I get tickled when someone proposes THE answer as opposed to having part of an answer.   And that observation gives rise to Roper’s First Law of Getting Things Done:  “The more profound, complicated, and lengthy THE answer is, the less likely it is to be acted on.”

This can be seen in, for example, Hillarycare circa 1994 and the recent attempt at “Amnesty” this past summer.  Now we have Fred Dalton Thompson putting out his plan to secure the border and lo and behold it consists of “Enforce Existing Immigration Laws.”  Well, that’s been tried before and it didn’t work very well Fred.  What is new this time?

As someone who has lived on the border almost half of my life I have a slightly different conservative perspective on Illegal immigration.  While I am against illegal immigration, I also know that it is a weighty problem that won’t be solved in any grand scheme of politicians, liberal, conservative or libertarian.  In fact, I have my doubts that short of an armed border, all 5114 miles of it (let alone some 2380 miles of boundaries on water we can fully police the borders of this country.

On the border, the population is largely Hispanic with close cultural if not familial ties to Mexico.  There is a natural bond there that no one is going to break.  Recognizing this is the first step to understanding the southern border.  Politico’s down here are against any “control” especially the fence because it might harm the economics of the area.  Since the majority of the people buying in this country or at least the majority of dollars spent, come across at check points or by air, it is hard to see how a fence would interfere with that, but that is the politico’s stance and most of the population listens to their politicos down here, not the other way around.  Recognizing that also is part of the solution.

Having said that, there is also no reason to give up trying to enforce immigration laws.  There are some specific things that can, and should be, done if we truly want to get a handle on the problem; politicians grandiose ideas not withstanding.  The solution ought to be fairly obvious to all but the most partisan of politicians and their supporters.  The sole reason the vast majority of illegal aliens come to this country is for the opportunity for the common man it offers, in other words, employment and the chance to improve one’s life financially.

Current sanctions on employers who hire illegal aliens however don’t amount to more than a slap on the wrist, more like paying a $5.00 fine for speeding at 50 miles over the speed limit.  Make the fine and penalty substantial enough and employers will think twice and make the extra effort to insure their employees are legal residents or citizens.

Fred doesn’t emphasize employer penalties enough.  In fact, what Fred does say is “Reduce the number of illegal aliens through increased enforcement against unauthorized alien workers and their employers.  Without illegal employment opportunities available, fewer illegal aliens will attempt to enter the country, and many of those illegally in the country now likely will return home.”  Oh yeah Fred, while I think I agree with you, where is the evidence?  What are you basing that on?

If we truly want, and I mean sincerely and truly, cross your heart and hope to live long enough to pay all your taxes sincerely, we are going to have to go to a biometric based national identity card.  I hear the libertarians, liberals and conservatives gnashing their teeth, see them clenching their fists and their eyes bulging, but the reality is we either want to halt illegal immigration or we don’t.  Half measures won’t work and haven’t worked in the past and if a recitation of that fact isn’t enough to convince the politicos running for the Presidency, nothing will be.

Part of the current problem is that federal and state laws regarding illegal immigration have not been enforced because it was to the benefit of some fat cat corporations and politicos not to do so; some for overly altruistic reasons, most for rather selfish reasons.  To solve the problem it will take honest people on both sides of the fence to come to a solution that may not meet all their criteria, but then half a loaf is better than no loaf at all.

Posted at 09:25 AM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
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