The Inside Straight

Extra ! Extra !! Crimes by Non-Aliens Reported !!

For at least two years, I've been reading hair-raising reports about crimes committed by illegal aliens : murders, rapes, robberies, drunken driving,and more.

Some of those who posted these reports reminded readers these law-breakers were "doing things that Americans would not do" ; and I began to worry that our own legally-challenged citizenry was being displaced by these invaders : a circumstance that could have grave consequences for our Criminal Justice bureaucracy.

I am relieved to report there is good news from the heartland !

Our first case involves a tow truck driver-accused of drugging and sexually molesting other men.

Next, we have a western Pennsylvania teen ager accused of stabbing a cheerleader to death.

Then we have a Cherry Hill,NJ woman - accused of trying to poison her retired cop husband with anti-freeze. (Brrr !)

Not to be outdone in the poison department,two Colorado gents allegedly planned to murder a debtor by using rattlesnakes. (Ugh !)

As you can see, by this admittedly tiny sample, good old fashioned American enterprise and ingenuity are not dead yet - despite the efforts of Un-American Invaders !!

Immigration Reform ? First Do No Harm !

Congress - and the Administration - should make note of the first rule of the time-tested Physician's Oath: "First, do no harm."

The "stone soup" now simmering in Washington promises to do just the opposite.

1. It will -for the first time - make it possible to "buy" American citizenship.
2. It will -at the same time - re-institute the ancient evil of indentured servitude,as large companies make reimbursement for citizenship costs part of their incentive package-(in exchange for a "tame",underpaid workforce,of course.)
3. It will increase the flow of aliens across our borders.
4. It will establish a huge,cumbersome bureaucracy to establish largely unenforceable,often conflicting rules and regulations. (The real purpose of this bureaucracy will soon become the guiding principle of bureaucracies everywhere: Preserve the bureaucracy at all costs: increasing its size and influence whenever possible.)
5. It will-down the road-create political nightmares:

• Political corruption in the form of massive "vote buying";
• Massive unrest all around.

Let me - at risk of life and limb- suggest a more sensible approach.

1. Build a suitable Border fence ; but leave it a "virtual fence" in one or two key locations,so there will be a sort of "safety valve",which permits small numbers of aliens to enter.
2. Make sure there are enough courts to handle immigration cases promptly.
3. Make sure there are adequate detention facilities-including, when neccessary-temporary or ad hoc detention camps.
4. Enforce existing immigration laws to the fullest extent practical-but keep in mind there will always be people "living in the shadows" because:

• The "shadow people" offer themselves up for exploition;
• There is still a need for their exploitable labor.

In other words, patch the "broken border" and tweak the status quo a bit to help keep things manageable. It's not the sort of solution that's apt to appeal to the "nativists" or the "open borders" advocates; and it's not the sort of approach politicians will be able to brag about.

It's merely old-fashioned common sense.

More Thoughts on Immigration

There are two,widely ( if not wildly ) divergent schools of thought on the issue of illegal aliens.

One group - the "open Borders" advocates  - seems to suggest we should welcome illegal aliens with open arms:giving them carte blanche on anything they desire: freedom from taxation, free medical care,free college education , and ( according to a small group of radicals in the Northeast ) the right to vote in our elections - regardless of their non-citizenship (!)

These self- annointed "protectors of the little people" are often clueless students: egged on by folks who sincerely desire the downfall of the United States. Their strident "demands" irritate anyone with half a brain, and hand ammunition to a second group.

This second group - just as vociferous and radical - seems to have adopted the viewpoint that,because illegal aliens are here in violation of the law, they are not entitled to any legal protections whatsoever ; that they should be "fair game", and ; according to certain "ultra-radicals" , we should beat them, shoot them, hang them, poison or destroy desert waterholes, sow anti-personnel mines , etc.

I think you'll find most Americans somewhere in the middle of these two extremes: fed up with the excesses of the Open Borders and La Raza crowd, but alarmed by the open racism of the "Racial Purity" faction.

There have been a number of court cases involving these issues : some of which enrage the Racial Purists.

In one case , two Border Patrol officers were convicted of misconduct , and sentenced to prison terms , after firing a large number of rounds at a fleeing Mexican drug smuggling suspect (eventually hitting him in the butt).

In a second case , a Sheriff's Deputy , tried to halt a car that  had nearly run him over . He "fired at the tires" of the fleeing vehicle : managing to hit the inside of the passenger compartment and wound a woman passenger. He has been charged, at the insistence of the Mexican government,but some here are arguing he was within his rights because the occupants of the vehicle were illegals.

Really ? When did illegal entry to the US become a capital crime ? Isn't it usually a misdemeanor - or, at best, a low-grade felony ?

If we are going to declare open season on everyone committing the crime of being here illegally,why couldn't we begin shooting the hookers and drug dealers working our streets ? They're commiting crimes too , as are underage kids getting drunk, and people who drive recklessly.

Where would we start ? Better still, how would we stop ? 

Those Dadblasted Furriners

Three years ago , my wife was operated upon by one of "them dadblasted furriners" – a gentleman from India with a hard-to-pronounce name. He was assisted by an American –born doctor,and anesthesia was administered by a doctor from Ceylon – whose name twists my tongue.

I got to read the surgeon’s report yesterday,and was astonished at the delicacy of the work he performed ,and the extraordinary measures he took to prevent the tumors he removed from "shedding" onto surrounding tissues. (He had no way at that point to know they were benign,so he treated them as if they were dangerous.)

Most of the attending nurses were native-born Americans – but some were "dadblasted furriners" : Muslims from Pakistan, Hindus from the Indian sub-continent, Christians and Muslims from the Phillippines ; an Animist from Nigeria. They all provided competent and compassionate care.

Sooner than I care to think about, I shall entrust my wife’s life to another man who speaks English as a second language. He is not -strictly speaking foreign, as he was born and raised in Puerto Rico , which has long been a Spanish-speaking part of American soil ; but many of his fellow Americans consider him an outsider , and are angry -because he speaks Spanish : a language they identify with the "uninvited visitors" and " undocumented workers" who cross the border from Mexico in swarms.

People who live near the Mexican Border can tell you stories that would make a statue weep : stories of "Mexican invaders" who view illegal border crossing as a means of carrying out criminal enterprises in more lucrative territory ; stories of pregnant women who time their crossing to give birth on American soil –at American expense – and thus achieve "anchor baby" status , with attendant welfare benefits well beyond anything they could hope to earn in their homelands; people who cross as part of a "re-conquest" scheme , and who hope to seize a viable chunk of American soil for a Neo-Fascist "Aztlan republic".

Estimates of numbers vary : 12 million is the "official" figure ; 20 million the very possible figure. Either figure is staggering in its implications !

As you might imagine, there are people – especially in the Southwest- who are ready to "grab their guns and take to the hills" ; who talk openly of armed resistance – including the assassination of elected officials they believe are betraying them – and there are people from the extreme fringes of left and right who egg them on.

By now, you will have noticed an element of "schizophrenia " in what I’m writing ; because , like most Americans , I do feel conflicted – and I don’t like it a bit.

I grew up in a society in which immigrants were fairly common. Right after World War II, a flood of Displaced Persons reached our shores and spread out in big cities and small towns all across the Eastern seaboard : people from Poland ,and Czechoslovakia , Hungary,and the Low Countries ; Jews with SS-tattooed arms and haunted eyes,who had survived the death camps; Byelorussians , Greeks, Armenians,Ukranians: we had them all .

Some grumbled about "foreigners taking over the country" , but the opposite happened. The country took them in and made Americans out of them – just as China,centuries earlier, had absorbed the Mongol hordes and made them more Chinese than the original population.

It shouldn’t have worked – but it did.

There were successive waves of immigrants : most of whom came in legally , earned their citizenship , and became Americans . In my state,for example , we made room for Hungarians , Cubans , Africans ,and Arabs , and opened our doors to shell-shocked refugees from Lebanon and Kosovo. Most adapted-and became part of us ; but the feeling is growing that we have attempted to absorb too many people in too short a time.

The rapid influx across the Mexican border has strained facilities in the Border states – and their near neighbors - to the breaking point : reminding me of something I saw recently on television .

A python had subdued an alligator,but could not fully swallow the still-living creature. The hungry alligator began eating the python-from the inside . Both creatures died – miserably.

The big issue with our "dadblasted furriners" is not whether they will enrich our lives someday : given time and breathing space, they probably will – provided we can find some way to keep them from eating us alive !

The "Immigration" Debate : Are Americans Getting Suckered ?

I just finished reading Tamar Jacoby's article : "Immigration Nation" in Foreign Affairs,and am not sure what to make of it.

On the one hand, some of what she says makes sense : Perhaps the Nation gains-financially-when jobs are kept here,rather than being out-sourced overseas. Perhaps there is something to the idea of these "undocumented workers" providing "just-in-time" labor that helps keep America competitive.

On the other hand,I have been reading for several months about the big problems caused by the illegal immigrant "invasion" : problems Ms Jacoby seems to gloss over rather hurriedy.

Ms Jacoby also asserts a large percentage of "undocumented" laborers actually have income and Social Security taxes witheld from their pay, and that this had helped keep Social Security solvent - but I'd surely like to know what she bases this claim on - since undocumented labor tends to stay that way: no taxes witheld - at all !

As you can see, I'm somewhat skeptical about Ms Jacoby's "Pro-Amnesty" article-but I'm also skeptical about some of the "Anti-Amnesty" material being pumped into the American public by folks like Lou Dobbs of CNN.

Dobbs made a big splash with his "Broken Borders" specials : thereby persuading millions of Americans their patrimony was being stolen. Curiously, although the immigration problem has been decades in the making,he came back time and time again to insist it was the fault of the present Administration.

The net political result was that growing numbers of Republicans decided to jump on the bandwagon and "distance themselves" from the Administration on this - and (as feedback accumulated) other issues. A few Republicans in western states have begun to look like "one trick ponies" : riding the anti-immigration wave for all it is worth. One has even begun to "make presidential noises".

The Democrats followed Lou Dobbs' lead in their own way: simultaneously criticizing  "lax Border security"-while opening their arms in a welcoming abrazo to the millions of illegals.

I was not too surprised when CNN segued smoothly from " Broken Borders" to "Broken Nation" as a theme - right before elections - though I have found myself wondering whether they should change their network name to DNC -as their main thrust these days seems to be promoting the Democratic National Convention.

I've found myself wondering how much of the excitement about illegal aliens is real-and how much is "politics as usual".

I can understand -and fully sympathize with people in the Border states : some of whom are going through a hellish ordeal on a daily basis. But people in North Carolina or Pennsylvania ?

Let's say I'm politely skeptical of both sides , and let it go at that.

Flirting With Danger: Both Sides of Immigration Dispute Push the Envelope

By now, everybody knows about Steve Irwin : the "Crocodile Guy" who liked to get way too close to danger. Flirting once too often with danger, Irwin swam so close to a stingray , the creature reacted by driving its poisonous barb right into his heart.

Right here - close to home - there are divergent groups which persist - each in its own way - in flirting with danger : all using the issue of illegal immigration.

Here's one example: On July 28,2006 a small group of anti-immigration protestors,calling itself The East Bay Coalition for Border Security , was brutally attacked on the streets of Fremont, CA during a peaceful protest by a group favoring illegal immigration : the International Socialist Organization (ISO), which had reinforced itself with a contingent of thugs from the Brown Berets and from La Raza Rising.

ISO , which, by the way supports Green (Support Non-Violence or we'll kill you)Party candidate Todd Chrieten for the US Senate, had threatened the East Bay people repeatedly in the past, and had tried to intimidate them by knocking their signs down , blocking public view of their group , etc. This time they attacked : with fists, bottles,clubs, and feet.

Fortunately, there were plainclothes police officers on the scene ,and several of the attackers were arrested. (ISO, naturally, sees things differently. They have the distinct San Francisco/Berkely point of view that the "pigs" interfered with their administration of "peoples' justice".)

On the opposite end of the scale are the "White Identity" groups, which have been gathering a considerable following - especially in California, New Mexico, Arizona, and Texas : the Border states hardest hit by the incessant influx of illegal aliens.

Like their "Socialist" counterparts , these groups hate the US government ,and would like to tear it down , so they could get their firing squads up and running: all the "wetbacks" of course, the Coloreds, the smart-ass Jews (they've got quite a shopping list.) Normally, most folks wouldn't give them the time of day ; so the Neo-Nasties have identified themselves with the immigration problem.

Just this weekend,a group of Klansmen put on a demonstration at Gettysburg : demanding all troops be brought home from overseas so they could be used to round up illegal aliens.

In the Arizona area,a loosely associated group of  White Identity people has been issuing remarks that fall just short of the legal definition of death threats - against the President, against Cabinet members, and against Congressmen. One expressed regret John Mc Cain's plane (at which a missile was launched in the Republic of Georgia) had not been hit.

Everybody knows we have an illegal immigration problem : several million people - the bulk of whom are Mexicans and other Central Americans -have sneaked into the USA and show no signs of wanting to leave.

A few "Open Borders" people claim they boost our economy ; but most agree they are a drain on our resources. (They pay no taxes , but they make lavish use of tax-funded services without restriction : frequently with court and government approval.)

These trespassers (or invaders, if you prefer) did NOT get here yesterday or in the last 5 years - or even in the last 15 years. They've been trickling in - a few at a time- since the 1950s ; and , urgent as it may be to get them out of here , it's going to take a lot of careful planning , persistence, and effort to deal with them.

Those - on either side of the issue - who tell you otherwise are more interested in flirting with danger to the Republic than resolving the problem.

How Do We Deal With Millions of Illegal Aliens

Some say there may be as many as 20 Million illegal immigrants in the United States. (Others argue the figure is smaller ... but the total is purely academic !)

How do you deal with and/or deport several million illegal immigrants ?

How do you clean a crocodile's teeth ? Very, very, very carefully !

Mass deportation has been tried in the past - (but we wound up re-importing Mexican nationals when World War II created manpower shortages on the homefront !)

In 1932 , about one million people of Mexican descent were rounded up unceremoniously , and sent to Mexico by bus. It is said about one third of those "rousted" were naturalized American citizens - but no one cared.

This was an era in which white robed Klansmen marched by the thousands on the streets of Washington ; when a Black man could be punched without warning or repercussion for failure to make way for a White man on a sidewalk ; when the German-American Bund was taken over by swastika-wearing Brownshirts.(Some of the members left; others stayed and applauded.) In the little upstate NY town I grew up in , a Catholic church was burned to the ground - while volunteer firemen watched approvingly .

There are some who would like us to return to the 1930's , and deport anyone who "looks or sounds Mexican" ; and they are not fussy about what methods are used to get rid of these "beaners" ; these "wetbacks"...but it's not 1932 anymore.

One quarter of all American citizens are "Hispanic" - and - though they rarely vote in recognizable blocs , they are (potentially) a political force to be reckoned with. Anyone who thinks they can be swept aside 1930s - style is in for a rude awakening.

In addition, our "uninvited population" has - through 50 years of custom and usage-acquired certain expectations - which the Courts have increasingly interpreted as "rights" .

For example , NY City - for whatever reason - began giving Food Stamps to "illegals" a long time ago. Recently , faced with budget constraints, the City decided it would cut off illegals from support - because they were non-citizens,and thus disqualified. The Courts told them - in no uncertain terms - to restore the cuts immediately. It's doubtful the City will appeal.

In just about every jurisdiction of the United States , illegals are as eligible for welfare and other forms of tax-supported assistance as any native - born applicant;and may , in some areas , have an easier time getting aid.

At the Federal level , immigrants who are OTM (Other Than Mexican) cannot be deported without a hearing - and are entitled to appeal if they don't like the results.It is only recently that facilities have been built to detain (some of) them:probably in response to CNN's investigative reports on "Catch and Release" policies.

To my way of thinking, the best way to deal with the problem of illegal immigration is to remove as much of the economic incentive as possible.

Most illegals come here for economic reasons : They can't make enough at home to support their families , so they sneak in , get jobs , and send money home : a lot of money . Something close to 20% of Mexico's income is derived from money sent home by "expatriate Mexicans" . Cut that money off , and the expatriates will drift home - or move on to Canada (which could actually use the extra manpower !)

There is a Pilot Program, operated by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) ,which would allow American employers to run prospective employees through a database - at no cost -and to determine in minutes whether they may be employed legally or not.

This program is offered now on a voluntary basis - but should be made mandatory for all employers over a certain size . The mandate should include heavy penalties for deliberate employment of illegal aliens : including seizure of assets , and temporary/permanent shutdowns , depending on the seriousness/persistence of violations.

A second possibility (which might have been one of the motivations for NAFTA and other pending trade agreements) is that of making the aliens' home countries a more attractive alternative than risky border crossings.

Back a few years ago , the US had an over-abundance of illegal immigrants from Ireland , who seemed determined to dig their heels in and stay. After a sudden flurry of economic renewal on "the auld sod" , Irish "visitors" began going home in record numbers. People will always flow toward better prospects - economic,social, or political ; and we might want to consider that idea.

There is some indication Mexico's economy is improving . One commentator felt the country offers enormous possibilities , and may become a hemisphere "superstar" within the next 20 years.

The CIA "Country Fact Book" is less enthusiastic : noting severe environmental and economic problems and a general unwillingness of the present Mexican Congress to address them. (Presidente Fox got fairly good marks, but his term has expired .)

It might be useful if we could improve Mexico's economic attractiveness - without damaging our own ; but realistically , that's another " cleaning crocodiles' teeth" kind of job : to be handled with enormous care - if at all !

So what options does that leave us (other than the mass murder one correspondent half-jokingly suggested - or the annexation of Mexico suggested by someone else ) ?

1. End the influx by securing the Border - Berlin Wall -style if neccessary.

2. Make it mandatory for all businesses over a certain size to use ICE software to check immigration status of prospective and existing employees.

3. Make the penalties for deliberate employment of "undocumented" aliens so burdensome the shareholders will demand compliance.

4. Lock up "OTMs" and deport all illegals quickly as possible .

5. Elect politicians who are opposed to open borders.