Thread: U.S. government should do more to secure the border

U.S. government should do more to secure the border
Ban Tarr
Issue date: 11/11/08 Section: Sports



Congress and the Bush Administration have both allowed American borders to become more porous than ever, which creates a multitude of national security and other threats to our country. Since neither a McCain nor an Obama Administration is likely to truly secure our borders without citizen demands, we must demand some action out of our spineless politicians in Washington.

One major reason illegal aliens enter our country is because America provides them with such gracious benefits. If an illegal alien gives birth to a child in the United States, the youngster is automatically granted citizenship rights in America. In 2006 in Texas alone, illegal immigrants cost hospitals $1.3 billion because they are not paying for the medical care that they receive. Instead of devoting these huge sums toward people who are criminals and who violated American law to get here, we should force hospitals to allocate those funds to Americans who need treatment in American hospitals.

A growing number of states not only are letting illegal aliens attend American colleges, but are rewarding their defiance of American criminal law by granting them in-state college tuition. Instead of letting illegal immigrants save money, shouldn't the U.S. government grant tuition breaks to legitimate American citizens instead? How about putting the money, which states pay to accommodate illegal aliens into colleges, toward grants and loans for families in need? After all, they pay taxes and contribute to the system, so they, and not illegal aliens, should be the beneficiary of these reduced-fare college tuitions. In addition, in July 2007 alone, illegal aliens collected nearly $20 million in welfare benefits from you, the taxpayer.

Some counter my points by arguing that illegal immigration benefits the American economy because they are a cheap source of labor, and if we deport many illegal aliens, we would be faced with many lower-class jobs not being performed. As a creative solution, America can use some of its growing prison population to its advantage and employ them in jobs which the average middle-class American would not do.

Others argue that America is obligated to give illegal aliens basic human rights such as shelter and food because the U.S. is a member of the United Nations, and therefore we agree to the principles of its Charter. However, the United Nations does not exert compulsory jurisdiction on its member states; if America violates a tenet of the UN Charter, nothing will happen. America needs to put its needs before those of other countries.

Author and Nobel Peace Prize winner Kenneth R. Timmerman revealed in a June 2006 article the threats which illegal immigration pose to our national security. According to the piece, roughly 45,000 illegal aliens came to our country from those states on America's list of state sponsors of terrorism or from states which protected terrorists. This is not, of course, to say that these people are terrorists themselves, but this figure points to the alarming ease with which terrorists could enter our country through the Mexican border if they were to plan an attack on the United States. For those who do not take seriously the issue of illegal immigration, what will you say if, God forbid, another terrorist attack is perpetrated on American soil by people who arrived illegally in America through our borders?

There is a direct connection between the proliferation of illegal immigration and rising crime statistics in certain areas of the United States. According to Jim Kouri, vice president of the national Association of Chiefs of Police, a population study of a random sample of 55,322 illegal aliens was conducted and it revealed a total of 459,614 arrests; this is an average of roughly eight arrests per illegal alien. Almost all illegal aliens had at least one arrest, with 26 percent having 11 or more arrests. Similar studies have been conducted on this issue and reveal generally corresponding figures.

Perhaps the most puzzling aspect of illegal immigration is that in a political climate of almost record dissatisfaction with both the presidency and the Congress, the attention this issue has been given in the media and elsewhere is a far cry from other, obviously more important issues such as the cost of Sarah Palin's wardrobe. Since you now know some of the dangers associated with not curbing illegal immigration, it is time for Americans to demand that our government makes the necessary changes to secure our border.

http://tinyurl.com/5de829

Fantastic article, and so well put. Good Lord!! Why won't our politicians read something like this and then act? It is beyond reprehensible that they sit back and basically ignore the seriousness of this issue.