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
