U.S. law enforcement on the front lines are speaking
their mind about the president's immigration moves
We cannot even get decent vehicles to drive on our daily patrols. Many are junk and
should have been put out of service years ago. Sometimes I think they would be smarter to
give us horses. There is no way that we can keep the aliens out, while the highest levels
of our government are pussy-footing with Mexicos leaders and trying to snare the
Hispanic vote in America. We simply do not have the time or the resources. - Border
Patrol.
US. Border Patrol agents, secretly the most outspoken critics of the Bush immigration
plans, are warning that security on our borders presents a clear and increasing danger --
as even more illegal aliens flood into the country.
Some officers who spoke to AFP explained that they feared losing their jobs or being
handed departmental reprimands if their identities were known.
Their comments came in the wake of the meeting between President George W. Bush and his
Mexican counterpart, Vicente Fox.
Speaking by telephone, a Border Patrol agent in Arizona said that this countrys
immigration policy, as it pertains to Mexico and Canada, is a farce.
He also expressed his disillusionment with the lack of White House commitment to the work
of the Border Patrol.
We cannot even get decent vehicles to drive on our daily patrols. Many are junk and
should have been put out of service years ago. Sometimes I think they would be smarter to
give us horses. There is no way that we can keep the aliens out, while the highest levels
of our government are pussy-footing with Mexicos leaders and trying to snare the
Hispanic vote in America. We simply do not have the time or the resources, he said.
Another officer, on duty in southern California, echoed similar sentiments, making it
clear that others shared his views. He felt there was a panacea for securing our borders:
The military is the only answer. Only the military has the manpower that we require
to get the job done. I think it was in American Free Press where I read that the U.S.
taxpayers spend more money to keep secure the borders of foreign countries than they do
their own.
That being the case, our job is hopeless and keeping America safe is also hopeless.
When anyone -- and I do mean anyone -- can enter this country without much trouble because
our borders are not secured, then no one in this country, regardless of where in the
country they live, is safe. Ask the families of the people who died on 9-11. They know
that, he concluded with a tinge of bitterness.
Border Patrol agents are not alone in having misgivings about the risks facing the United
States from new immigration policies and a lack of serious commitment to providing greater
security at U.S. borders.
Rep. Tom Tancredo, a Colorado Republican who heads the Immigration Reform Caucus, says
that Bushs plans will just worsen the terrorism danger that already exists due to
the massive flow of illegal aliens from poverty-stricken Mexico.
Our borders are as porous as ever to those who wish to enter the country
illegally, he warns.
Another member of the caucus, Rep. Virgil Goode (R-Virginia), advocates stationing U.S.
troops on the border to support the Border Patrol. I think a valid point would be that the failure to enact
immigration reform substantially makes us more vulnerable to a terrorist attack,
said Goode.
His comments reflect the fact that, contrary to public perceptions, there have been
problems with the flow of illegal aliens in his district, tucked away in central Virginia.
OBLIVIOUS
Other concerned observers argue that the White Houses appears oblivious to the reality
that the United States is running up massive trade deficits, the latest being with Mexico.
Official figures show a trade imbalance of $37 billion in Mexicos favorand it
is growing.
Some critics point to the origins of the problem beginning in 1994 when the United States
had a trade surplus with Mexico. Then, along came the impact of the North American Free
Trade Agreement and the Clinton and Bush administrations efforts to allow U.S.
industry to flow south of the border, taking with it millions of American jobs.
Those same critics warn that the latest concession to allow illegal Mexican aliensat
least 8 million of themto remain in the United States and work will rob Americans of
jobs. Such a policy, they point out, will set a low ceiling on wages for menial jobs in
America, further aggravating the economic situation.
Dissenting voices in the United States complain bitterly that all the concessions are one
way and benefit Fox, leader of a country with high levels of poverty and endemic
corruption, and with no real commitment to securing the Mexican side of the border.
In part, the flow of illegal aliens
suits the Mexican economy, with millions pouring into the United States and easing the
burden at home. Additionally, there is a constant flow of dollars back to Mexico from the
millions of illegals in this country.
The explanation from President Bush and those who support his policies is that
America is part of the global economy.
His critics respond that his global economy is costing millions of American jobs.
By Mike Blair American Free Press http://www.americanfreepress.net |