http://www.nctimes.com/articles/2005/03 ... 201329.txt

Last modified Monday, March 14, 2005 9:17 PM PST
Border policy: March to madness
By: RICK REISS - Commentary

Lately, I don't know whether I should laugh or cry when driving home through the Border Patrol's Temecula checkpoint on Interstate 15. I must admit, I am somewhat relieved since the checkpoint is rarely in operation. I can usually save five or 10 minutes during my commute home.

But I sense that such conveniences only come at our own peril. The checkpoint has always served as an important secondary defense to prevent illegal aliens and narcotics from entering into the heartland of our country.

The checkpoint has been under increasing political pressure to shut down permanently. Last fall auditors from the congressional Government Accountability Office audited the checkpoint to determine its effectiveness.


Since political pressure has drastically curtailed the operating hours of the checkpoint, will it surprise anyone when the GAO issues a report declaring the Temecula station ineffective?

This is akin to blindfolding all of the players on a basketball team and then complaining because the team is in last place. Such is the madness of our nation's border control and immigration policies.

A report released in spring 2005 issue of the Journal of American Physicians and Surgeons attributes to illegal immigration the closure of 84 hospitals throughout California. The report also details an American upsurge in such arcane diseases as leprosy, malaria, plague, polio and tuberculosis ---- courtesy of illegal immigration.

Politicians who routinely decry the lack of health insurance for Americans omit the fact that of the 43 million uninsured, more than 25 percent are illegal aliens. The journal's report does come to some sensible conclusions ---- close America's borders and vigorously enforce U.S. immigration laws.

The flagrant violation of our immigration laws has even more life-and-death consequences to Americans just by the impact of criminal aliens. It's bad enough contending with our own homegrown rapists and murderers. Now we have to also contend with these imported thugs who pile on in terrorizing our communities.

In the past few years, criminal aliens gunned down two California police officers. Oceanside police officer Tony Zeppetella was murdered in 2003 by a five-time convicted felon and twice deported criminal alien.

In 2002, L.A. County Sheriff's deputy David March was gunned down by a convicted drug dealer and Mexican national. The shooter absconded back to Mexico avoiding prosecution and remains under the protection of his government. Mexican officials refuse to extradite him back to the United States because he could face the death penalty.

Adding insult to injury, the Bush administration just recently agreed to press for rehearings for 51 convicted murderers sitting on Texas' death row. The 51 killers are also Mexican nationals. The administration caved in to criticism from the International Court of Justice in The Hague.

In the meantime, misguided immigrant rights groups place water and aid stations in the Arizona desert to help illegal crossers, environmentalists are fighting against closing holes in a 3-mile stretch of border fence in San Diego and a credit union in Coachella now caters to illegal aliens with matricula consular ID cards.

It's a mad world indeed.

Rick Reiss of Temecula is a regular columnist for The Californian. E-mail: RickReiss@netscape.net.