The American Nightmare

Before anyone discusses immigration policy, they should read this Houston Press article. Every word of it. Nine pages. Look at every bloody photo. Then leave the emotion and personal baggage at the door and come to the table with ideas how to make this stop forever.

http://www.houstonpress.com/2010-08-12/news/seized-inside-the-brutal-world-of-america-s-kidnapping-capital/1/

My ideas: There needs to be a very clear Right Path (Legal Immigration) and Wrong Path (Illegal Immigration) for these people. We need to station troops or WHATEVER it takes to completely shut down the borders, thus eliminating the Wrong Path. Nobody gets through anywhere. I don’t want to hear whining about racism and stopping people with brown skin or white skin. I want every VAN type of vehicle, whether it’s painted white or brown, stopped and searched, if it will save lives! And I believe it will. I don’t care who is driving the van. (Actually, the article mentions the use of white drivers to deter suspicion.)

Then we focus on improving efficiency of the Right Path. People waiting 20 years for approved status is obviously not acceptable.

I have ideas how to improve this efficiency. Obviously, government can’t be trusted to do it correctly. It creates systems that take 20 years to deal with an application. We need to take whatever money is spent on this process now and give it to private American companies who will be paid to perform the following services:

1. Process applications. Crank levers, assign ID numbers. Issue papers.
2. Maintain a national database of all immigrants in order to track and monitor their successful acclimation, including photos and fingerprints. This sounds as if I want to “criminalize” them when in reality, these people are at great risk for “victimization.” And if they did come here to engage in criminal activity, we’ve at least got an eye on them.
3. Provide employment and entrepreneurial support services. The goal is to help find them all jobs or start new businesses, paying taxes. The company would act as a national employment agency and marketing firm, identifying markets for the new immigrants that are more likely to have demand for a new Mexican restaurant, building or construction company, artisan skills, etc.
4. Provide language instruction and culture assimilation classes. The goal is to ease their transition into our American society (and to lessen opportunity for conflict to occur). This will also hopefully take some burden off the education system, which has been forced to deal with these problems alone in the past. I would also include business classes. There is so much these people should be taught and right now, they’re left on their own to figure things out.

By providing this improved Right Path, the legal immigrants will have a better understanding of how things work in our society (through formal instruction received) and a better relationship with “government” and therefore trust in law enforcement. The crimes committed and suffered by those engaged in both sides of the illegal immigration are simply unacceptable in a civilized society.

When two distinct groups of people come together, a transfer occurs…a transfer of knowledge, customs, behaviors, etc. A meshing, I guess is how one would describe it. I’m fine with eating Mexican food (it happens to be my favorite food). I’m fine with learning a little Spanish for fun, actually it’s interesting. I am also fascinated in many of the games, religious activities, family traditions that have been described to me by friends. I AM NOT FINE with an attitude that condones corruption, violence, drugs, rape, torture, and slavery as an accepted part of life. I don’t want it brought here and becoming part of the fabric of our society, as is happening right now.

To restate: 1. Eliminate the uncontrolled, coyote-driven, wide-open, free-for-all ILLEGAL AND INCORRECT PATH. 2. Fix the CORRECT PATH improving the processing speed, chances for success, and safety for an at-risk people. A successful transition means more people paying taxes, not receiving social services yet helping to pay for other public services they use such as education. The current situation amplifies the natural conflict, undermining positive experiences for all.

Congress has ignored this problem for 20 years at least – until the current point in time…when the crisis is marked by the emotion of an angry citizenry on one side who are overtaxed to provide free services to those here by illegal means and the desperation of a downtrodden people on the other side who will make deals with the devil and pray they live through it. I’m afraid the situation has become so full of rhetoric and dug-in stances that the subject cannot even be discussed reasonably.

But we must discuss it. I haven’t even mentioned the obvious national security issue inherent. Any Tom, Dick, or Harry terrorist can simply walk across our borders and wreak havoc. Meanwhile, we’ve focused on increased procedures at airports. Does that really make sense, to be so vigilant in one area while leaving another avenue wide-open? No, plugging up those porous borders is Job One, for so many reasons. All coyotes shot on sight. That’s a career choice that needs to become synonymous with sure death in my book.

Some want to drag possible “civil rights” violations into the discussion. This seems odd to me when our entire legal policy of search and seizure is already a careful balance between maintaining a civil society and respecting individuals’ rights. I have no problem placing my trust in trained law enforcement personnel to make the right call whether probable cause exists to further inquire for papers. I already trust them right now, every day. Driving a white van is probable cause in my book. Seriously, these people work this area and this situation daily – they know what to look for. I would like to emphasize that when I commit a violation in my car and am stopped, I am asked to produce my papers. I keep them on me every time I leave the house. I am happy to produce them because I am NOT a drug mule or human trafficker. I am happy to produce them because I want the real drug mules and human traffickers caught. I want order in my society, not rampant crime.

Also, we obviously cannot allow EVERY person who wants to immigrate to our country, do so. We cannot absorb the numbers, economically…but we can make a system that works much better. And maybe, in the meantime, Mexico can work on improving itself. I mean, what is that country’s dang problem anyway.

I have the strength to say NO to continued illegal immigration, I have the strength to ignore name-calling by others who think I am hatin’ on the Mexicans or bartering our civil rights away, and I definitely have the strength to protect the illegal immigrant from himself. Staying in Mexico until the Correct Path can serve him is preferable to death, whether he thinks so or not.