If I were to steal someone's credit card and use it to purchase something, I would be guilty of a felony and a federal crime. If I were caught, I would be prosecuted and put in jail.
If I were to rob a bank I would be guilty of a felony, and a federal crime. The feds would hunt me down and if I were caught, I would be put in jail.
If I were a citizen of another country and crossed the border into the U.S. illegally, I would be guilty of a felony and having committed a federal crime. The feds won't be looking for me and even if I “bumped” into one accidentally, they would just shake my hand and say “Enjoy America-Have a nice stay.”
Now I know that it's not exactly like I've just described-But it sure feels like it.
I have the utmost respect and praise for our U.S. Border Patrol agents. I know quite a few of them and I've trained with some of them. They are quality people, top-flight officers and true patriots. They are doing everything they can to protect our borders. However, the problems doesn't lie with them, it is with Washington.
I just don't get it. Every time we negotiate anything with Mexico we get something, and we give up something. We get more Mexicans and we give them more money.
Actually, it really goes like this: Every time we negotiate a deal with Mexico, we give up more concessions or loosen up trade restrictions and don't get anything in return. Everything that Mexico has put on our table as a bargaining chip has either never come to fruition or never had a chance of happening in the first place.
I didn't start out this editorial to just bag on Mexico, but it does bear mentioning that the burden placed on our infrastructure by illegal aliens, in regard to education, health care, law enforcement, etc. is staggering. It is now in the 10's of billions of dollars and on top of that, a majority of the money earned by illegals in the U.S. goes right back to Mexico. It is not spent here in the U.S. The flow of U.S. dollars into Mexico places it at the top being the single largest cash producer for the country, bringing in more money than any other single activity, (industrial or agricultural) into the country. There are cities in Mexico virtually devoid of males between the ages of 16 and 50 because they are here in the U.S., sending money back to support the women, children and old people left behind.
On top of all of this we have thousands of Chinese who simply get off an airplane and vanish into the U.S. on a daily basis.
Now, before I paint myself into a corner as some kind of irrational, prejudiced, bigot, I need to say, I'm not against Immigrants. We all come from immigrants at some point in time. But the key word here is immigrants, not illegals. Immigrant generally means that you entered legally, with the full sanctions and rights of the U.S. government. Anyone who does not apply for citizenship or any number of special visas the U.S. offers, in other words anyone who does not go through the system, is here illegally. They are an illegal alien, not an immigrant. They have broken U.S. law and should face the full measure of the law when and if they are discovered.
There is more to the problem, however. Whenever an illegal alien is caught, and run through a database, those considered a danger, such as criminals, etc. are ordered to be deported. Unfortunately, this is almost a voluntary compliance issue. Most of the time the subject is ordered to report back for a hearing, or to be deported, given a time and date-and then turned loose.
Right now there are over 350,000 individuals, on U.S. soil, who have been ordered to be deported. Are they waiting in line to get on an airplane, are they in custody, are they being held in detention centers? They are gone, vanished somewhere into the ethnic populations of the U.S.
Of those 350,000 already ordered to be deported, 33,000 are classed as OTM, other than Mexican. Right now there is over a third of a million illegal aliens determined by our courts to be a threat to our society, freely passing amongst us in the malls, grocery stores and work places of America. These people are drug dealers, sex offenders, gang members, murders and suspected Terrorists. They are not the average illegal aliens who are here trying to better their lot in life. These particular illegal aliens represent a menace to our society and in some cases a threat to our very way of life.
Which, finely brings me around to the subject I really wanted to discuss. The border with Mexico is so porous that the Islamic terrorists have seen it as an easy and viable means of entering into the U.S. undetected.
We cannot allow this to happen.
As recently as within the last two years Al Qaeda operations were in discussions with senior leaders of the Mara Salvatrucha gang. The subject? How would the Mara Salvatrucha aid Al Qaeda in delivering operators into the U.S? The Mara Salvatrucha is one of the most notorious and ruthless gangs in existence. They will do anything for money.
It is interesting to note that any time a member of the gang is arrested and deported back to El Salvador they show up back in the U.S. in another city as little as two weeks later.
Although illegal aliens pose innumerable problems for the U.S., it pales in comparison to what Islamic terrorist are planning to unleash on our country. There is a high probability that the next attack will be biological, chemical or nuclear.
I suggest that it is more likely that we will face a Beslan like school massacre or perhaps a suicide bomber detonating himself at a high school sporting event somewhere in the Midwest.
We cannot let this happen.
It is time that Washington shut down our borders and enforced the law that already exists. It is without question that terrorists have already used the present border conditions to cross into the U.S.
Washington must tell Mexico that it is in the interest of our National Security that we will not allow the free flow of aliens across our border. I don't care if Vicente Fox throws a hissy fit. I am not concerned about the interests of Mexico. I am concerned about the safety of my family, my children and the safety of all Americans. I don't care about some pissed off ACLU lawyers or some civil rights groups. Its time to worry about the lives of American citizens and not those who are not. We need to protect this country first and foremost. It is in the oath taken by every Government official, including the President of the United States, and sworn before God. It is time to be held accountable to that oath.
Until that time comes, I can only pray that we catch the terrorists that are already here and hope that we can stop the ones that are on the way.
Ernest Emerson
March 7, 2005
