President Bush announced recently that he is sending National Guard troops to the U.S.-Mexico border.
The troops are not there as part of a militarization of the border, but rather to help train Border Patrol agents, help erect fences, analyze intelligence, operate surveillance systems and perform other tasks to assist the border patrol officers. In announcing his plans, President Bush is going beyond mere words and taking initiative. This kind of initiative is sorely missed on Capitol Hill.
Congress has been stepping gingerly around this issue, so as to not upset any of their constituents as their campaigns for re-election draw near.
Bush is unconcerned with re-election, therefore he is not afraid to take the initiative that is necessary to defend our nation's borders. Most of the polls released after Bush's speech on the issue showed that Americans, in general, support this plan.
There are a number of issues that come into play with this issue. It is not as simple as many people make it out to be.
A wide-open border for America in this day and age is ridiculous. Essentially, that is what we have had for years. It has weakened us defensively and economically more than we will likely ever know.
What facts we do have tell us we are spending around $2.5 billion in uncompensated Medicaid costs. Illegal aliens are also sending their children to public school, which they are not paying for in taxes, at an estimated cost of $3.3 billion per year, according to the Center for Immigration Studies Web site.
The big misconception with the border issue is that only Mexicans are coming into the United States illegally.
In fact, anyone - including terrorists - can cross the Rio Grande as easily as anyone else. This is an unacceptable risk considering what we know can happen.
How are we to know to know that terrorists are not bringing dirty bombs or other weapons? If drugs can pass so easily through the border, why not weapons?
FBI Director Robert Mueller has said he was aware that individuals from countries with known Al Qaeda ties had entered the US as illegal aliens using fake identities.
Mueller also cited the case of Mahmoud Youssef Kourani, who paid Mexican smugglers, known as coyotes, to smuggle him across the U.S-Mexico border in 2001. Kourani later pled guilty to supplying illegal materials and documents to the terrorist group, Hizbullah.
So what should America do about the illegal aliens already here? Amnesty is not the answer. We cannot forgive the crimes of millions of people when there are so many who come to this country the legal way. President Bush has a plan for guest workers that is designed to encourage people to follow the rules and come to this country in the legal way. By issuing them a 6-month temporary visa, Bush allows them to provide for their families and start on the road to citizenship.
The United States is a nation made up of immigrants. Today the U.S. has more people immigrating into it than all other nations in the world combined. That is a staggering statistic.
They come here because our standard of living is as good or better than anywhere in the world.
They come here because anyone willing to work hard and follow the rules can be successful here in America.
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