Battling a Political Octopus: The Border Control Problem
June 1, 2006

by Joseph P. Tartaro
Executive Editor

If you leave a wound untreated for any length of time, it will fester and get worse, eventually leading to the amputation of the injured limb because of gangrene. This is a good analogy to the problem of illegal immigration in the US.

Many people, in and out of government, ignored the illegal entry problem for so many years that now we have a serious social problem. What’s worse, we have American citizens, all themselves immigrants or descendants of immigrants, who are choosing up sides at opposite ends of a rational spectrum of choices.

There are those who would grant amnesty and societal support, including health care, education and voting rights, to everyone who made it into the country without being caught.

On the other hand, you have the people who want to round up everyone in the country without documentation and deport them—anyplace—or put them in jail.

There are those who would welcome people from one country but not from another, which is a variation of racism.

Sandwiched between the extremes are many people who arrived in this country legally, following the law and the rules, have become citizens but are treated as criminals because they still have an accent.

Recent events and extensive media coverage have made this a major issue, which is good from the standpoint that people in and out of government have finally realized that the issue can no longer be ignored. Incredibly, this dawning takes place almost five years after the 9-11 terrorist attack and the launching of the “War against Terror.”

On the evening of May 15, President Bush addressed the nation in an effort to frame a national policy that will deal with many tentacles of the illegal immigration issue. His five point plan, from beefing up border security by expanding the Border Patrol again and by use of National Guardsmen to ending the “catch and release” program that has been followed for years and easing the process for legalizing some who might qualify for citizenship or legal residency status, will not satisfy everyone. However, he has at least brought the issue out in the open.

There are people who will decry the use of troops for any domestic purpose, but their use to repel unwanted invaders and secure our borders is a primary purpose for having an Army or a National Guard. And such use does not violate the “Posse Comitatus” law.

I heard at least one caller on C-SPAN, the morning after Bush’s speech, who felt the President didn’t go far enough, that all Americans should arm themselves and drive away all the illegals, including those already in this country as well as those intending to get in.

In the middle of all of this, there are utopian commentators who suggest that the whole problem is another failing of the country they love to whip. But I wonder, if it is such a terrible country, why are so many people from all over the world trying to get in?

If they come legally, they add to the traditional fabric of American society, but if they don’t they are not really immigrants but illegals.

On May 5, Rep. James Sensenbrenner (R-WI), chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, defended his House-passed immigration bill that sparked street protest by millions of immigrants, and issued a report showing that several countries are harsher than the US in their treatment of illegal immigrants and their employers.

The Law Library of Congress study of immigration laws in six countries found that all but Brazil have criminal penalties for illegal entry and presence within their borders. In four of the countries—Japan, Switzerland, Sweden and Egypt—employers can be jailed from up to three months to three years for hiring illegal immigrants.

“With all the blustery rhetoric coming from opponents about a ‘harsh’ and ‘draconian’ House bill . . . I note that five out of the six countries studied—including Mexico—make illegal entry and unlawful presence a criminal offense,” said Sensenbrenner.

The House bill written largely by Sensenbrenner would make being in the country illegally a felony. It is already a misdemeanor to enter the country illegally, and re-entering the country after being deported also is a crime.

Sensenbrenner said the six countries studied were chosen to provide racial and geographic diversity.

Another tentacle of the illegal immigration octopus is the illegal exploitation of cheap labor by employers. However, that issue has also been driven into the light of day, and is no longer being ignored.

The Cincinnati Post reported on May 10 that four supervisors for Fischer Homes were among 80 people arrested the previous day as part of a two-year probe into the use of illegal immigrant workers in the home construction industry in Northern Kentucky.

The supervisors were charged with hiring illegal immigrants. The other 76 persons arrested were charged with being in the United States illegally.

In a statement released from Washington May 9, the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency, which led the probe, issued a harsh warning to employers.
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