Southern Border in Focus

1-14-23

NOTE: Here is what I wrote my Senator after his visit to the southern border.

Dear Senator;

I see where you had an epiphany on the southern border debacle after a visit there. As one of your constituents, here are my thoughts on what is imperative regarding the inhumane and illegal situation affecting our national security.

No Immigration “reform” can begin without first stopping the invasion of people entering our country. Without first eliminating the illegal entry of persons, the problems will continue to exacerbate. Not effectively securing the border first, keeps more people entering that will have to be dealt with through whatever other measures may be taken. Absolutely, no other actions are more important than first and effectively, stopping illegal entry into our country. Without these actions, everything else is a non-starter including a path to citizenship for the so called “dreamers”.

Clearly, previous actions were somewhat effective in curtailing the influx of illegals. They included requiring asylum seekers to stay in Mexico, the building of physical barriers where they were found to be effective and other means of stemming the tide of illegal entry. These and other methods of eliminating illegal entry must be employed immediately. Nothing is more important to our national security right now as defending our physical sovereignty.

As for other immigration reforms, the rules for asylum must be clarified and restrictions on the numbers of those we accept under the revised rules established. The definition of asylum should reflect situations where the person has suffered as a result of their support for the United States. That is, they were persecuted by their government for espousing and acting on direct support of US policies.

The 14^th amendment was directed at slaves and needs to be clarified. Section 5 gives Congress the power to legislate enforcement. That empowers you to insist the person bearing the child must have been here legally for the child to enjoy automatic citizenship conferred in the 14^th amendment. The rules for “naturalization” are the purview of Congress and can and should reflect the need for immersion in US values and mores before granting the privileges of the US. That is, proficiency in speaking English and command of how our government was formed and operates. You have the power to end chain migration. Once a person has been granted entry, subsequent entry of relatives should be limited to their spouse and their children and be based on the time and experience of the person since their arrival. Those wishing to immigrate to the US must meet an economic need of ours and have evidence of financial independence before being granted entry as is done in many other countries.

These are some common sense ideas. Without first securing our borders, they will be for naught. As the most prosperous country the world has known, and with a welfare system that already props up hundreds of millions, the siren call of the US is enticing for too many. As Milton Friedman said, you cannot have both open borders and a welfare state. We are there today and you need to stop it.