Why Is Border Security a Political Football?

M

madmag

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Eight Senators just wrote the following letter to President Bush.

Dear Mr. President:

We respectfully ask that your Administration enforce the border security laws that have already been authorized by Congress regardless of whether the Senate passes the immigration reform bill. The bill assumes that several critical border security benchmarks can be achieved within 18 months. These security triggers are already authorized under current law and can be completed without the immigration bill. We believe these enforcement measures are vital and should not wait until Congress passes additional immigration reforms.

Securing the border is the best way to restore trust with the American people and facilitate future improvements of our immigration policy.

Sincerely,
U.S. Senators Jim DeMint (R – South Carolina), Tom Coburn (R – Oklahoma), Mike Enzi (R – Wyoming), David Vitter (R – Louisiana), Jim Inhofe (R – Oklahoma), Jim Bunning (R – Kentucky), Charles Grassley (R – Iowa), John Ensign (R – Nevada) and Jeff Sessions (R – Alabama).
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I have said before I voted for Bush the first term (big mistake). Now I see our President using a secure border as a bargaining chip. He just said again yesterday that the path to border security is to pass his immigration bill. I thought we started on that path circa 1776. I thought article IV of the constitution already addressed that issue. Is the message that now in 2007 the United States simply cannot secure it's borders without passing a flawed immigration bill? Why are these tied together? I can support good legislation to address the immigration issues. I assume that we will have to provide a path to citizenship for those working here for years. But I refuse to let someone tell me that we cannot secure our border without this latest fiasco bill being passed. This transcends politics. I don't really care if you are Republican, Democrat, or other. Any Senator, Congressman, Or President that holds this Country hostage to have border security only if we pass an immigration bill should be removed from office.....no matter which party.

I will make a prediction. If we do have a major terrorist incident that is traced to an insecure border, then you will see our border secured within days....as it should have been years ago!
 
here's why...

Quoting an AZ Congressman whose name I forget:

"For the Right, it's cheap labor. For the Left, it's cheap votes."

Business interests are very powerful in the Republican party. The last thing the Chamber of Commerce wants is for the supply of people who will work for any wage they can get, can't organize, and who can be fired and sent home if they complain to be cut off. They also don't want to lose the current "play dumb if you get caught, since there's no way to verify documents for prospective hires" system.

Ethnic interests are very powerful in the Democratic party. Naturalized citizens break very heavily Democratic, and you can bet that the leadership has done the math on what legalizing millions of illegal immigrants would mean for Democratic voter registrations. They'd be dumb not to, and they ain't dumb.

When you look at the interests at stake, it's very easy to understand why nothing is being done. Money talks, and right now, all of the money is saying the same things.

It's really quite simple.

--Shannon
 
Why only 8?
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Sorry, I thought the answer was obvious. These are all Republican, so I think this is a significant number. I really think this is your way of saying don't think it is any big deal that we don't secure our border. But if you watch the news you will notice this is not a minor issue. Many others also feel we should secure the border.

Watch Lou Dobbs. He is on CNN and usually gives good insight to these issues.
 
everything is a political football.
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I am not naive. I have been around for a while. The first President I voted for was JFK. Remember Truman and Ike very well. I am use to most all of the dirty tricks and making about anything political, but I do think there are a few sacred things left. Securing our borders should not be tied to any other program or bill. Of course, I understand there are others that feel it is not important, or that are so blinded by supporting illegal immigration that they just don't see this as an import issue. For me, I am talking about border security not immigration. I don't want people that are planning to do this country harm to be able to freely come across non-secure borders. You wouldn't think that is such a huge request.

This is a security issue...not an immigration issue.
 
This is a security issue...not an immigration issue.
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But it's also a money and power issue. And those two together will trump security every time. If you wonder why there's no will in either party to solve this problem, when the solutions are so obvious (close the border, impose draconian, lose-your-business-and-your-personal-assets penalties on employers) you need only ask the question "who benefits from the current situation?"

Cheap labor for business, new voters for the Democrats. Why would they want to change that? Both parties' interests are supported by what's happening now. The kind of leadership that would do what's right, even when it hurts your own interests, is sorely lacking, and has been for years.

When was the last time you saw any politician do anything that their campaign donors didn't like? Donate a bunch of money to any legislator, and they'll do what you want, because they need the money to get or keep their job. Legal bribery is what it is.

--Shannon
 
I will make a prediction. If we do have a major terrorist incident that is traced to an insecure border, then you will see our border secured within days....as it should have been years ago!
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I'll add a prediction. There will be robust demands for his impeachment. Since I'm already on record as supporting his impeachment over his conduct of border security (in the US, not Iraq) I'll simply stand there like a fool wondering how many live would have been saved had he acted as he should have.
 
Different elected officials undoubtedly have different reasons for what they've done on this issue.


A big one, though, has got to be the difficulty level. Senators and Congressmen are just not the kind of people to tackle a difficult task. Border control when you have a really rich nation sharing a border with a much poorer and much more politically screwed up nation is really hard. Rather than fix problems, it's much easier to redefine success to be whatever you've already got.


Got 12 million illegal aliens in your country? Millions more coming? Simple. Make'em legal. No problem, then. Keep paying your taxes.
 
Why is Border Security a Polictical Football?

Because we have the best Congress Corporate America can buy. Not one that serves the best interests of the People.
 
Cheap labor for business, new voters for the Democrats. Why would they want to change that? Both parties' interests are supported by what's happening now. The kind of leadership that would do what's right, even when it hurts your own interests, is sorely lacking, and has been for years.
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I am sure you are right. I guess it is just an old timers dream that there could be any politicians around with just an ounce of true leadership left in their bodies. Welcome to the "brave new world".

Got 12 million illegal aliens in your country? Millions more coming? Simple. Make'em legal. No problem, then. Keep paying your taxes.
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I understand that issue, but in this case I am focused on any terrorist that come into our country because we have open borders. The immigration issue needs a sensible solution, but I assume most illegal workers are not here to blow up buildings.

One more, then I will shut up and read for a while. I lived two places in this country on and close to the border. I lived in El Paso Texas....on the border....just yards and you are in sunny Mexico. Also, in San Diego area. About 40 miles from the border. I see where Texas Governor Rick Perry has been trying doing what he can at a state level to increase border security. He is actually taking real action, not just staring out into space like Bush. But what a shame that the federal Government does not take similar actions to protect this country.

http://www.governor.state.tx.us/priorities/other/border/border_security/view

Well you know when I lived in Texas they use to say Texas is a whole country by itself.
 
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North American union

All part of the " forced down our throats whether we the like it or not " deal to make Mexico, Canada and the U.S. one big Security and Prosperity Partnership. Part of the Trans -Texas corridor of thousands of Foreign trucks driving through our country with who knows what in them. The officials keep denying it exists but we see daily efforts to further this totally corrupt and illegal venture. Did you know That Guliani has business ties to this? Kansas city will be the hub for this and will be under Mexican control.
 
Because we have the best Congress Corporate America can buy. Not one that serves the best interests of the People.
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The interests of the "big corporations" are the interests of "the People" in our system and I would be happy to debate that anytime.

WildallpowertotheproletariatAlaska
 
power to the proletariat
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Wow, and I thought I was old, I haven't read that kind of stuff since Lenin died. No not John Lenin.

On a serious note. As I said before, this will all be moot if we have a serious terrorist attack that is traced to our poor border security. People like me will not have to beg to have our borders secured, it will happen over-night. And Bush will be in for a well deserved long vacation to Mexico.
 
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I think 8 is a remarkably small number. This should easily have had bipartisan support.
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I think You are missing the point. The letter was not supposed to be bipartisan, it was an object lesson to the President that his own Republican support has serious problems with the immigration bill. This was not meant to be a message from Democrats, it was a message from conservative Republicans. No surprise that Bush has also missed the point. No one in the emperors camp wants to tell him he is not wearing clothes. George without clothes....now that is something I think we can all agree is scary.:eek:
 
The interests of the "big corporations" are the interests of "the People" in our system and I would be happy to debate that anytime.
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Only when you have moral standards within those corporations and they
have the best interest of America included with their business practice.
Greed Mr Alaska will kill the best of systems ours included.
 
It's a political football just like everything else with this congress and the last congress. Unfortunately we've reached the point where both parties are more interested in making political statements, initiating politically based investigations, etc.,etc. etc. than they are in trying to resolve their differences and actually pass some meaningful legislation.

The far right controls the Republican party, the far left controls the Democrats and neither is very interested in any kind of compromise or cooperation.

That, coupled with leadership that is suspect, at best, and nothing much gets done in Congress except political B.S.
 
That, coupled with leadership that is suspect, at best, and nothing much gets done in Congress except political B.S.
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Agree....especialy on the B.S. part.

One history question. I admit I am using my memory and have not researched this question. I have been around since FDR's times. Don't remember him.... they would not let us have radios in kindergarten. But from Truman on I have strong memory. I do remember many Presidents that have had problems with getting major bills passed due to issues with members of their own parties. But I can't remember when a Presidents major support was from one of the top ranking members of the opposite party. Ted Kennedy is one of Bush's biggest supporters on this immigration bill. That alone is enough to make conservatives lose sleep at night. Anyway, I don't remember any President not having support from his own while receiving support from the other side of the aisle. But I am not expert. I feel lucky to remember how many rounds I have loaded in my 1911.
 
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