty to countries like yours. I guess you could say from your side of the pond that familiarty breeds contempt. At least your remarks reflect that sentiment.
12 - Bliffle
I'm glad to see people waking up to the fact that the misery of Mexican people lies in their government and the corruption therein. Unfortunately, many Mexican citizens approve of the corruption: they've been suborned by some small benefit in their family, some cousin or brother who got a job thru corruption, or some uncle who obtained a contract thru corruption, etc. And privately they will tell you how naive US citizens are to resist corruption. The combination of a paternalistic domineering ruling class and a misery mongering church makes sheep of citizens.
Bush could make a big step toward solving the problem by insisting to V. Fox (that sanctimonious opportunist) that the border be open both ways, that US citizens be able to own property in Mexico without fear of losing it, and that US businessmen be able to establish, own and profit from businesses without paying tribute to the families that control Mexico. Unfortunately, neither Bush nor Fox has the courage to do it.
13 - Howard Dratch
Mr. or Ms. Bliffle is heading in the right direction. As owners of property in Mexico and having found out that our human rights as legal residents are extremely limited; it would, indeed, be a wise and miraculous effort for the Mexican government to make it more secure. It would increase their wealth as more people found that they could be safe here.
Chicago in the 60s, Earl, was surely not the same as corruption in America Latina now. The poverty is not equal nor are living conditions in the cities or the country (although the countryside is somewhat less miserable as people can grow things to eat). However, the act of folding bills into small squares to pass in a handshake was a skill I learned in Chicago and put to good use here. So the similarities do exist.
14 - Bliffle
Howard: You only imagine you are "...owners of property in Mexico " since the government can snatch it without warning or recourse at any moment, whether for public use or simply private pelf. Perhaps some ne'er-do-well in an important family is envious of the house you have built on the property.
15 - RedTard
"You only imagine you are '...owners of property in Mexico' since the government can snatch it without warning or recourse at any moment"
Kind of like Kelo in the US. Maybe we are getting more of their culture than they are ours.
16 - Bliffle
Red: "Kind of like Kelo in the US. Maybe we are getting more of their culture than they are ours."
Alas, too true. I believe that a reason for Bush/Cheney and cohorts not seeking greater freedom for Americans in Mexico is that they secretly admire that Spanish Feudalism. It yields greater power to rulers, shifts taxes to the peasants, and disenfranchises the proles.
17 - Heloise
Well I have a question: Where else in the Western world can you go, sneak in the country, and get a job the next day without anyone casting a second look or asking you if you are a citizen of that country and entitled to work in that country?
Please tell me and I'll go there and get a job because I can't seem to get one here.
Raising hell Heloise
18 - Heloise
Do Americans need to do something on May 1st beside watch it on CNN? I hear someone is planning to go shopping that day more than usual and May 6th is supposed to be "Take Back America Day" for us legal aliens....
Heloise