Not anti-immigrant to want secure border

July 5, 2007

It's no secret that the Republican-led Congress had its share of problems. In last year's elections we were promised a bold, new direction by Democrats, and Americans voted them into the majority. But so far, their leadership has been more about finger-pointing than leading.

But sometimes congressional dysfunction pays off for citizens. Last week the Senate finally did something noteworthy -- it was unable to muster enough votes to pass the latest immigration legislation, which died.

The legislation was touted by conservatives as amnesty for illegal aliens, and criticized by liberals -- ahem, I mean "progressives" -- for being too hard on families of illegal immigrants.

So now our border crisis goes unresolved even though a majority of Americans, regardless of political affiliation, want the problem addressed.

A Los Angeles Times/Bloomberg poll from June asked: "Compared to other problems facing the country, how big a problem is illegal immigration?"

Eighty-six percent said illegal immigration was one of the most important problems facing our country.

President Bush and a handful of Republican senators joined the Democrats in pushing for the failed legislation. But an outpouring of negative response from their constituents persuaded many who were waffling, such as our own Sen. Sam Brownback, to vote it down.

It was the right thing to do. The majority of Americans want to see our southern border under control before they're willing to talk about roads to legalization.

A Quinnipiac University poll from late last year asked if, in regard to a border fence and increased security, "additional measures are needed from Congress to deal with illegal immigrants entering the country, or do you think this is enough for now?"

Seventy-one percent said more was needed.

Like most Americans, I'm not anti-immigrant, I'm anti-chaos. I am Hispanic and have no ill will toward others who share my heritage. I'm proud to be of Mexican descent, but it comes second to my love of country.

I'm tired of hearing some people calling others racist for wanting strong enforcement of our borders. That's not racist, that's law-abiding. When we do encounter racism, we should confront it. But let's not tar people's motives in an attempt to shame them into submission. We need to have an open and honest discussion about what's best for our country.

We are a nation of immigrants and should be fair to those who want to join our great country. Let's consider ways of improving our immigration process. Let's get serious about work visas that meet our business needs while protecting the workers. Let's start with controlling the border.

Our lawmakers have heard from the voters. Now they need to put their finger-pointing sideshow on hiatus and show some leadership.

http://www.kansas.com/opinion/castillo/ ... 14360.html