To read the tribute to SFC Marcus Muralles, please click here
Thursday, August 18, 2005
Fences Make Good Neighbors
A lawmaker in Arizona might be on to something.
Of course, not everyone agrees (go figure!).
I realize that many of these people just want a better life. I get that. I'm not lacking compassion here. Unfortunately, along with these people of good will (who don't pay taxes and still take advantage of healthcare and school and heaven knows what else), vermin with less honorable intentions are crossing the border with them. These miscreants are bringing drugs with them; they're robbing people along the border; they're destroying crops and livestock; they're killing people who get in their way.
There are legal ways to get into the country if you just want to get a job. I'd like to limit the criminals ability to get here.
A state lawmaker believes Arizonans are so frustrated with illegal immigration that they're willing to raise fees -- and possibly tax themselves -- to build a fence along the state's southern border. Rep. Russell Pearce, R-Mesa, is crafting a measure to ask voters next year to spend the money to erect a climb-proof fence wherever possible from Yuma to east of Douglas.I'd go one step further and and delete the word "wherever", but that's just me. I think that a vast majority of Americans living in ALL border states would be willing to chip in for a fence (with seismic activity sensors to detect when someone's trying to tunnel under it).
Of course, not everyone agrees (go figure!).
But Yuma County Supervisor Tony Reyes called the idea "stupid."Not if it covers the entire southern border. Harsh? No, not really. If you can span the entire border, then people wouldn't be able to get to the more dangerous desert.
Even assuming some landowners would allow a fence to be erected, Reyes said all that will do is move illegal crossing to another location. He said that's what happened when fences and increased patrols in California and Texas, as well as along a few spots along the Arizona border, pushed people out into the more dangerous desert.
I realize that many of these people just want a better life. I get that. I'm not lacking compassion here. Unfortunately, along with these people of good will (who don't pay taxes and still take advantage of healthcare and school and heaven knows what else), vermin with less honorable intentions are crossing the border with them. These miscreants are bringing drugs with them; they're robbing people along the border; they're destroying crops and livestock; they're killing people who get in their way.
There are legal ways to get into the country if you just want to get a job. I'd like to limit the criminals ability to get here.
