Dig Deeper Texas

KGBT 4 - TV Harlingen, TX: Man Gets Creative In Protesting The Border Fence

I always love to see people taking their voices to the streets.

1.2 billion dollars is an outrageous amount for us to spend on a fence that will do no good. Not to mention it is politics as usual given they made the announcement and then did this.

Future Border Fence Getting Shorter

But shortly before recessing Friday, the House and Senate gave the Bush administration leeway to distribute the money to a combination of projects — not just the physical barrier along the southern border. The funds may also be spent on roads, technology and ”tactical infrastructure” to support the Homeland Security Department’s preferred option of a “virtual fence.”

So, we have yet another governmental slush fund to be used however they want to.

I am not even sure why Washington or the country cares about this. It sure seems to be a hot button issue but I live in San Antonio and we have more than our fair share of illegal immigrants, and it makes us a more interesting city. I have heard it said that if a census actually counted the number of undocumented workers and families that San Antonio would double in size. I have lived here for 15 years and totally believe that. The complaints I see are about jobs and terrorism. They are doing jobs that citizens don’t or won’t do so that is more a scare tactic than an issue. Certainly, no politician has ever gone wrong throwing scare tactics out. As for terrorism, it would and is much easier to cross the Canadian Border than the Mexican Border. The Canadian border is 4,000 miles long and is nearly completely unprotected. Or to get a visa legally, like the 9/11 attackers. Half this countries population of illegals came here legally and just overstayed their visas.

Regardless of all this, it is really a non-issue given that we built this country on immigration. What happened to “Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, The wretched refuse of your teeming shore. Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me, I lift my lamp beside the golden door”. I, personally, am only 2nd generation born in the United States with one set of grandparents immigrating from Poland and the other set from France. What little unscientific research I have done amongst my friends tells me that many of us have similar backgrounds. Who are we to decide which country is good enough to accept immigrants from?

If we really want this to be an issue then to make a change in illegal immigration we need to start fining the companies that employ them, not spending money better used elsewhere for imaginary control. We won’t be seeing that anytime soon though because heaven forbid we actually do anything that would hurt the special interests. I know it is an election year so we can expect the wonks to trot out things like this but shouldn’t we as a people be smarter than this.

Filed under: Del Rio, Jay J. Johnson-Castro, WaLL-k, border, border fence, illegals, immigrants, immigration, politics, protest, scare tactics, slush fund, texas, texas border, texas border waLL-k, texas politics