Imagine this:You’re a Mexican, living in a border town that is struggling to make ends meet, and are in search of a better life. You know it will be difficult to find a better job in Mexico with the skills you have, so you decide to go to the U.S. in search of better employment. Knowing that border crossing is dangerous (and illegal) you decide to seek information on entering the U.S. legally, with hopes of obtaining a visa. You put together a list of things to bring and things not to bring. You ask neighbors who know people who have made the journey what they brought with them, and how much it would cost to obtain a visa. It all seems too costly, but you know in the end it will all payoff.
Then, just as you thought you had thought of everything, you pick up a copy of El Libro Vaquero, a popular cowboy comic book in Mexico and out drops this free insert. It is a 32 page comic book published by Mexico’s foreign ministry titled The Guide for the Mexican Migrant. You think to yourself “hey that’s me!” With great enthusiasm, you open it up to see what advice awaits you.
After reading the first several pages, you realize that this comic book is not talking about the process of legally entering the U.S., rather it is teaching fellow Mexicans how to illegally cross the border, despite the warning on the cover which states that the Mexican government does not condone illegal immigration into the U.S. Feeling let down, you abandon all hope of legally entering the U.S., and continue reading the book. You find great advice such as: what to pack, what to wear when crossing rivers, so as to not feel weighed down, how to cross the desert and what to do if lost, how to deal with the border patrol if caught, and how to hide yourself in the U.S. Nowhere in the book does it mention how to immigrate to the U.S. legally. After all it is already 32 pages, and I suppose they have to “cut the fat” somewhere, right?
Now stop imagining that you are that Mexican. Now you are you, an American citizen. You know the troubles we have had in the past with porous borders, not only from a illegal immigration but also from terrorism. You think to yourself, “hey, this has to be stopped!” Why are we spending millions of dollars on tsunami relief, while we should be focusing on stepping up our border patrols? You should be outraged, I know I am.
As far as I can tell, the President has yet to make a statement on this issue, but I don’t hear any whiny liberals complaining that he hasn’t acted quickly enough on this issue. Unfortunately the way liberals see it, is when we are going to be helping out another country, we need to jump to action as quickly as possible. But when it’s our own borders being threatened it isn’t all that big of a deal. It’s a back burner issue, that the President can get around to if he wants, but its all the better if he doesn’t.
If this were my presidency, there would be an increased border patrol presence, backed up by the military. I would have the illegal immigration rate drop to almost zero, and a very clear message would be sent to Mexico. It would be very similar to Bush’s post-9/11 “You’re either with us or against us” speech. It would be accompanied by a small can of gasoline to help start the fire that would burn all of those comic books. I would make it absolutely clear that our borders are not open for anyone to waltz right in. We are the greatest nation in the world, which is why people are willing to go to such extremes to get into our country, and I can’t blame them. If you want a piece of this great nation though, you’re going to do it under our rules and our terms.
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