Posted on 04/21/2005 6:59:39 AM PDT by Congressman Billybob
I shouldn’t repeat myself, but every rule has exceptions. The Minutemen’s efforts on the US-Mexican border have proved the accuracy of my column on 20 November, 2003. “Double Crossing at the Rio Grande” can be found here
The gist was that the cure for the alien tide from Mexico is to change the incentives so that Mexico will control its own side of the border with its own troops. Here’s how:
Total the cost to local, state and federal governments for finding, rounding up, jailing and expelling Mexican illegals. Divide that cost by the total number of truck crossings of the Mexican border. Then charge that amount as a security fee on every truck that crosses, regardless of the truck’s ownership or cargo.
My article dealt with ways to handle the howls of protest which would arise from the World Trade Association and others who believe in open borders for the US. It points out that Mexico knows how to use its federales to close its border whenever it chooses.
Mexico currently uses its troops to close its southern border with Guatemala, to prevent aliens even poorer than Mexicans from getting in. More importantly, the Mexican response to the efforts of the Minutemen also proves the point.
While the Minutemen have been in place, the federales have been stationed on the border, warning Mexicans not to try to cross the 23-mile section now patrolled by American volunteers. In short, Mexico has done exactly what I argued it should be forced to do by appropriate changes in American policies.
Those who bother to read their history know the border can be closed by Mexico. It did so for two decades during the Bracero Program, which lasted from World War II until the mid-60s. Under that, the US and Mexico agreed on the precise number of Mexicans who would come here to work, with a requirement that they would return after their work. Mexico also made, and kept, a commitment to prevent any significant illegal entries.
Today, of course, Mexico’s incentives are reversed. Remittance of money by Mexicans (legal and illegal) to family at home is now the largest single source of earnings in their economy. As I said previously, reversing the economic incentives will reverse Mexico’s policies. And closing the border with Mexican troops will save a huge financial burden on American taxpayers, and personal burden on American soldiers.
A few other points deserve discussion. President Bush has falsely applied the word “vigilantes” to the Minutemen. The President’s use of this word gave the American press license to slander these American citizen-volunteers likewise. Again, anyone who knows their history knows this word does not apply.
Vigilantes in the American West, and in many places across the nation during times of civil law breakdown in the American Revolution and the Civil War, all followed the same pattern. They established Committees of Vigilance which assumed the powers of “government” in their territories, dispensed “justice,” and sometimes carried out executions after “trials” with few or no legal niceties. The Minutemen are doing NONE of these things.
They are merely watchers and reporters. Because most aliens come in on foot, there is an hour or more in which the watchers could spot them, call the Border Patrol, and have officers come to the exact place where the illegals are. In short, they make the Border Patrol extremely effective, rather than have a pathetically small number of agents drive thousands of miles, looking for aliens – who have the common sense to run and hide whenever they see headlights at night.
While we’re solving the problems of closing the borders, we should deal with the problem of “anchor babies.” Alien women close to giving birth are risking their lives and their children by trying to sneak into the US to give birth here. The baby is then an American citizen, which gives preference to the parents seeking legal status.
Congress could put a stop to this by simple legislation. By law it could define the place where an alien mother gives birth to a baby inside the US as foreign territory of the mother’s nationality, at the time of birth. Can this be done?
Consider that all embassies in the US are defined as territory of that nation, not American. Consider that there are “foreign trade zones” many places in the US, defined as “not American territory” under import and tax laws. Congress has this power; the question is only whether it has the brains to use it.
Remember, a nation that cannot control its borders also cannot control its destiny. It’s as simple as that.
About the Author: John Armor is a First Amendment attorney and author who lives in the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina. John_Armor@aya.yale.edu
John / Billybob
many people are disgusted with Bush and the repubs for essentially ignoring this INVASION. yes, INVASION. what else can you call it ? they better wake up
Anyone want to start a pool on how many posts will pass before racism and Arizona politico's are brought into this thread?
I say by #10.
Tax them for everyone we catch. Good idea!
The "anchor baby" thing should be ceased immediately. It should be considered breaking of ANOTHER immigration law - that should then cause the baby to be considered a citizen of its mothers country.
The Nixon Administration started searching everyone and everything comming in legally as part of the 'War on Drugs' they said.
They knew it would have no effect on drug smuggling, but they also knew that the resulting slowdown of legal crossings, lines were hours long, would create economic chaos in Mexico and force them to cooperate in spraying the drug fields in the interior.
If we were to get strict at the legal crossing points in searching for illegals and drugs, the ecoonomic chaos would force Mexico to act and patrol their own borders within days, in return for our reopening the legal crossings.
So9
All illegal MALES should be sent to a “work camp” in the national forests.
They could be used to clear out the brush in the REMOTE forests where there are no towns near by. They should live in tents and work for six months each time they are caught crossing the border illegally.
You should probably not phrase it this way, given that the 14th Amendment specifically forbade anchor babies and was then re-interpreted by activist courts. Such a Constitutional limitation is not subject to change by the Congress either because the Supreme Law of the Land holds that children of foreign subjects are not citizens.
ping yer list?
Thanks Billybob, got your email with this same info on it today, I'm forwarding it to everyone I know, hope that's ok.
President Bush has falsely applied the word "vigilantes" to the Minutemen. The President's use of this word gave the American press license to slander these American citizen-volunteers likewise. Again, anyone who knows their history knows this word does not apply.
Maybe it's the name ... "Minutemen" implies guns and shooting, a la Lexington and Concord, not just standing about with cell phones.
Would not fly, the howls of the left would be heard on the moon.
Slavery,
I'm all for it, just as I am for putting prisoners to work on cleaning roads etc.
I'm concerned that our government is simply not interested in any such thing.
The move towards regional integration seems to be pushing this lack of concern for our border security, and to hell with the citizens of America.
After all, why waste time money and resources protecting something you plan to dismantle?
Don't forget that our own EEOC won't allow an employer to fire a worker with a phony SSAN..this keeps a lot of illegals here. What a pain in the butt.
Racism is relative, as in the mind of the beholder. I don't believe we would feel any different about this invasion if it were by the same caliber, Canadians of European ancestry.
Another elegant and factual article Billybob. Thanks for posting it.
In my opinion, those who choose to call the Minutemen, Vigilantes, do so to demonize and discredit them-period.
Interesting article...thanks for sharing it.
You may find this speech, "Eight Steps to Destroy America", by Dick Lamm, former Governor of Colorado, interesting. It can be found at:
http://www.rense.com/general62/destroy.htm
I would be interested in your opinion of the speech since I have read some unflattering articles about Lamm.
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