Saturday, November 8, 2014

#27 OUR BORDERLESS SOUTH

               Borders have existed since time immemorial. It’s part of our DNA -- to mark off the spaces between us – and the others.  We create borders for personal, political, social, economic, health, and security reasons.   We fix boundaries between our home and our neighbors’ -- subtly, even subconsciously -- with vegetation, driveways, rock piles, etc… and, of course, a legal document.  Finally, and most importantly, we expect these borders, once established, to be secure and respected. In that regard, our southern border with Mexico is a joke.
            Many call it “porous, but “porous” seems a bit disingenuous, considering that at least 11 million illegal immigrants have already crossed that border and are now living in the United States.  Tens of thousands more enter illegally every month.  Our border isn’t porous.  It’s wide open.  So far this year 90,700 illegals have crossed that border and entered the U.S. That’s double the number for the same period last year, and numbers are expected to increase further in 2015.  Among this year’s illegals are 60,000 unaccompanied children (UC) from Central American countries.  That number is expected to reach 100,000 before the end of 2014 and to climb higher in 2015.  To what do we owe this great success?  The U.S. Government. 

                          
In 2008 -- when our economy was already depressed economically and hundreds of thousands of people were out of work – Congress passed the “Trafficking Victims Protection Authorization Act, which provides asylum to Unaccompanied Children (UC) from Central America whose lives are in danger.  These children, upon arriving in the U.S, are asked by border agents if they are afraid of being killed in their home country.  If the answer is “yes,” then an appointment is made with an immigration judge who decides the veracity of the claim.   If the judge finds the claim believable, the UC can stay.
The recent onslaught of tens of thousands of illegals has overwhelmed border staffing and created such a backlog of petitioners that it could take years for a UC to get a hearing (This is a deliberate and successful strategy!).  Meanwhile, agents have no choice but to place these children in the custody of family and friends.  To date: 85% of all “fear” claims have been approved, which may explain why these petitions have tripled since 2012….
The WELCOME MAT grows cushier and plusher…  
… as the Obama administration defers deportation of more than 500,000 illegals and hints it might grant amnesty to as many as 5 million.     
            Which begs the question:  why would anyone bother to immigrate legally when there are only incentives for entering illegally and deterrents for legal applicants?   Whereas 98% of all illegals enter relatively quickly, can expect immunity, get a green card or visa within three years and U.S. citizenship within thirteen, the legal applicant could easily wait up to fifteen years to enter and 25 for citizenship.  According to U.S. Representative Jim Sensenbrenner, our current immigration policy is holding skilled workers hostage to comprehensive immigration reform. (What about the rest of us?) 
And while our Government acts as a giant magnet, attracting illegals to the U.S., their home countries do everything they can to facilitate their departure -- equipping them with directions, maps and guides to the border.  And who can blame them?  Mexico’s second largest source of foreign revenue -- approximately $20 billion a year -- comes from Mexicans working in the U.S. who send money back home to their families.  Never a good deed goes unpunished: think Andrew Tahmooressi, who served two tours of duty in Afghanistan and returned home with PTSS, made a wrong turn en route to California and entered Mexico.  For 214 days he was held in captivity under rude and crude conditions, beaten by guards, and chained to his bed post, naked, for nine hours. With friends like that, who needs enemies? 
Adding fuel to the illegal immigration fire is the influx of gang members, terrorists, drug and sex traffickers.  This summer, 14 members of Mara Salvatruccha (MS-13), one of the world’s most notorious transnational criminal gangs, tried to enter the U.S.  They were apprehended at the border, but not because of any brilliant investigative work by agents.  While waiting to be processed, members painted gang-related graffiti on walls of the center.  But don’t relax!  For every illegal interviewed and given a “pass,” three illegals pass unseen over the border and disappear.  (Government Accountability Office)   This might explain why MS-13 has gained a major foothold in the U.S, continues to expand its influence, and why gang memberships have increased in the past ten years from 200,000 to one million.  (Michael Sullivan, Director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives)
Islamic terrorists have also taken note of our hospitality.  In August of this year the Texas Department of Public Safety and Homeland Security alerted federal agents that Islamist terrorist groups operating in Mexican border towns were exploiting weaknesses (are there any strengths?) at the border.  On October 8th Homeland Security confirmed that ten (10) ISIS and Al Qaeda terrorists had been apprehended in Texas by federal authorities but that another 40 had slipped into the U.S.  Recent intelligence confirms that terrorist groups are planning attacks on the U.S. with car bombs and other vehicle-borne improvised explosive devices (VBIED).  Border states are on high alert, and Ft. Bliss has increased security measures.   
                                                 
ISIS and Al Qaeda are not the only terrorist groups eyeing our southern border.  In 2013 290 illegal Somalis entered the U.S. Of these, three have subsequently been found guilty of providing support for Al Shabab. 
Carriers of scabies, lice, and chicken pox have been crossing the border for years, and now it’s possible that Ebola will become part of the mix. (Pew Research Center). When “Investigative Radio” asked Chris Cabreta --Vice President of the National Border Patrol Council in the Rio Grande Valley -- if illegals entering this summer had been screened for diseases, he answered that because of the onslaught of illegals “a lot slips through the cracks.”  Slipping through those cracks were 71 illegals from Ebola-infected countries who were not screened.   
The Department of Homeland Security blames Obama’s lax immigration policies for the country’s inability to stop terrorists from entering the U.S.  “He and his administration have announced to the world they will not enforce our immigration laws.” (U.S. Senator Jeff Sessions).  
So why IS our southern border still wide open?  Why aren’t illegals deported?  And why hasn’t the security fence -- approved by Congress in 2006 -- been completed? 


THE BOTTOM WHINE:  Illegals experience no negative consequences for breaking the law –only rewards, which is why Albert Spratte of the National Border Patrol Council observes:  “We used to chase after them (the illegals).  Now they chase after us.”   


                                                                       Whiningly yours, Carol

 P.S.  If you like The Bottom Whine, you might also enjoy my novel "Coming of Age...AGAIN."  It is about four women "of a certain age" who prove that with a mix of moxie, humor, wisdom, and a weekly mahjongg game, coming of age can happen more than once.  Available at www.amazon.com/author/carolmizrahi
in paperback and kindle editions.  



1 comment:

  1. The one question I always have about these numbers....if these people are crossing illegally, they must be doing it unseen. If that is the case, how does anyone know how many there are?

    ReplyDelete