OK, conservatives- you asked for it!
It has been suggested that before we discuss anything else which might be done to address the problem of immigration (see the comments here), the first thing we should do is to secure our border with Mexico.
Fair enough. I'm certainly willing to discuss that. I'm even in favor of it.
Just one question, though: How?
Well, two. The other is whether we are willing to pay the price, both financially and in terms of the massive new bureaucracy which would be required to effectively militarize our southern border.
Bear in mind that even so we'd be talking about a reduction in illegal immigration, not its elimination.
But how about it? It's fine to complain that something isn't being done. What sometimes isn't nearly so easy is to actually do it.
Fair enough. I'm certainly willing to discuss that. I'm even in favor of it.
Just one question, though: How?
Well, two. The other is whether we are willing to pay the price, both financially and in terms of the massive new bureaucracy which would be required to effectively militarize our southern border.
Bear in mind that even so we'd be talking about a reduction in illegal immigration, not its elimination.
But how about it? It's fine to complain that something isn't being done. What sometimes isn't nearly so easy is to actually do it.
Comments
Also, before we get to how to secure the border, can you tell me if there is a reason that our policy about illegal entry needs to be less effective or less strict than Mexico's?
Robert
Because Mexico is our second largest trade partner, and our economies are inextricably bound together, and there are millions of its citizens who have children, parents, and siblings who are our citizens?
Robert
Was your question a practical one- about why in practice it should be a harder job to control the border between the U.S. and Mexico on our side than on Mexico's, or the border between the U.S. and Mexico than the border between Mexico and Guatemala? I would have thought that would have been obvious.
The answer to the first is that comparatively few people are trying to sneak across the border from the United States into Mexico, and that the Mexicans don't control their border with Guatemala especially well. Why should they? Those who cross it are pretty much universally headed here!